INTRODUCTION INTRODUCTION In this introduction Who Should Buy This Book How This Book Is Organized Conventions Used in This Book Once upon a time, Microsoft Office was strictly for the office. Today, its general-purpose tools have been softened and refined, and the capabilities of the programs in the Office family have expanded. Despite the name, Office isn''t just for the office anymore. Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is packaged and sold for people who plan to use it at home. Although its individual parts are identical to those found in the Office version used in corporate settings, the day-to-day tasks you''re likely to tackle are a little different. That''s why, in this book, we''ve shifted the focus to explain how you can use Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote to produce school reports, family newsletters, and projects for civic and social organizations. Of course, if you want to use the same technique to sneak in a little work on the weekend, we won''t tell. The audience may be different, but the depth of our coverage hasn''t changed.

We still assume you''re smart, curious, and able to figure out the truly basic stuff on your own. We show you how to use and customize the common parts of Office 2007--the Quick Access toolbar, task panes, and other interface elements--and how to get along with the new, potentially confusing Ribbon interface. Like its predecessors, Office 2007 still has odd inconsistencies, as well as bugs, features that don''t work as expected, and basic interface elements guaranteed to drive expert users crazy. But as we worked with this latest member of the Office family we grew to like it, a lot. Office 2007 still isn''t perfect--not by a long shot--but it is more usable than any Office version ever. Some of what you see in Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 will be familiar to you if you''ve worked with an earlier edition of this book. We''ve gone through every chapter, sentence by sentence, testing, verifying, updating, revising, and adding a wealth of new information to ensure that this book is accurate and absolutely up to date. Who Should Buy This Book If you need an Office 2007 reference book you can rely on--one that won''t bore you with the obvious, pull punches when Office comes up short, or turn mealy-mouthed when you hit the really hard parts--you have the right book in your hands.

As with other titles in Que''s best-selling Special Edition Using series, this book focuses on the unique needs of students and families using Office 2007 at home. We assume you''re experienced with Windows, the web, and, for the most part, previous versions of Microsoft Office. If you''re like most people, you''ve probably only scratched the surface of the capabilities in Office and you''d like to learn a lot more without taking a graduate course on the software. We''re also certain you''ve experienced your fair share of Office bugs and annoyances firsthand. Because we''re confident you''ve already figured out the basics, we''ve spent our time figuring out how these programs really work. Trust us--Office still has bugs and poorly designed features, and Microsoft doesn''t always make it easy to see how you can combine features or customize applications to increase productivity. We figure you''re smart enough to experiment with basic features and to read the online help when you want to know how an Office program is supposed to work. That''s why you won''t find beginner-level instructions in this book.

Instead, you''ll find what isn''t in the official documentation--key details, insight, and real-world advice you can''t find anywhere else. And it''s all arranged so you can get in, find the answer you need, apply it to your work at hand, and get out. This book may weigh a ton, but if you need the straight scoop on anything related to Office, this is where you should look first. How This Book Is Organized Special Edition Using Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 is organized into six parts. Naturally, each of the major applications in the Office suite gets its own section. Before diving into specific features of Word, Excel, and the rest, however, we recommend you read through the sections that cover the techniques common to all applications. Part I, "Common Tasks and Features," covers the essentials of Office, including techniques you can use to transform the Office interface into your own personal productivity center. We show you how to use the Search tools built into Windows Vista so you can find your Office files fast.

This section also covers the new SmartArt graphics tools, which you can use to create stunning figures and illustrations with almost no effort. Part II, "Using Word," covers the oldest and most polished productivity application in Office. We walk you through every customization option (including a few you probably never even knew you needed). We also show you how to supercharge your text-editing and formatting skills, how to manage long documents, and how to automate everyday documents so they practically write themselves. Part III, "Using Excel," shows you tricks you never realized you could perform with this incredibly versatile tool. Check out the examples in our formatting chapters to see how you can turn drab rows and columns into eye-catching charts. We explain how to master any of Excel''s 300+ functions, as well as which ones are worth memorizing. We''ll show you how to use PivotTables (and their graphic cousins, PivotCharts) to give you a completely different view of data.

Do you have a list of names, addresses, or other information? We also show you how to use the new, improved table-editing tools to sort, filter, and organize lists like an expert. Of all the Office applications, PowerPoint is probably the least appreciated. In Part IV, "Using PowerPoint," we explain how this program really works, and we help you create compelling presentations you can deliver in front of a large audience or a small one--or completely unattended over the web. Part V, "Using OneNote," covers the newest member of the Office family. This freeform note-taking program is perfect for use in the classroom, but it does much more. We explain how to use it to gather facts and figures from the web, how to share notebooks between multiple computers, and even how to record lectures or meetings in perfect sync with your notes. In Part VI, "Advanced Tasks and Features," we focus on ways to extend the capabilities of Office. We explain how to automate Office with macros written in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).

We also explain how you can supercharge Office with downloadable templates and add-ins from companies besides Microsoft. And in this final section, we introduce a few features that you''ll need to know if you use Office on a Tablet PC. Conventions Used in This Book Special conventions are used to help you get the most from this book and from Office 2007. Text Conventions Various typefaces in this book identify terms and other special objects. These special typefaces include the following: Type Meaning Italic New terms or phrases when initially defined. Monospace Information that you type or onscreen messages. UPPERCASE Typically used to indicate Excel objects, such as functions and cell references. Initial Caps Menus, dialog box names, dialog box elements, and commands are capitalized.

Key combinations are represented with a plus sign. For example, if the text calls for you to enter Ctrl+S, you would press the Ctrl key and the S key at the same time. Extra Credit While using Office, you''ll find many features that work well together or others that simply don''t work well at all without some poking and prodding. We''ve used a chapter-ending element named Extra Credit to point out key areas in which you can combine features or find startlingly productive new uses for everyday features. The Extra Credit sections boost your skills further by showing you new ways to get things done. Special Elements Throughout this book, you''ll find Tips, Notes, Cautions, Sidebars, Cross References, and Troubleshooting Tips. These elements provide a variety of information, ranging from warnings you shouldn''t miss to ancillary information that will enrich your Office experience, but isn''t required reading. Tips Tip - Tips are designed to point out features, annoyances, and tricks of the trade that you might otherwise miss.

These aren''t wimpy, run-of-the-mill tips that you learned the first week you used Office and don''t need us to tell you. Notes Note - Notes point out items that you should be aware of, although you can skip these if you''re in a hurry. Generally, we''ve added notes as a way to give you some extra information on a topic without weighing you down. Cautions Caution - Pay attention to Cautions! These could save you precious hour.