Customer Reviews

Microsoft Office 2000 User Specialist Study Guide

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is NOT the best self-study guide and claiming that it "teaches all the essential skills needed to advance your career" is a bunch of bunk.

I'd rather spend a little extra money on a truly complete guide or for each application and learn it right the first time, instead of wasting my time with this book.

Since the chapter on Access was so pathetic (coverage on Word and Excel was alright, but I'm sure someone has done better), I'm debating whether or not I even want to finish reading it.

It may cover the exams, but don't rely on it if you've never used any Office products before. Print out the objectives from the MOUS website, buy yourself some decent study guides (even if it does cost more), then take the exam.

If I could return it, I would.

I found this MOUS study guide to be quite helpful. To help you judge for yourself, a bit about me: I am a "power user" of Microsoft Office .. I've used it for many years, and I actually create and teach courses for MS Office products.

I bought this book to help me get certified for a few main reasons:
> It was one of very few that covered all 5 exams required for Office 2000 Master certification
> it contained a certification map which describes the various topics covered on each exam, for each level (Expert vs. Core) and its topics are organized in that matter
> it is designed to be a REVIEW tool, with quick, step by step instructions AND brief explanations so that the reader will gain a basic understanding of the topic not just a memorization of steps (it is not a "course" book and will not replace a class if that is what you need).

I rate this as a great study guide, as long as you have some prior knowledge of the products. DON'T RELY ON THIS (or any other study guide) IF YOU HAVE NO EXPERIENCE WITH MS OFFICE!!

P.S. I passed all five exams, in one day. Thanks to this study guide (the only review guide I used) and experience/practice.

This book has everything I need to prepare for all the MOUS exams. It makes it really easy to study for all those features that cross over all of the applications. I think this book is a bargin. Although I may want to consult other references for more in depth coverage of some topics, I can use this book to identify what else I need. Definitely worth the price.

The price of this book must've been determined by its weight because it's hefty in both respects...

I tend to agree with some of what is mentioned in Burple's review--there are indeed better guides out there, but most of them are software-specific and don't do all of the Office package in one go. I'm currently using this book in conjunction with others to study for my MOUS exam, and where this book lacks, the other titles supplement. If you don't have a lot of experience with Access, for example, then this book isn't a good choice. Start small and buy a guide tailored to the Office application you specifically need strength in.

The book is clear in its instructions and does include exercises to help you practice and test your skills; however, if you're a visaul learner, you'll be sorely dissapointed. The screen shots ARE NOT plentiful. In addition, they're sized so small, they're almost useless. You won't be able to read text in the shots of the dialog boxes, and that's a definite minus. So many of the skills you must master for the test involve knowing how to use these boxes...

The CD that's included is a waste, which is the major reason I gave this only 3 stars. The CD is glorified advertising with a little bit of actual practice material as filler. The book even shamelessly states: "And when you need some diversion and want to explore some exciting new software..." The MOUS exam itself is about $100, and this book is no bargain--if I wanted to buy software, then I'd have done so. If the CD included only practice material, then I would bet that the cost of the book would be greatly decreased.

I hope that subsequent study manuals by these authors spend more time on design and function in their writing and less time on selling ads (one of the endpapers is an ad for Earthlink internet service).

This book is the most comprehensive book I found on the Office 2000 MOUS exams. Covers the most important topics and is easy to read. The authors really seem to know their stuff. I hope to take the Word exams soon and think that this book will help me pass.

The book (Overall) is a fair book to use as a study guide..BUT in several areas you are not given the correct subject matter to study. Word Expert for example is missing several KEY topics, or they are missed labeled.
Main topics for other MOUS test study are good, I feel a better research job needs to be done, there are other books out there that cover the subject(s) much better.
To me it is NOT worth the price (for what you get out of it).As the book "states" it is a study guide. Would be nice if indeed it was.

If you are planning on being certified in Office 2000, then this book is for you. I used it to prepare and passed Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. I am currently using it to prepare for the other tests. This book covers every topic covered on all the exams thoroughly. Each application chapter recaps the topics to be covered on the exams. A seventh chapter covers the MS Office 2000 Integration test which is necessary to pass if you will become a full fledged Office 2000 certified associate.

Even if you are not planning on becoming certified in all the MS Office 2000 applications, it is great for just improving yourself in each Office 2000 application of your choice.

I used this guide to prepare for all five exams required for the Office 2000 Master Level Certification and I passed all the exams on my first try. I used several books to learn the applications and prepare for the exams, but I liked this one the best because of the concise instructions and task based approach. The section on Access could have used a little more material, but the coverage is still good, and the coverage of the other applications is excellent. I would highly recommend this book to anyone preparing for the MOUS exams.

Items listed under the exams section isn't always on the listed page number.

Why not put this together the way you take the tests instead of being all over the place. Doesn't make since.

I don't see a MS Office Certification logo on the book.

I am still plugging away through this book, it has everything I wanted to know and more. It is very clear, concise and is well written. I understand everything they are trying to teach you to do.