Customer Reviews

Special Editon Using Microsoft Word 97, Best Seller Edition (2nd Edition)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is not my first book in the "Using....." series of publications. I have found this book particularly useful for reference. Saying that, I have also learnt a lot of knew techniques of which I was unaware of (and I used to train people on Word). Don't be put off by the size of the publication there's lots of wonderful information and help. It's good to learn.

I selected this 1028 page black and blue behemoth off the shelf due to the quantity of in-formation it provided. Not only does the Special Edition come with more details about macros and Visual Basic, but it also came with an electronic version of the book in CD format. That does not mean that the book is not well laid out or is not easy to read, for it is both of these important things.

By comparison, I have a few of the Microsoft Press Quick Course books for learning new applications. I find them simple to read and easy to use, enjoyable tools that can get a new user one up and running fast. However, Microsoft's Running Word 97 was a disap-pointment to me as an advanced reference. It was as light and lively as their Quick Course books. But, it did not go into advance depth on many subjects - indeed, it seemed as if the text was merely lifted from the Help screens of Word itself. Running did not delve into macros and barely mentioned Visual Basic.

The Sybex competition was not much better. While it did not have the wide-open white spaces trimmed in blue like the Microsoft books, it too did not delve into advance topics.

The hefty Que book bills itself as the "most complete Word 97 reference available." In-deed it is.

Microsoft Word 97 is the engine within CompuText 5.0 Classified Advertising Program. I found it to be complete in its coverage and content, far surpassing the information provided in the Vendor's program. I would recommend it to any serious Word 97 user.

Once installed the CD provides several good mini-programs. However, the programs require a small fee to continue use after 30 days. The links provided to get this continued use do not work. If you want to call France there is a number you can call. I do not recommend installing the software from the book.

If you wish to learn the advanced features (or anything), this is simply the only book to buy. If you know nothing about computers then you may wish to consider some of the other books as well.

I provide advanced Word support for a company of over 1,000 people, and this book is an invaluable resource for me. I recommend this book to anyone needing to learn more than just surface knowledge on Word.

Great book! Everyone at the office borrows it from me.