Customer Reviews

Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've dealt with my share of program guide books, and I've never found one as readable, helpful, and well organized as this. These guys tell do an amazing job of getting the info across. For example, I have a so-called "complete reference" for FrontPage2000 that tells me less in 953 pages than this book does in just 175! And no, I am NOT kidding! There are plenty of great tricks and shortcuts, helpful graphics and a varied layout that keeps things from getting tedious. The prose is refreshingly conversational and not "tech" heavy. Woody's other book ("WL Teaches MS Office 2000") is good, but not nearly as comprehensive. And for once, a book provides a CD ROM with genuinely useful software, not just "trial" programs that amount to little more than advertising. If you or your office team need the full lowdown on MS 2000 in one book, this is the only choice. Compared to what it would cost to either take courses or buy complete books on each program in the MS 2000 suite, this book is a remarkable bargain.

I'm another lucky person who happened upon Woody's free email newsletter - Woody's Office Watch which lead me to get his books. Woody's books always tell you how the software really works -- unlike Microsoft Press books that are often extended press releases that never mention bugs or problems. I think the guy from Brooklyn must have meant another book -- Special Edition Using Office 2000 has over 1450 pages of great information plus the CD. The index and TOC are comprehensive and lead me to the pages I need. No grammar or spelling errors have leapt out at me. I have plenty of computer books -- but only Woody Leonhard's books have a permanent place on my desk.

If you are not a developer, this is the only Office 2000 book you will ever need. As usual, Woody Leonhard (not to slight co-author Ed Bott) has produced the definitive guide to Office 2000. I've read his books religiously since the old Word for Windows days, and no one beats his understanding of what makes Office tick. You'll get the unvarnished truth--good and bad--about Office, not just a re-written Help file.

Every chapter contains one final section: "Secrets of the Office Masters" which is often worth the price of the book itself. Add to this a registered copy of Woody's Office Power Pack on CD and no other book can touch the value and plain usefulness of this one. Just get it, and don't look back.

I have spent years yelling and screaming at Microsoft Office, and I hate to even think of how many dollars I wasted on other books that just cut and pasted text from the help files. This one is different. Oh man, is it different. This book doesn't waste your time with basic details any idiot can figure out. Instead, they show you how to really make these programs work. Just skimming through this book, I found myself stopping to try new and cool things I didn't know, and I think of myself as an Office expert. If you've already learned the basics of Office, think of this as your graduate course. It's good stuff.

I have found the book to be absolutely indispensable! I found every thing I needed, spelled out in plain and easy to understand language. I am no computer geek, but now I can certainly make Office 2000 do geeky things! My friends are in awe!

However... The book comes with a set of enhancements called the WOPR pack. Many of the utilities are very useful, though some of them are handy only to certain types of writing. One problem is that there are a few bugs in the programs (The Zip code lookup feature for one) that have not been remedied. Posts at the WOPR website indicate that this problem has existed since at least January 2000, and there is still no fix, or even a mention that they are working on it! Emails asking for help or information go unanswered and the posts on the message boards keep piling up asking when there will be a fix.

For people so good at asking Microsoft where the fixes are, you would think they would take some of their own advice and at least admit they have been unable to fix the darn thing!

Don't let this criticism dissuade you from buying the book, just be aware that the software is not perfect and the support leaves a lot to be desired.

Granted, I've only managed to read through the introduction and part of Chapter 1, but if you expect to work with Office 2000, this book will save you a lot of time and effort in the end. Leonhard and Bott are gifted writers who know what they are talking about and who don't play games with you or your time.

A quick scan of the inside front cover might disclose a tip you can use right away. Leaf through the interesting insert on the WOPR Power Pack and put the CD somewhere safe till O2000 is released in June. Check the 'Contents At A Glance' and you can probably go straight to the section you need forthwith. Read Chapter 1 and notice the blue text cross references that send you straight to a useful discussion. Leaf through the pages in search of the unique 'Ed & Woody' signature tips. Be sure to check out the Office 2000 installer. The Installer is itself a brand new Microsoft product and you'll meet it a lot in Office 2000 -- every time you decide to use a feature which is 'advertised', but not installed, on your system.

I am an avid peruser of Leonhard's Word 97 Annoyances book from O'Reilly Press. That small volume has been very helpful to me with Word 97. I use Word 97, often for hours at a time, week in and week out, and this book helps me cut the time I spend on editing chores.

I expect my copy of Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000 will help me even more. (I'm already using it with the Beta release of Office 2000.)

Speaking personally, I just do not have the time to waste on books which will not cut to the quick and answer my software questions. Bott and Leonhard give answers instead of tripe. That is why I bought this book. Now, if only the authors could write extensively on getting Word 2000 to work within PC Docs or other ODMA-compliant applications.

NOTE that this book does not cover some of the special Developer tools in Office 2000 Developer Edition. It also does not cover the Small Business Tools package.

I've been a fan of Woody's Office Watch for years, and I've read all his books, but this one is the best ever. Anyone who uses Office 2000 should get a copy. I was totally impressed with the chapters on Outlook, which finally helped me make my e-mail work right. Thanks, Woody!!!!!

It is impossible to grasp the potential of Office 2000 without a guide, and you can't do better than this book. It lets you easily unlock all of the toys, tools and tricks of Office 2000. It's clearly laid-out, well-written, with amazing detail and no-bs information. The tips alone are worth 3 times the price of the book.

I purchased Ed Bott's last book and use it constantly. (And I am familiar with both Mr. Bott and Woody Leonhard as resident gurus at PC Computing magazine.) I shopped around with Office 2000, and came back to them again.

This book IS the best one out there.

As a person who has worked on and off for years with the previous Office products, I figured it was time to learn Office 2000 well. This book is just what I was looking for: Easy to understand, comprehensive, and full of great tips.

I know Tina Turner says it , but it's true, this book is like no other and is simply the best one I have encountered. No techno-speak here. Plain language that all can comprehend. If you have this book, you have no need for the rest. 5 Stars guys, and if they had a higher rating, you'd be guaranteed to have it. Thanks for the input.