Word 97 Annoyances (Nutshell Handbooks) (Paperback)

~ (Author), Timothy-James Lee (Author), Lee Hudspeth (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

The problem with Word 97 is that Microsoft designed it to be all things to all people. And everyone knows what results when you try to do that--you end up pleasing no one. Fortunately, the company also made Word reasonably customizable. Word users with the proper information can tweak the application so it looks and behaves to their liking. Word 97 Annoyances shows you how to make the necessary adjustments.

Say you're annoyed with the fact that there's a File Open button on the Word toolbar, but no corresponding File Close button. Word 97 Annoyances shows you how to remedy that shortcoming. Or say you've had it with Word's tendency to hide filename extensions. The book shows you how to fix that, too. Ditto for getting formatting to look right, incorporating nonstandard characters, and dealing with macro viruses. What's more, this book's tutorial on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)--the tool you use to customize Word in many cases--ranks among the best out there. You'll learn a lot from it and will soon be writing automation routines to beat the band.

There's good news for Word 98 and Word 2000 users, too: Many of the tips in this book apply to your programs. Read it, implement its suggestions, and watch your Word time become more enjoyable and productive. --David Wall

Product Description

Word 97 contains hundreds of annoying idiosyncrasies that can be either eliminated or worked around. Whether it's the Find Fast feature that takes over your machine every once in awhile, or the way Word automatically selects an entire word as you struggle to highlight only a portion of it, Word 97 Annoyances will show you how to solve the problem. It's filled with tips and customizations, and takes an in-depth look at what makes Word 97 tick -- mainly character and paragraph formatting, styles, and templates. This informative, yet humorous, book shows you how to use and modify Word 97 to meet your needs, transforming the software into a powerful tool customized to the way you use Word. You'll learn how to:

• Customize the toolbar so it works the way you want it to
• Reduce your stress level by understanding how Word defines sections or formats paragraphs and accepting some apparent annoyances that are built into Word
• Write simple VBA programs to eliminate your own personal annoyances

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Product Details

• Paperback: 350 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1 edition (August 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565923081
• ISBN-13: 978-1565923089
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #447,648 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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  #5 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Software > Word Processors & Editors > Microsoft Word 97
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Word 97 Explained, December 1, 1999

By	Mark van Beijnen (Leiden Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This book gives a good explanation on Word 97 and how to use it. Ranging from general windows settings to visual basic for applications (VBA) users from almost any level can find useful advise in this book. Written in an enjoyable style it is an easy read for anyone with interest for word 97. Together with Bill Camarda's 'Using Microsoft Word 97' from QUE for reference/addition you should be able to create some fancy documents.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Essential for anyone who is a PowerUser!, August 25, 1998

By	"jermaniac" (Irvine, CA) - See all my reviews

After recently rolling out Office 97 at work, we had torethink the way we operate. If you don't understand what Word isdoing when it messes up your docs, then you will be worse off. This book explains most of the quirks, even if there is no solution. I must open this book every day. The Website and the newsletter are also great resources. Get rid of the useless crap on your toolbar, and add value by putting in the stuff you use. After buying this book, I bought the rest of the Annoyances series. Plus the O'Reilly books are the best-in-class.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thank you!!!!!, September 15, 1998

By A Customer

I would have given this book 6 stars if you'd let me! The fact that Woody refuses to tout the Microsoft party line and tell things as they really are is the most valuable aspect of this incredibly well-written book. I wish I had found this book two and a half years ago when we left the best word processor (may it rest in peace) for Word, a move which left me more than a little bitter. Woody's tongue-in-cheek, yet straightforward approach to Word's idiosyncracies (or is that IDIOT-syncracies?) was a refreshing breath of fresh air! It's saved my sanity on more than one occasion.