Part I: Getting to Know Office 2008
In This Part
Chapter 1: Introducing the New Office
Chapter 2: Installing Office 2008
Chapter 3: Office 2008 Program Basics
Chapter 4: Finding Help with Office 2008
Chapter 1: Introducing the New Office
In This Chapter
Microsoft Office suite explained
Office history in a nutshell
New and improved features to learn
How exciting is this? You've just purchased the latest version of Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac, and you can't wait to jump in and see what you can do! Now what? Turns out, this software package is huge and maybe a little daunting because it features myriad improvements to the overall appearance and functionality of the individual programs. How do you begin learning your away around? That's where this book can help. Whether you're simply upgrading from a previous version of Office for Mac, or you're a brand-new user starting with Office for the first time, this book can assist you as you encounter brand-new program features or old tried-and-true techniques. It can even show you some new tricks to make your work easier than ever before.
This chapter gives you an overview of the Office 2008 programs, what to expect as you open each one, and what to look out for regarding new features and tools. You'll learn all the ways you can use the programs to accomplish your work at home or at the office. So what are you waiting for? Jump in!
What Is Office 2008?
At its very core, Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is a suite of programs you can use for a variety of situations and projects, at home and at work. Whether you need a word processor to type a letter, a spreadsheet program to juggle number data, a presentation program to create slide show presentations, or a personal information manager to track your schedule and send e-mail, you can find it all in Office 2008 for Mac.
Here are just a few things you can do with Office 2008 for Mac:
• Create reports for work or school
• Track and balance a home budget
• Log sales figures for an entire department of employees and create productivity charts
• Build slide show presentations for work or school
• E-mail friends, family, and colleagues
• Keep an inventory of home items
• Organize and track a large inventory of products for a company
• Create a flyer or handout
• Present a marketing plan
• Schedule important appointments and calendar dates
• Organize a to-do list for a work project or a home shopping list for the grocery store
• Analyze numerical data and build powerful formulas for manipulating numbers
• Create a Web page
Perhaps this small list is enough to whet your appetite. This tiny list is just the tip of the Office iceberg; I can't begin to list the many things you can do with the programs, and chances are good that you'll find some new things to do with the programs after you've familiarized yourself with each one and set out to use them to get your work done. After all, isn't that why we use computers anyway—to get our work done and to make life easier? Sadly, when it comes to software, the word “easy” isn't necessarily the best adjective for describing anything related to computers. It's certainly not always easy to navigate complex programs and figure out how or where to find the command you need to accomplish a task. Rest assured, after you learn a thing or two about the Office programs, you will indeed find it easier to venture out and create your own list of things to do with your computer. First things first, though.
What is Office 2008 exactly? The four main programs of the suite include Word 2008, Excel 2008, PowerPoint 2008, and Entourage 2008. If you purchased Office 2008 for Mac at the store or online, one of the first things you probably had to figure out was which “flavor” to buy. Office 2008 for Mac comes in three versions for purchase: Office 2008 for Mac (the Standard Edition), Office 2008 for Mac Home and Student Edition, and Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition. All three versions include Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage. All three also include Messenger for Mac, a free instant-messaging application.
At the lower price end of the spectrum, the Mac Home and Student edition sticks with just the basics: the four main programs, plus Messenger for Mac. The middle price point edition, simply named Office 2008 for Mac, adds Microsoft Exchange Server support and Automator Actions for workflows. At the top end of the price spectrum, the Mac Special Media Edition adds Microsoft Exchange Server support, Automator Actions, and Microsoft Expression Media, a digital asset management program you can use to catalog and organize all the digital media on your computer, such as photo files and video clips. This book covers Office 2008 for Mac Special Media Edition, just to cover the full gamut.
Let's look at each of the main programs individually so you can see what you're up against.
Word 2008
Microsoft Word 2008 is a word-processing program. Figure 1.1 shows you what the Word program window looks like. As its name implies, you use the program to work with words—typing and editing documents. Use Word to create letters, reports, manuscripts, thesis papers, memos, brochures, newsletters, and so on. Word can handle all your text-related projects. However, Word doesn't end with words: You can use it to create media-rich documents with graphics, themes, tables, and more. The new page-layout feature lets you build complex graphical documents. Learn more about using Word in Part II, “Working with Word.”
Excel 2008
Microsoft Excel 2008 is a spreadsheet program, which is a fancy way of saying its purpose is handling and crunching numbers. You can use the pro...
