Microsoft Office 2007 For Seniors For Dummies

Microsoft Office 2007 For Seniors For Dummies

Product Type: Book

Product Price: $24.99

Manufacturer: For Dummies

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Description

Seniors who are new to computers can learn Office applications quickly and easily

If you're over 50 and new to computers, everything about them can seem intimidating. The most common applications you'll want to use are part of the Microsoft Office suite - Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Microsoft Office 2007 For Seniors For Dummies shows you how to use each one in a straightforward, fun manner that takes all the apprehension away.

This plain-English guide shows you just what you need to know to write letters with Word, keep a budget with an Excel spreadsheet, create fun slideshows with PowerPoint, and set up an e-mail account using Outlook. Microsoft Office 2007 For Seniors For Dummies doesn't assume you were born knowing how to use a computer; it starts at the beginning and makes learning easy and quick.

Microsoft Office 2007 For Seniors For Dummies will have you using basic Office applications in no time, and boost your confidence too.

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2010-02-04
Summary: "Learning Microsoft office"

A great guide for someone who has not used Office before. Very easy to follow and written in simple terms. I haven't had a chance to do much yet with excel or powerpoint;
but just what I have thumbed through leaves me with no doubt that they to are also easy to follow.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-11-24
Summary: "Mona Lisa"

Great book, very useful for Seniors or anyone intimedited by Computer technology. The information was very easy to follow and quite helpful. I highly recommend this book.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-11-20
Summary: "The essentials of Office 2007 at your fingertips."

Faithe Wempen's "Microsoft Office 2007 for Seniors for Dummies" is a valuable tool for those who would like to learn Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, or PowerPoint. Office 2007 runs on Windows Vista and looks very different from earlier versions. The author takes the reader through the various applications one step at a time and provides plentiful black and white illustrations, tip icons, and warning icons to highlight important points. This book will teach you most of the basic jargon that you need to know. For instance, in Word, what is a style, what is meant by formatting, and how do you view print layount? In Excel, what is a cell, formula, and worksheet and how do they function? What are PowerPoint views and Slide Placeholders?

"Office 2007" is a fine introductory work, but it is no substitute for attending classes with a live instructor. For beginners, it is useful to learn interactively with a teacher, and it is vital to diligently practice the skills that you learn. You do not need to read "Office 2007" cover to cover to profit from it. The comprehensive table of contents and index allow the student to pick and choose which sections it would be most useful to cover. Wempen, who is a Microsoft Office Master Instructor, has written a handy reference, but be prepared to have questions that no manual can answer. If you are puzzled by some aspect of Office, find a good teacher who can hold your hand a bit. Maybe a grandchild?

Rating: 3 / 5
Date: 2009-10-29
Summary: "Middle of the road, not basic enough, not advanced enough"

A fan of the "for Dummies" series, I jumped at the chance to review this for the Vine Program.
Some points to consider though. In a nutshell, I am not the intended user of this book.
* I am not a senior, but close
* I was at an intermediate level on Office 2003 and just recently moved to Office 2007 (groan...) so I technically have more skills than the intended audience.
* But, I am a Usability engineer and often review software, written material and hardware for usability, so I do know what some stumbling blocks might be.

FORMAT PROVIDED AMPLE LOOK UP ABILITIES:
The first thing I noted was as with all "for Dummies" books there were nice shortcuts, had a at a glance table of contents and then the actual full table of contents. There is an Appendix and Index too. On the book, you can go online for Videos and step-by-step examples.

NICE BIG PRINTING:
The second thing I noticed was the nice big printing (font) within the book...Yeah! That makes it easier for seniors to read. Heck it makes it easier for all of us to read. I often wonder, when I see a book with tiny lettering, how much was saved in paper to justify the eye strain.

COVERAGE:
This book covers general behavior of Office that is common to most of it, then specifically covers Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint. It covers a reasonable number of topics within each to touch on most of the main aspects of the programs.
However, as I am an experienced user and this is supposed to be for the rank amateur, I really felt it would have benefitted by going into "Why" you would want to do something at times, not just the "How".
Additionally since there is some jargon in the book like the "ribbon" and other references to screen graphics, more illustrations (maybe even twice as much) would have greatly helped understanding. My logic here, was though I was quite experienced at using Office products, I was new on Office 2007, so in some ways representative of the intended user. I found often, I was confused due to terminology and more strategically placed illustrations would have helped clear this up, rather than having to page back and forth a page or two.

LEARNINGS:
Since I was new to Office 2007, but experienced with 2003, I found only about 20% of this book helpful. This is where there were some features I had never used in 2003 were mentioned or where familiar items I had not yet found in Office 2007 were discussed.

OVERALL SUMMARY:
If you are an experienced Office 2003 user, this book may alleviate some of your frustrations in finding some familiar features. However, I think there would be more value in a more advanced version. If you truly are a novice Office user but use other Office-type applications, this would be a good buy. However if you are rank novice, not used to any Office-type applications, this book may not be basic enough for you.

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-10-24
Summary: "Very Helpful With Big Print!"

I don't have Microsoft Office 2007, but thought I'd get this book in case I ever got it. I do have Microsoft Works Words Processor, and it's very similar to Office Word...or maybe it's the same thing...and this book did show me all sorts of things about MWWP I did not know. It's an excellent, easy-to-understand book, with bigger print than the other Dummies books. (Personally, I'm near-sighted, so the big print was not something I needed.) I know many people I could loan it to, but am afraid to do so...for fear I'll never get it back!