General Tips and Tricks for using the Office programs

Revised March 2007

When we talk "Office" we usually refer to Microsoft Office although there are numerous "Office" Programs. We will mention a few and list some version levels. See also the discussion on Versions. December 2002 update. As of this writing, many versions (also called XP versions) are now up to 2007 versions.

What is an "Office" program? Actually it is a group of programs called a "Suite". The main program is always a wordprocessor, a glorified typing program. Second is usually a spreadsheet program for creating financial records. Third may be a database program for keeping records. Fourth may include a program for creating sales presentations, a calendar and other programs useful for office productivity.

Microsoft Works is an office program, since it contains the elements of an office program. Works has undergone major changes over the years. It started out as a program for Windows version 3. When Windows 95 was released, Works released a new version and added features. The current version is Works 2006. Click here to go to the home page for Microsoft Works. There have been 2 versions available for some time. Works basic (shipped with many new computers) has full suite of programs. Works Suite is the same except that the wordprocessor is Microsoft Word, a much more powerful program than the Works wordprocessor. It appears that there are a few other programs added to the suite as well. Click here to see a chart of comparisons between the Suite and 8.0

Until the last version release, Works always had a wordprocessor designed for Works and had fewer features than it's big brother, Word. starting with the 2003 release and still in the 2006, you can still get Works 8.0 with it's own processor or get Works Suite that replaces the Works wordprocessor with Microsoft Word. Good Grief ... more confusion!!

There is another Office suite that was released at the 1999 Comdex in Las Vegas called Star Office. It claims to be the free replacement for Mosaic. It even replaces the Windows Desktop if you so choose and it then becomes your only program to do almost all jobs on the computer. It used to be free. Now it is about $69. Jan 2006 they lowered it to $49. Look at http://www.staroffice.com/. I tried it. I deleted it. You be your own judge. It's better than paying Big Bill's bills. At $200 t0 $400 a crack for MS Office, Staroffice looks real good. It runs all Microsoft Office files and will save in that format if you choose. They also refer you to a free program called Open Office. It is a 50MB download that would take hours on a modem. I downloaded it and installed it. It looks and works like MS Office and seems impressive at first look.

From the Star Office package, it includes Word processor, Spreadsheet, Drawing program, Database, Presentation program, Scheduler and More. Their web site offers some other incentives also. Check it out.

Another outstanding, cheap and powerful package is Lotus SmartSuite which now appears to be owned by IBM. They are the creators of Lotus 123 which for years was the standard for spreadsheets. Their wordprocessor is called WordPro. Jan 2006 current price is $281.

The standard a few years ago was WordPerfect. It has been sold repeatedly and lost ground to Microsoft. The current version is Office X3 sold by Corel, the current owners. It is priced similar to MS Office and is a more powerful program. Student version runs $99. Pro versions can run upwards of $300. It's that power that makes it harder to learn and therefore avoided by more and more. Our local college switched it's standard Office package from WordPerfect to Word a few years ago due to the increased popularity of MS Office.

At one time not long ago, the job ads in the paper specified proficiency in WordPerfect and Lotus 123. No longer. It was too confusing learning these powerful programs from different companies with totally different commands. Almost all ads today call for knowledge MS Office. Microsoft has a program to train users to be certified as qualified Office users. This certificate can help obtain a job.

Now that we know all about the versions available, lets look at some features and how to get better use of the programs. Most of this discussion will center on MS Office due to its popularity, but the ideas expressed will apply to other suites as well.

First lets examine the primary program, the wordprocessor. We all know it can type, but why use Word instead of a simple one like WordPad? If all you are doing is typing a letter, you don't need Word. If you want an enhanced document, print envelopes, or do a mail merge, WordPad can't handle it.

Before learning some features of wordprocessing, you should learn the most powerful tool provided by Windows that works in any program. If you are not well versed in Cut, Copy and Paste, Click Here to learn the process. After you are comfortable with it, come back here again.

Beyond typing, what else can Word do? I don't have time or space to provide details on the use of Word or any other program. If you want to learn any program in detail, take a class or buy a book and go through it in detail. Here we will point out some ways to look for shortcuts at tips in these programs.

To get an idea of what a program can do, browse through the menus. Go ahead and click on things. You can always exit without saving and start over. In all these programs, there are Options for setting things up the way you like. Some options may be selected only for one document and some set for all new documents. I'll give an example.

In a new installation of Word, the default font is Times New Roman and either 10 or 12 point size. As most of you know, you can change this to any font in your computer for a document you are working on. If you prefer to use Arial as the default font, just go to Format (in the menu bar) and select Font. Change the font to Arial and choose the size you like (us old folks like 14), then click the Default button on the bottom to set this as the new default for all new documents. You can't do this in WordPad. It always defaults to Times New Roman.

Now suppose you want 2 defaults. One with Times New Roman and another with Arial. That's when you need to create a "Template". This is a very powerful feature that most users are unfamiliar with. Most people I know just create a document, save it and use it as a template. Word provides an easier way.

To create a new template, there are 2 ways to do it. The easiest way is to Click File, New. A window opens to choose the type of file to start.
(Note: Clicking the icon at the left of the toolbar will not work the same. It just starts a new document using the default template.)
In the dialog box, select Template. The default is Document. See the figure below:

After the new Template opens in Word, you may choose any settings you want for the "other" default. I like to set my margins at 0.5 and my font to Arial 12 point. Then save the template in the default location, but give it a definitive name such as Blank formatted document, or a company name as I did above or just Arial. The file will be saved with a file extension of .dot instead of .doc as with normal documents. Close the file. Click Here to learn more about file extensions.

You can also make a template for your letterhead as noted above, but type in the letterhead, format it to look good and add a graphic if you so choose. Then save it as "Letterhead".

To use the template, go back to File, New and select the newly created template. Then you will have the new defaults, Create the document and save in the normal manner. If you want to use the original defaults, just click the New icon or in File, New, choose Blank Document.

While we are mentioning the menus versus the icons in the toolbar, be aware that they do not all work the same. For example, clicking the printer icon just sends one copy of the current file to the printer. If you want multiple copies or just certain pages or other custom selections, you must use the menu, File, Print or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL P. To learn more about keyboard shortcuts, click here.

As we pointed out, clicking the New icon is not the same as the menu item, File, New. Not all programs have these limitations. Internet browsers always bring up the dialog box. They do allow an extra choice to print only highlighted (selected) material.

A new development on the web is using an on-line package in lieu of buying a program to put on your computer. The general category is called ASP's or Application Service Providers. This is currently being done in the financial field by Quick Books and Netledger for on-line accounting packages. It is also being tried by some Office providers as well as Google. I tried one called Think Free Office at www.thinkfree.com and was not impressed. The on line version is free, but the Desktop version is $49. But things evolve quickly. Check it out for yourself.

Some of the advantages of using this system is that you always have the latest version of the software, do not clobber up your hard drive with large programs and have access to your files from any computer. Files are stored on-line and passworded so only you have access to them. Prices vary from vendor to vendor.

The disadvantage is that you need to have a broadband connection and wait each time you sign on for the system to check your computer for updates needed. Enough of the program is placed on the computer you are using to be able to work off line, but the file size is small. Supposedly the system will read and write MS Word files to maintain compatibility with other users.