Word 2000 for Windows for Dummies

Most everyone can learn just by banging around on the keys how to use the Word program, and pretty much anybody with access to a computer in 2007 is going to need to figure the basics of Word out. Beyond just writing a letter or saving a file, your requirements are going to vary all over the place. The Dummies series is rightly acclaimed as a very easy way to learn some complicated stuff, and computer programs can be complicated stuff. As a general rule with office products, if you can describe what you want to do with a document or file, there is a way to do so with the program, and so it is with Word 2000 as well. The point is to do so easily and reliably and without taking hours to do so. The Help features might actually provide help, or they might cause the user to spend a lot of time stabbing around the edges of what they really need. Word 2000 For Dummies includes information on doing just about every last thing you can do or might ever want to do with Word, and it's all presented clearly, with memory aids and a great cheat sheet summary, and with a little humor. The index is good, and if you can read English you will be able to make Word 2000 tap dance for you. If there is a downside it is that clarity often requires wordiness and some of the chapters frankly take page after page explaining what seems extremely obvious. But I suppose there was a time when none of this material seemed obvious, and as such it's not a serious drawback. If you prefer to have a great reference book to use, instead of struggling to find just the right answer from the program's Help function, this is a great book to buy.

I found this a little easier to understand and use than "The Complete Idiot's Guide." I don't know what that makes me. It is pitched at a more elementary level and the jokes and cartoons are better. It is more frank about the limitations of Word 2000 Neither book deals with the problems of crashes and glitches, and when (and how) you have to telephone the [$$$]-please have-your-credit-card-number-ready line for help. I'm still struggling (having come from Wordperfect for DOS). On one occasion no commands were working, and I eventually found I was typing within a footnote. Right now I can't delete or rename any document. Neither book helps with that.

This book is very helpful for anyone who knows little or nothing about the Microsoft Word 2000 program. The index is easy to use and directions for each process are clear and easy to understand. The "cheat sheet" in the front of the book is very nice and helpful for answering those small questions. A very helpful book for anyone with the Word 2000 program.