Rating: 
Summary: Help Fine- Tune Your Office XP Skills
Review: Microsoft is the most popular producer of business application software. Its Word, Excel, Power Point, and other products are known the world over, and knowledge of these applications is essential for anyone working in business. If you use Office XP and have questions about using any one of these products, then this reference guide is a must for your home or office. With a length of almost 1,600 pages (!), this is possibly the longest guide of its kind in print today.
This book covers Word, Excel, Power Point, Outlook, Access, FrontPage, and Publisher. Most everyone is familiar with Word and Excel, and a large percentage of the population uses Outlook. These sections are the ones I turn to with the greatest frequency because they are great for troubleshooting and they are excellent for learning more about each one of these applications.
The sections on FrontPage, Power Point, Publisher, and Access are not quite as long, but they present some very useful information about these applications. I had never heard much about FrontPage or Publisher until I discovered them in this guide.
Like the other books in the "Inside Out" series, this one makes great use of screen shots to illustrate key points. It's one thing to read about an enhancement to an application, but it's another thing entirely to actually see how it will look on your screen. For example, chapter twenty- nine has a section on using Excel for advanced business analysis- a subject that can be intimidating to some. But this guide makes it all look easy with its constant use of snapshots, showing exactly what your spreadsheet will look like as you type in various commands.
Overall, this is an excellent reference material for users of Microsoft Office XP. Many guides exist for looking up tips and for troubleshooting, but the "Inside Out" series is the best. Extensive information, flawless organization, and frequent use of illustrations make this guide the best in its class.
Rating: 
Summary: Enraged by the Companion CD
Review: The book is quite good, but I would prefer more on VBA and Excel.I am enraged by trying to use the CD. I am trying to read the section, " MSN MoneyCentral Stock Quotes Add-in. " About 1/5 of the screen width is taken by hotlinks to things that are not relevant to the subject. The line length of the text exceeds the 4/5 of the screen width so it is required to do a horizontal scroll for each line to read it. NOT GOOD. Even a printout of the screen is truncated... It is possible to get a readable version by select/copy/ paste to wordpad...But I would think that Microsoft could produce a more user friendly CD. Sincerely, Leo
Rating:
Summary: Oscillates between too little and too much information
Review: The most positive aspect of this book is that is also available as an ebook on its accompanying CD. It is certainly a starter book on Office XP, and there is probably not enough in each section to develop a depth of expertise. The section on VBA for instance is fairly general. However, if you are trying to come to terms with Office as a whole for the first time this is a worthwhile book compared with many others of similar size. However, let me add one caveat. There is a companion volume 'XP Inside Out' which covers a lot of the ground covered in this book. I would recommend buying that volume first and then decide if you need Office XP Inside Out or one of the application specific Inside Out books.
Rating:
Summary: Oscillates between too little and too much information
Review: The most positive aspect of this book is that is also available as an ebook on its accompanying CD. It is certainly a starter book on Office XP, and there is probably not enough in each section to develop a depth of expertise. The section on VBA for instance is fairly general. However, if you are trying to come to terms with Office as a whole for the first time this is a worthwhile book compared with many others of similar size. However, let me add one caveat. There is a companion volume 'XP Inside Out' which covers a lot of the ground covered in this book. I would recommend buying that volume first and then decide if you need Office XP Inside Out or one of the application specific Inside Out books.
Rating:
Summary: THE "INSIDE OUT" NAME IS NO EXAGGERATION!
Review: The name of this book is no exaggeration. It has that "Inside Out" coverage. Both beginners and expert users of the software will find it useful. (Although that I will suggest a more concise introductory book like the "Office XP Step By Step" for most beginners).
This textbook has a good pattern, and includes many trouble-shooting tips. It has depth. You can just start from any chapter of your choice without having to know what the previous chapter was all about.
Also, the attached CD-ROM is a big asset. It contains every topic that you will find in the main text; and since the text is heavier than most laptops, mobile users are bound to appreciate the extra flexibility that this CD-ROM provides.
Rating:
Summary: THE "INSIDE OUT" NAME IS NO EXAGGERATION!
Review: The name of this book is no exaggeration. It has that "Inside Out" coverage. Both beginners and expert users of the software will find it useful. (Although that I will suggest a more concise introductory book like the "Office XP Step By Step" for most beginners).
This textbook has a good pattern, and includes many trouble-shooting tips. It has depth. You can just start from any chapter of your choice without having to know what the previous chapter was all about.
Also, the attached CD-ROM is a big asset. It contains every topic that you will find in the main text; and since the text is heavier than most laptops, mobile users are bound to appreciate the extra flexibility that this CD-ROM provides.
Rating: 
Summary: Use it to make a yule log
Review: This 1,500 page Microsoft Press reference book is a tome. The Windows XP Inside Out book at 1,200 pages was barely manageable (Please see my review for praising details). The best I can say about the XP Office version is that this combined introduction to Office, Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, FrontPage, and Publisher is exponentially less expensive than separately buying the Inside Out versions for each of those applications. Make no mistake, this is chiefly an introduction for the casual user. You don't learn the application inside and out. Don't expect to understand the Access Database application from this introduction. Picture yourself holding a six pound book in your lap paging through 1,500 pages trying to find how to change fonts in a Word document. This book is too large for the casual user and lacks the specificity needed by power users, developers, system designers, software instructors, consultants, and CIOs. If you buy Microsoft applications installed by the computer manufacturer there are no user manuals and contextual help is often deficient. If you need to know an application inside and out then buy the Microsoft Inside Out books for each application - ouch that's expensive! The book does include a full text and illustrated e-book version, but it is not much better than contextual help. I want my money back! I'm soaking this book in paraffin and making a Yule log.
Rating:
Summary: Use it to make a yule log
Review: This 1,500 page Microsoft Press reference book is a tome. The Windows XP Inside Out book at 1,200 pages was barely manageable (Please see my review for praising details). The best I can say about the XP Office version is that this combined introduction to Office, Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, FrontPage, and Publisher is exponentially less expensive than separately buying the Inside Out versions for each of those applications. Make no mistake, this is chiefly an introduction for the casual user. You don't learn the application inside and out. Don't expect to understand the Access Database application from this introduction. Picture yourself holding a six pound book in your lap paging through 1,500 pages trying to find how to change fonts in a Word document. This book is too large for the casual user and lacks the specificity needed by power users, developers, system designers, software instructors, consultants, and CIOs. If you buy Microsoft applications installed by the computer manufacturer there are no user manuals and contextual help is often deficient. If you need to know an application inside and out then buy the Microsoft Inside Out books for each application - ouch that's expensive! The book does include a full text and illustrated e-book version, but it is not much better than contextual help. I want my money back! I'm soaking this book in paraffin and making a Yule log.
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft Office XP Inside Out
Review: This book is a must for anyone purchasing Office XP. The small books you receive with the software are excerpts out of this book! You can be up and running with all the programs included in Office XP Professional edition. The companion CD which comes with the book allows you to place the entire book on your hard drive. The CD is worth more than the cost of the book alone. It has tons of information on using the individual programs in concert with each other. It contains many macros', tools and additional features. There are six other "Inside Out" books like this book, except they deal with the individual programs. The book contains over 1580 pages, and by placing them in your computer, you will be able to have access for the exact item that you are dealing with at that time. We certainly expect to obtain all the other books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Microsoft Office XP Inside Out
Review: This book is a must for anyone purchasing Office XP. The small books you receive with the software are excerpts out of this book! You can be up and running with all the programs included in Office XP Professional edition. The companion CD which comes with the book allows you to place the entire book on your hard drive. The CD is worth more than the cost of the book alone. It has tons of information on using the individual programs in concert with each other. It contains many macros', tools and additional features. There are six other "Inside Out" books like this book, except they deal with the individual programs. The book contains over 1580 pages, and by placing them in your computer, you will be able to have access for the exact item that you are dealing with at that time. We certainly expect to obtain all the other books in this series.
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