Microsoft Office XP (2002) Basics is a software suite that enables home and business users to create documents, spreadsheets, presentations and publications, manage their email, and a variety of other tasks. This tutorial provides and introduction to the basics of using Office.
[h=3]IntroductionOffice XP is Microsoft Corporation's latest version of its popular business software suite. The Office XP suite, or group, of software programs is used in home and office settings to accomplish a variety of computing tasks.
You may already be familiar with previous versions of Microsoft Office such as Microsoft Office 97 or Microsoft Office 2000. In this course, you'll master basic skills common to programs in Office XP Standard, including Word (word-processing application), Excel (spreadsheet application), Outlook (email application), and PowerPoint (presentation application).
This course is beneficial for those who are completely new to Microsoft Office and to those who are currently using a previous version.
[h=4]By the end of this lesson, learners should be able to:
[h=3]What is Microsoft Office XP? Microsoft Office XP is a suite, or group, of software programs used in home and office settings to accomplish a variety of computing tasks. The programs included in Office XP are designed to work together, making typical office tasks faster and easier.
Everyone has different computing needs. For example, the casual home user probably has little use for more sophisticated applications such as Microsoft Access or Developer Tools. So, Microsoft developed different versions of Office XP.
[h=5]They include:
Office XP Standard (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint)
1: What is Office XP? [h=3]What Version of Office Do I Have? You may be confused whether or not the computer you're working on has Office XP.
[h=5]Here's a simple test:
If you have Word XP, also known as Word 2002, you have Office XP.
If you have Word 2000, you have Office 2000.
If you have Word 97, you have Office 97.
If you have Word 6.0, you have Office 4.x
If you have Works, you do not own a version of Office.
To find out what version in Word, click Help and choose About.
Before you upgrade your computer to Office XP, consider the following:
Does your current software meet your current or future computing needs? Why or why not? If you're a typical home user, Office XP Standard may meet your needs. If you currently own a previous version of Office, you may be eligible to purchase the upgrade. Visit Microsoft's website for pricing information.
Check for compatibility. Will Office XP run on your computer's processor? Is Office XP compatible with your current operating system? (It doesn't work with Windows 95.) How much RAM will it require? How much hard disk space is needed? What drive, display, or peripherals may be needed?
Do additional research.http://www.cnet.com (opens in a new browser window) offers several informative reviews and articles. Learning about the software's capabilities may convince you it's worth the cost of upgrading.
If you have the opportunity, test Office XP (at a friend's house, the library, school, or work, for example) before buying. For a small fee, you can order a 30-day trial version of Office XP from the Microsoft website.
Don't be afraid of change. Although Office XP takes some getting used to, you may find working with the new interface is easier than ever.
Depending on which version of Office you have, there are many reasons to upgrade to XP. Here are just a few:
The Task pane allows you to accomplish more in less time.
Quickly and easily access information from the Web while working within an Office program.
Send for Review helps you easily track changes made to your documents.
Manage all of your email accounts using Microsoft Outlook.
Smart tags alert you to important actions such as formatting options for pasted information, formula error correction, and more.
For pricing and complete descriptions of each version, go to http://www.microsoft.com (opens in a new browser window)
[h=3]Installing Office XP Before you can begin using Office XP, you must load, or install, the software on your computer.
[h=5]To install Office XP:
Insert the disk into the CD-ROM drive.
Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.
More detailed information is provided in Setup's Help section.
Keep all installation information and CD-ROM for your records.
If you are using Office XP at work, you probably don't need to install Office XP on your own. Rather, your network administrator probably installed Office XP on your computer using a network file server or shared folder.
[h=3]Activating Office XP Like earlier versions of Office, the first 50 times you run an Office XP program, you'll be prompted to activate it.
[h=5]To activate Office XP:
The first 50 times you run an Office XP application, the Microsoft Office XP Standard Activation Wizard appears.
Choose to activate by calling a toll-free number or go online.
Give your product ID code (appears in the wizard's window).
You'll be provided an activation code. Type the code into the wizard.
Click Finish.
You are only allowed to install Office XP on two machines.
[h=3]Closing a File and Exiting an Office XP Program Properly Did you know that the most drastic way to exit Microsoft Office XP is to simply turn your computer off? Well, don't do it. If you turn your computer off without exiting properly from an Office XP program first, you may lose your data. Worse, your computer may zap other files on your hard disk. Make a habit of closing each file before exiting the program completely.