Office 97 Combined

Is this course for you?

This course is for anyone wanting to get to grips with the fundamentals of Microsoft Office 97. It covers the key applications Word, Excel and Outlook, as well as introductory sessions on PowerPoint, Access and the Internet. The course assumes basic familiarity with Windows. The course includes the following elements:

Lesson 1: Starting documents Lesson 16: Chart Wizard
Lesson 2: Opening and saving Lesson 17: Pictures and graphics
Lesson 3: Finding documents Lesson 18: Drawing
Lesson 4: Help Lesson 19: Document Views
Lesson 5: Editing with Word Lesson 20: Presentations
Lesson 6: Enhancing documents Lesson 21: AutoContent Wizard
Lesson 7: Workbook basics Lesson 22: Outlook 1
Lesson 8: Building a worksheet Lesson 23: Outlook 2
Lesson 9: Using formulas Lesson 24: Outlook 3
Lesson 10: Restyling worksheets Lesson 25: Outlook 4
Lesson 11: Printing Lesson 26: Swapping information
Lesson 12: Page setup Lesson 27: Managing information
Lesson 13: Format and Styles Lesson 28: Access
Lesson 14: Spelling and grammar Lesson 29: Binders
Lesson 15: Templates and wizards Lesson 30: The Internet
Pre-defined curricula What you will need to enrol

Lesson 1: Starting documents top list 
Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Start a new Office document
  • Use the New dialogue box
  • Close an Office application
  • Microsoft Office is a collection of application programs which are designed to help with your office or business activities - from writing letters or reports to planning finances, keeping a diary and managing projects and business contacts - and much more. This course will introduce you to the most useful features of the Office applications and to the 'Office way of doing things', based around various kinds of office document. In this lesson we'll look at ways of starting new documents.

    Lesson 2: Opening and saving top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Display the Open dialogue box
  • Control the display of document files
  • Select and open a document
  • Save a document
  • Use the Save As option
  • Use Window 95 file names
  • If you have worked with any Windows application, then you will be used to opening and saving documents on disk, by using the application's own File menu. Of course you can still do that, but Microsoft Office introduces another method which helps you to find and open the document you want, using the Open Office Document dialog box.

    Lesson 3: Finding documents top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use the Find feature
  • Set search criteria
  • Use Advanced find features
  • Recognise document types
  • Diplay details
  • Display properties
  • Preview a document
  • Sort the view
  • With Windows in general, and with Microsoft Office in particular, you need to organise your work on disk. You can keep all your work together in one main folder - or you can choose to have different folders for different kinds of work. Either way, you will need to be able to find your work on the disk. Windows itself has a Find feature, or you can use the Find features built in to Microsoft Office.

    Lesson 4: Help top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Get help from an application
  • Use ScreenTips to identify buttons
  • Start and close the Office Assistant
  • Change Office Assistant options
  • Get help while you type
  • When you start to use Micosoft Office, there is a lot to learn about. Like all good Windows applications, Office has its own built-in help information, which means you do not need to remember all the points of detail, because you can look them up at any time. Office 97 goes much further than a standard Windows help system and introduces new features whcih are deisgned to make it easier than ever before to manage new and complex operations.

    Lesson 5: Editing with Word top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open Word
  • Maximise Word
  • Change views
  • Move the insertion point
  • Delete and insert text
  • Undo an action
  • Select with click and drag
  • Select a line
  • Use Copy Cut and Paste
  • Use the Drag and Drop technique
  • Word 97 is the Office word processing application. Preparing, organising and correcting text is a fundamental part of working with any Windows application. Some of the basic techniques are the same for all Windows applications. Of course, with word processors you get more facilities, but they all build on the basics. So in this lesson we'll be looking at basic editing - and you will see many more examples as you work through the course.

    Lesson 6: Enhancing documents top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Display the toolbars
  • Restyle text
  • Use fonts
  • Centre a paragraph
  • Use justification
  • Use quick indents
  • One of the big advantages of working with Windows applications like Microsoft Office is that you can see on screen almost exactly what you get when you print your work. Along with that, the applications give you the power to precisely control the layout and presentation of your work, which in turn can help you to get your message over more effectively. So, in this lesson we look at some of the techniques for enhancing a document - many of which can be as simple as clicking a button.

    Lesson 7: Workbook basics top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Start Excel
  • Move around the worksheet
  • Use Zoom
  • Use cell references to identify a cell
  • Close the workbook
  • Start a new workbook
  • Excel is the Office application for carrying out calculations. An Excel file is called a workbook and you can use workbooks for business financial planning, cash flow forecasts and so on. You can also use workbooks for a wide range of other functions - producing invoices or price lists, keeping databases, analysing information and so on. In this lesson we look at the essentials of creating and using an Excel workbook.

    Lesson 8: Building a worksheet top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Enter simple lext, numbers and calculations
  • Use cell references in calculations
  • Edit a formula
  • Edit in a cell
  • Select a range of cells
  • Delete cell contents
  • Undo a change
  • Everyone has different tasks and different ways to use Excel. But whatever you put on the sheet, it will always it will always involve the key steps of putting raw information on the sheet and then manipulating the information in some way. Excel has some features which make it very easy and very fast to build new workbooks and that's what we look at in this lesson.

    Lesson 9: Using formulas top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Change column width
  • Enter information with Edit, Fill
  • Drag fill
  • Key in a formula
  • Delete an entry
  • Use the mouse to build a formula
  • Use AutoSum
  • Use AutoFormat
  • Fill a series
  • Building a complex worksheet cell by cell would be a tedious task, but Excel has some very advanced tools for speeding up the process, not just for entering information, but also for improving the presentation of a sheet.

    Lesson 10: Restyling worksheets top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Set column width
  • Select rows and columns
  • Select all of a sheet
  • Clear cell contents
  • Control alignment
  • Control orientation
  • Select number formats
  • Change font and colour
  • Use the Format Painter
  • Adjust row height
  • Excel includes an AutoFormat feature for quickly producing a professional looking worksheet. But sometimes you'll want to take more control and either start from scratch or just fine tune the results of AutoFormatting. In this lesson we look at some of the manual controls for adjusting column width, row height and other worksheet effects.

    Lesson 11: Printing top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use Print Preview
  • Display printer properties
  • Print to a file
  • Change printing options
  • Print by dragging an icon
  • Despite the developments of electronic mail and the Internet, most work with Microsoft Office still results in a printed piece of paper. So in this lesson we take a look at some of the key techniques for printing your work, choosing which parts you want to print - and for previewing your work on screen so that you can see exactly how your pages will appear before you commit anything to paper.

    Lesson 12: Page setup top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Preview a whole document
  • Use Page Setup
  • Define margins
  • Add a gutter margin
  • Select paper type
  • Change units of measurement
  • So far in the course we've been working on prepared documents which have been created using pre-set page layouts, which assumes a standard paper size, margins measurement units and so on. In this lesson we see how to set up your documents with different layouts.

    Lesson 13: Format and Styles top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use AutoFormat
  • Select a style
  • Use the Style Gallery
  • Choose different templates
  • Use pre-set styles
  • Modify styles
  • Microsoft Office has a range of tools for helping you give your documents some visual impac. You can control the whole process manually or use the AutoFormat feature to take care of it for you. Another way to speed up document preparation is to use templates which can contain a basic layout and styles, or prepared text or other information. In this lesson we take a short look at using AutoFormat, Templates and Styles to give your work a professional edge.

    Lesson 14: Spelling and grammar top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Control Spelling options
  • Correct typing errors with AutoSpell
  • Correct grammar
  • Use AutoCorrect
  • When you're preparing a lot of text, it's easy to make mistakes, especially when you're in a hurry. Word can check while you type and highlight your mistakes - and even correct them for you automatically. The Office applications have a conventional spelling checker too - but in this lesson we'll concentrate on the new automatic features of AutoSpell and AutoCorrect.

    Lesson 15: Templates and wizards top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Preview a template
  • Start a new document from a template
  • Use the Letter Wizard
  • When you start a new Office document, it inherits a range of settings from one of the templates; the paper size, margins, font styles and so on. Other templates are set up with text, or more complex layouts for a variety of tasks. Some even have automatic helpers, or 'Wizards' which guide you through the process of creating a document. In this lesson we look at some of the templates and Wizards supplied with Microsoft Office and how they can help you.

    Lesson 16: Chart Wizard top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Use ChartWizard to create a chart
  • Edit a chart
  • Resize and move a chart
  • Microsoft Office makes extensive use of the automatic helpers, or Wizards to give them their proper name. Wizards are designed to make your life easier, by taking you step by step through a sequence of actions. Excel's ChartWizard is a good example of a Wizard which simplifies what could otherwise be a complex process: it helps you to produce a chart from the figures in a worksheet.

    Lesson 17: Pictures and graphics top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Insert a picture
  • Insert from a file
  • Link a picture to a file
  • Float the picture over text
  • Move and re-size the picture
  • Wrap text around the picture
  • Create a WordArt text effect
  • Microsoft Office makes it easy to incorporate pictures, diagrams and other graphics so that you can produce very professional looking documents. In this lesson you see how to insert pictures and control where they appear on the page. Then we look at the WordArt feature, which produces interesting text effects for logos or brochures.

    Lesson 18: Drawing top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Insert an AutoShape
  • Insert text into an AutoShape
  • Use shadow effects
  • Use 3-D effects
  • Rotate a diagram
  • Often you will want to enhance your text with simple diagrams and with the AutoShapes feature it is easy to create new diagrams without needing too much artistic talent.

    Lesson 19: Document Views top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Select Outline view
  • Show different heading levels
  • Move text in outline view
  • Expand or collapse the view
  • Show the first line only
  • Print an outline
  • Word's Map and Outlining features are designed to help you to quickly develop and amend the structure of a document. You could start by assembling all your material in no particular order, then use the Outline feature to drag everything into shape. Once you've seen it in action, you'll find that Outlining is simple to use and very effective, especially when you are working on long or complex documents.

    Lesson 20: Presentations top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Open a presentation
  • View a slide show
  • Create a new presentation
  • Use frames
  • Add a new slide
  • Use the Slide Sorter view
  • Control slide transitions
  • Control text build effects
  • Change colour schemes
  • Add graphics
  • If you are making a presentation to a group of people, you can let the screen do some of the work for you. Instead of a plain slide show, you can illustrate your ideas or information with animation, sound and a range of special effects. PowerPoint has many automatic features that allow you to concentrate on the message, while PowerPoint automatically builds the presentation.

    Lesson 21: AutoContent Wizard top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Develop a presentation with the AutoContent Wizard
  • As well as helping you with the appearance of your presentations, Office goes one step further and can give you a lot of help in developing the content. In this lesson we look at the AutoContent Wizard.

    Lesson 22: Outlook 1 top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Find your way around Outlook
  • Use the Notes feature
  • Use the Journal
  • Use Outlook as a substitute for Windows Explorer
  • Add a folder to the Outlook bar
  • Outlook is the electronic equivalent of a diary, address book and project planner all in one. And if you are working on a network, or use electronic mail, Outlook can also act as your 'message centre'. In this lesson we concentrate on the finding your way around the various features of Outlook.

    Lesson 23: Outlook 2 top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Select the Calendar view
  • Make a calendar entry
  • Make an appointment
  • Use the meeting planner
  • Outlook is designed to help you manage your time. It is the electronic equivalent of a diary which can help you plan appointments and resources.

    Lesson 24: Outlook 3 top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Add a contact
  • Assign a category to an item
  • Delete an item
  • Change the master category list
  • Outlook gives you a very powerful way to keep track of all your business and personal contacts. In this lesson we see how to make a new contact record and how the category feature will help you to organise your contacts into different groups.

    Lesson 25: Outlook 4 top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Create a task
  • Assign a category to a task
  • Update a task
  • Delete a task
  • Outlook can help you keep in control of the tasks you need to complete. It may not have the power of a full project planning application, but for many people it will be more than enough to replace the traditional 'to do' lists.

    Lesson 26: Swapping information top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Insert an Excel chart into a Word document
  • Insert a frame
  • Insert an object
  • Use linked objects
  • One of the benefits of working with Microsoft Office, and Windows applications in general, is that you can easily swap information from one application to another. This mans you can build easily documents or presentations which have text, pictures, charts and so on.

    Lesson 27: Managing information top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Sort information
  • Use a Data Form
  • Set criteria
  • Filter records
  • Although Excel is usually used for figures, it has some very sophisticated features for dealing with lists and other information. For simple lists (like customer mailing lists) it may have all the power you need.

    Lesson 28: Access top list 
    Learn how to... Tutor's summary
  • Set up a database with the Database Wizard
  • Use the Switchboard to view reports
  • Add new records
  • Export information to Excel or Word
  • Recognise the different parts of a database
  • When you need to manage complex information, or organise information from different sources, Microsoft Access has all the power you are ever likely to need. This lesson gives you a short introduction to Access with some simple examples. The full power of Access is outside the scope of this course. (Access is only supplied with the Professional version of Microsoft Office.) NOTE: There is no Screen Preview for this lesson.