833 "The first time you launch Office 2008 you'll think that it's experienced an Extreme Mac-over," writes Jim Elferdink, author of Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual (O'Reilly, $34.99), the bestselling book on the Office for Mac suite in its previous three editions.

"The windows, toolbars, and icons have been modernized and de-cluttered, helping Office blend in better with your other Mac programs--instead of sticking out like the 'I'm a PC' guy at a Mac user group meeting," adds the northern California author.

Yet, although the upgraded Mac versions of Word, Excel, Entourage, and PowerPoint are more polished and powerful than ever, one thing hasn't changed. Navigating each program requires the kind of help that Microsoft simply doesn't offer--a printed guidebook.

And although it's true that great novels, Pulitzer Prize–winning articles, and successful business ventures have all been launched by people who never got past Open and Save, Elferdink offers this caution. "The way things have been done in Word or Excel since 1998 may no longer be the fastest or easiest."

Indeed, Elferdink's new Missing Manual serves as the must-have resource that should have accompanied Office 2008. In it, Elferdink provides step-by-step instructions for all major (and most minor) Office 2008 features, including those that have always lurked in Office but many have never quite understood. He also offers an up-to-the-minute overview of the ways the comprehensive software package can streamline every one-person, all-purpose office.

Even better, the book is refreshingly free of jargon or nerd terminology, making it easier to grasp the important stuff. Elferdink shows readers learn how to:

Get started quickly by setting up their email, creating documents, and building spreadsheets. Gain a birdseye view of all their work using the Project Center. Design sharp looking newsletters and flyers with Word's new Publishing Layout view. Build budgets and invoices in seconds with Excel's preformatted Ledgers. Track appointments and to-dos with Entourage. Take PowerPoint presentations on the road by exporting them to an iPod.

Although Microsoft originally designed Word, Excel, and PowerPoint as individual, disparate programs, over the years it's designed the programs to look and work more alike—sharing elements and working much more like a cohesive whole. And with Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, readers get the objective and entertaining instructions they need to help them tap into all of the features of this powerful suite, so they can get more done in much less time.

Jim Elferdink is the author of Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual and iWork '05: The Missing Manual, and co-author of AppleWorks 6: The Missing Manual. He also owns Macs for the Masses, a Macintosh consulting company.

For more information about the book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514310

Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual, Fourth Edition Jim Elferdink
ISBN: 9780596514310
911 pages
$34.99 USD, £21.99 GBP

1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000

For more information, visit:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9780596514310/

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