Word Annoyances

Book excerpt: When most people think of word processing, they think of Microsoft Word. After all, it has been around for more than 20 years-practically an eternity in computer time. But Word has also provided its users-nearly everyone on the face of the planet-with an endless supply of annoyances. That is, until now. Word Annoyances offers to the point (and often opinionated) solutions to your most vexing editing, formatting, printing, faxing, and scanning problems. It covers everything from installation and templates to tables, columns, and graphics. For example, learn how to stop Word from searching the Web for help, and how to enter the same text easily in multiple parts of a document-and keep it updated automatically. It also provides a gentle introduction to the power of macros so you can slay your annoyances by the truckload. The fixes will work with most versions of Word, including Word 2000, Word 2002 (also known as Word XP), and Word 2003. Among the topics covered: Deal with installation issues, crashes, and slowdowns, and dispose of the Office Assistant-either temporarily or forever. Master templates, numbering, graphics, hyperlinks, tabs, tables, headers, and other everyday annoyances. Tame some of Word's wiliest features, such as Smart Cut and Paste, Click and Type, Mail Merge, AutoCorrect, and AutoText. Printing, Faxing, and Scanning-need we say more? Learn to output and distribute your documents with confidence. Need to work with other Microsoft applications or Macs? You'll find annoyances dealing with Excel, PowerPoint, and Access, as well as a whole chapter just on Mac Word. About the Author Guy Hart-Davis has been using Microsoft Word for more than 15 years, during which time he has seen its capabilities increase steadily and its annoyances increase exponentially. His other books include Word 2000 Developer's Handbook (Sybex) and How to Do Everything with Your iPod and iPod mini (McGraw-Hill). In this book he shares secrets that will quell calm your colleagues, impress your friends, and confound your enemies.