Offices and Professionals Books

I would disagree with many people on this book due to the fact that this book is very helpful on using codes and debugging tools although its a definition guide on computer programming in windows 2000 it can teach you a lot of details on programming it is more like a beginners guide using many symbols and differnt codes this book is more of a book for people wanting to learn how to write files store files also deals with rewritting web pages or possibley a guide on how to develop folders spreadsheets graphs and many othe features i would say this book is really great for anyone wanting to learn c programming in windows environment as well as in the assembly language or DOS enviroment; although this book does not teach you assembly language programming it is a way to start learning assembly language programming1

This is a book designed for people that already know something about office and vba and who want to take custom development to the next level with more advanced techniques

I would agree with the review that states the authors were working side-by-side with the office development team as this book was written. However, I would disagree that such close input was entirely helpful. While the information contained in this book is a nice introduction to how things are "supposed" to work, as with so much of Microsoft's software, things never quite work the way they were designed, unless of course, you're doing exactly what the folks at Microsoft assumed you would do. Not only do some examples in this book fail to work, most examples are simple and obvious, the kind of thing a person might generate from looking at Microsoft's help information. Often they illustrate how the designers assumed their software would work. They often fail to demonstrate what the software can do--or much more important--how to get around the artificial limitations set by Microsoft. Some simple examples involve such basic building blocks as dialog boxes and menus (commandbars in Micro-speak). Some built-in dialog boxes have over a dozen arguments, but try finding out what those arguments do from either this book or from Microsoft's help information. As for the commandbars, even the examples from the book fail to work.

My advice? If you want to know what Microsoft intended, get this book. If you want to use Microsoft Office in a real world situation, keep looking.

It's very hard to find a book on VBA that isn't based in one application, and doesn't begin at the 'Hello World' level. This book does neither. Instead it provides a good introduction to the object models of the Office applications, and includes well-written code examples. The breadth of content is impressive--from shared Office components to class modules. What a pity it's out of print!

The intro materials in this book reveal that the authors were working side-by-side with the office development team as this book was written. Such direct access to the people who know the most about the product is unusual and it shows in this book. A collection of truly "useful" information and sample code. This is not a rehash of online help or a collection of the "basic" programming info found in a lot of reference books. The discussion generally gives you useful information and, the part I like the most, gives you sample code that works just the way it is in my own programs. This is not sample code of the type "MyControl.Backcolor = Red" that I see so much of. It appears that a real effort was made to write code that not only illustrates a concept, but that is usable in other contexts without much, or any, modification.

Thanks for the resource....check it out - you will not be disappointed.

The little red ribbon graphic on the cover of the book says, "Mastering the Corporate PC". Since Windows 2000 is targeted at business users (Microsoft's offering targeted to home users at the time was Windows ME), I had expected more of an emphasis on the likely concerns of business users (i.e. networking, security, etc.) rather than how to use programs like Paint, Wordpad and Media Player. After purchasing the book, I discovered that most of the same information was available, organized in much the same way, on the TechNet section of Microsoft's web site. If Windows 2000 is your first exposure to any form of the Windows operating system, this would probably be an appropriate selection. If you have experience with Windows and are upgrading, I suggest you look for another book.

With valuable touches that pertained to Windows 2000 Server, Sharon Crawford spiced this textbook well.
"Windows 2000 Pro: The Missing Manual" left no doubt in providing all the analyses that users of the operating system would ask for. In addition to all the basics (and fundamentals), this text covered every communications tools which came with the OS, including: system maintainance, utilities, troubleshooting, and general networking. The manual even delved into the component interface of the operating system: with its analysis on how Windows 2000 Professional builds upon the interface kernel in Windows NT 4. All the security features, as well as all the factors which contributed to the performance and stability of the OS were detailed.
This 'missing manual' is desirably analytical, without being too technical. It is a very straightforward book, which gives all the details, while at the same time maintaining its concise outlook. Both beginners and expert users of Windows 2000 Professional would be delighted by its dynamic analyses.

As a long-time mac user, making the switch to Windows has been a bit of a struggle. I've figured out much on my own, but some things have remained a mystery. Windows 2000 Professional by Mark Minasi assumed I was familiar with way too much vocabulary. This book by Sharon Crawford takes the mystery out of a lot of little things. It scratches where I itch. Maybe after I master this material, I'll take another shot at Minasi or Pogue.

It was especially gratifying to read on last page of the book (the colophon), "The book was designed and laid out ... on a Power Mac 8500 and Power Mac G3. Ah, memories of home.

Im just a home user of Windows 2000 Pro. I switched to Win2K because everyone said it was far more stable than other Windows operating systems. After using the other operationg systems Win2k had a somewhat familiar look and feel, but I needed some reference. I rapidly grew tired of trying to find answers on the internet.
Then I bought this book. It has been a great reference for me. I easily found what I was looking for in it. I learned a few things I wasnt looking for.
My advice, if your like me just a home user this book will serve you well. It now sets on my desk within easy reach.

Windows changes with each version - e.g. "Network neighborhood" becomes "My network places", etc. Even experienced users can get lost in the often non-intuitive cascade of menus if the features aren't where you expect them to be.

This book is exactly what it says - the missing complete user's manual. It doesn't claim to be overly technical, but it gets you past all of the essentials. It's well-written and well-organized with useful illustrations, so finding anything is a snap.

After using Win2k at work for years, I recently upgraded my primary home system to it. Rather than hunt my way through the menus, I picked up this book and had both my new system and home network set up in almost no time.

This is the sort of book I may only need to refer to once or twice in my life, but the time it has saved me so far more than compensates for the small investment. If your time costs less than mine or you're looking for something more technical, it might not be for you, but for me it was perfect.

Though the lessons go step-by-step, this is of no value unless you have a file open to do those steps. I did the practice labs after using two other books with hands-on exercises. Some of the "things to do" in the labs are not clearly written: Example-at the end of Lesson 3 "View the tables in the Table tab as Large Icons, Small Icons, File List with Details, and File List with Properties." File List with Properts is not one of the view options from the Table tab. This option is available when you click File, Open. Then your view options are Lists, Details, Properties and Preview.

Lesson 4 Lab has the following. "Use AutoForm to enter the data in Table 4.3" AutoForm can only be used to create forms, not to enter data. The statement should have been "Type the data in Table 4.3 into the form you created with AutoForm" or something to that effect.

Overall, this book is not what I would expect from an exam preparation guide.

This book does an excellent job of explaining most of the exam requirements; however, there are a few suprises. You need a good working knowledge of Access or you need to search through other Access books for info on switchboards and macros before you attempt the exam. Good luck!

Although well written, this study guide is not on par with the others in the QUE series. I found four mistakes in the first ten lessons. For example, you would use Control+'(Apostrophe) to have Access repeat the data from the previous record's field, not Control+;.

Topics are not well organized as there are often references to areas that will be covered later in the lesson or indeed later in the book. The lack of a section covering macros is a definite drawback for those preparing for the MOUS exam and I agree with one of the previous reviewers complaints about the CD files being read-only.

Fine as a general reference and "How To", but as an exam prep I would pass.

The book was great! Not only did it give me a study guide for the test, but I learned a couple new things along the way! Only thing I would add is to study Macros in addition to this book.

This book is a nice, concise summary of MOST of the material you'll see on the exam (I passed it on the first try with just this book) - however, this book totally ignores "Macros", and there are at least three questions on the exam about them. My advice: read the book, study macros on your own, and you'll do fine !!

I was hoping for a little bit more from this book but as it turned out it was just a book of pictures of really nifty cubes. I was hoping that there would be a bit more in the way of ideas and suggestions but for the most part if you are looking to dress up a drab workspace this is for you.

The idea is cute but no practical. Most companies do not let you go that extavagent because of company policy and fire codes. Also, they seem to be expensive to do. There were a few good ideas for cube decorating in general but not worth the purchase of the book unless you woud like to see the pictures. I am not sorry that I bought it, just a little disappointed that my first ever cubicle cannot have a fun theme.

The book was entertaining to look at but the designs were too tacky and themed. I was hoping for less over the top ideas and something more practical and classy. Most of the design ideas would get the bosses upset or be the laugh of my neighbor cubies.

I really loved looking at the cool pictures of cubes. I don't know how they come up with so many ideas! Definetely a book worth buying for great decorating ideas for a home office or at work.

A friend of mine purchased this book and I had to have it. You might not be able to decorate like in the book, but it gets you thinking about things you can do. It also gives you ideas that you could use in your home office.

I fail to see the humor in this book. I work in an office and I find the book to be perpetuating the same sort of eerily conformist corporate culture that the book jacket claims the book will lampoon. This book is for robots who have given up their humanity and want to pretend to laugh at their own misfortune. It's less "Office Space" and more "Human Resources Instructional Video: Now in Book Form!" Still waiting for the punch line...

Fun book to read, although I was lost towards the last chapters especially when locking things done in your cube, using "Caution - Yellow Police Tape". It would attrack more looks to your area, which counterpoints his claims. Anyway, if someone at your office is out to get you, they will get you. So be aware of your surroundings, and be a good corporate citizend. That is all. And yes, I definitely recommend a Rear View mirror. I have one from a co-worker which was his car's sideview mirror, and it does say "Objects in mirror are closer than they appear". Good book, Mr. Thompson!

What a fun read! I really enjoyed Thompson's take on life in an office. It's a hoot, but the humor couches some actual-factual advice that readers can truly use. If you've ever worked in an office, there will be more than one passage you wish your current or former co-workers would read and take to heart.

This was a really funny book that anyone can appreciate. Filled with great "survival" advice, I think it would be a great "cube farm initiation 101" gift for the college graduate entering the corporate world!

This book is like a good SNL skit idea turned into a bad movie. It makes long-winded, ironically intended observations about cubicle life that often left me yawning. If you have never worked before, it might be slightly useful to you. Otherwise, I'd say its practical advice is obvious. And its humor is luke-warm.

Very good book - I was looking for more of an intro to Access book. But, as I worked through the book, I found very useful concepts and tools that have been helpful to me. The book is well written and the examples are clear.

This is a good book. I agree with the other reviews, the examples and demonstrations make it very useful - one to keep on your desk for reference. Noel has also been responsive when I sent a query.

This book assumes that you have prior knowledge of Access and with that takes you further into advanced database design. Well written, great and clear examples throughout the book. Not only are you expanding your Access knowledge, you're also motivated to apply the learning into daily use. Great book!

Brought this book based on its 4/5 star rating -- was disappointed. I am not an Access newbie and have some programming experience. At times, the book and its example are hard to follow. Many capters are not covered thoroughly. A collogue of mine also finds this book lacking its depth. The book does not live-up to its title.

I purchased the book new. It was missing pages 273-304. McGraw Hill customer "service" refused to do anything about it. If you buy one, examine it closely.

I've tried all kinds of books, and they all want to show off what the author knows. Either that, or they are so annoyingly cute (like the "Dummies" series) that I can't stand them. This text is perfect. It's well-organized, so you can jump to what you want. It's thorough, so you understand what you are reading. And it doesn't try to shove a lot of advanced stuff down your throat. Also, I like having everything in one book, vs. getting 5 separate books. This one's worth its weight in gold. The fellow who wrote the comment this book is a "waist" of time should read it more carefully so he can see how to use Word's grammar checker.

Anyone really serious about mastering Microsoft Office shouldn't bother with this book. Someone contemplaiting purchasing a copy of Microsoft Office who wants to gain a thorough understanding of what Office is capable of before purchasing it, may find this book of some use. As for anyone who is actually trying to master Microsoft Office, your best choice is the STEP By STEP series from Microsoft Press. The books aren't cheap, but I recomend them even over taking an actual class.

This book is now tattered, because we use it so heavily. I like the tabs and the great indexing. You can find anything you want, and fast. I hate the "Dummy" series of books. They have too much detail, and you have to wallow in all that just to answer a simple question. Mastering Office 97 gives you what you need, in a way that doesn't waste your time.

I spent about 2 hours browsing actual copies of books on Office 97. None had the appeal this one had. It's well-organized and written in a clear manner. And the information is correct. I have been a power user of Word and Excel for many years, and still found this book immensely valuable. The "newbies" I have shared this book with also find it really helpful. The book has lots of sidebars following such themes as "Mastering Troubleshooting," "Tip" (100s of good tips), and "Mastering the Opportunities." The "Warning" boxes are an especially nice touch, as are the notes sprinkled throughout. This text is comprehensive, without being too byzantine. It makes for a good overview, and then some, of all the Office applications. Of course, if you want to be an Access guru, you'll need to buy an Access book of similar size. But for the typical user, this text hits the mark dead center. My only regret is the book is showing signs of wear from all the use. I finally told my coworkers to get their own copies--and they did.

We are switching to Office 97 at the office. Prior to the switch, 8 of us formed a test group to evaluate various books on the subject. Our consensus was that, overall, this was the best book. So, this is the one we are selecting for the entire company to use. Its strong points are in its clarity of writing, its high level of organization, and on its focus on what you need to know. The index isn't bad, either.

Imagine if someone wrote a "funny" book about workplace shootings. A real knee alapper, right? Not! That's exactly how I felt upon reading this -- Fulghum's collection of fifty ways to sabotage your coworkers. My coworkers are my friends, Mr. Fulghum. I have no desire to put laxative in their coffee. Perhaps Mr. Fulghum does. What a laff riot: people soiling themselves in the workplace, losing accounts, et cetera. I am not amused by the torment of others, and I ask one and all not to read this dangerous book.

Although funny every once in a while, full of stories that easily can be beaten by anecdotes in the smokers room, any bar or various internet sites

The book itself is full of some very unique ideas and anecdotes - there's a few I don't think I'd try for fear of a lawsuit, but I appreciated the author's thoughts and sense of the absurd as well.

The most striking and clever bit was the squirting pocket calculator that comes with the book. I was delighted at the little extra and did try it, not expecting much. TO my delight, it worked beautifully and got a good laugh from everyone involved.

Good book, clever ideas, great package.

Amazing how a single mind can arrive at so many truly evil ways to have fun at the expense of one's coworkers. And almost all of them are NOT felonies! Extra bonus points for that.

The book is witty, amusing, obvioulsy intended as a joke, and quite possibly the best guide to doing unto others before they do unto you that has been written in a generation. Buy it, read it, do it.

If you just want to switch from VB to C# and are looking for a good how to reference this is not the book for you especially as it pertains to Microsoft Word. There is a solid description and how to for the range object, but that's about it. Word's Bulleted/Numbered List object, arguably the most convoluted of them all, doesn't even get mentioned and tables are glossed over in barely 2 pages.

THERE IS NO CODE Download, you get to ALL THE DOCUMENTS YOUR SELF, I have read most of the word portion (that's why I bought the book) If I had written this book I would have created an integrated application. That's what office is all about right? I think this is a great egghead book, but for learning TERRIBLE.

Pass on this, wait for the wrox book; even if it sucks, I am sure it would be better than this. AW would you like me to write a book? I can bang out something more practical in a weekend!

M~

This book ties together two longstanding traits of Microsoft, that long predate C# or .NET. The first is its Office suite, which is one of its main moneyspinners. The second is its tradition, going back to the early 80s, if not earlier, for writing nice development tools for programmers.

Undoubtedly, when Microsoft devised C#/.NET a few years ago, the abilities given in this book would have been a major goal. The book promises a synergy between C# and Office. The attraction is of course the huge user base for Office. To this ends, the book describes many ways to open up Office to programmatic control and customisation.

The code examples don't even seem all that hard, conceptually. No doubt, they were well chosen for this reason. The size of the book reflects its natural division. There are sections that correspond to the components of Office- Excel, Word, Outlook.

You can also see from the examples that there are groups of classes, in an object hierarchy that is very logically named so that you can easily get at the underlying data. For example, a worksheet under Excel is accessed as [naturally] Excel.Worksheet.

Open source proponents might decry this further lockin of a developer into Microsoft's arms. But if you are willing to put up with that, it has to be said that Microsoft does provide a lot of support.

Part of my 2006 professional goals involve learning more about Microsoft's collaboration software. To that end, I got a review copy of Eric Carter and Eric Lippert's book Visual Studio Tools for Office - Using C# with Excel, Word, Outlook, and InfoPath. Good stuff here...

Contents:
Part 1 - An Introduction to VSTO: An Introduction to Office Programming; Introduction to Office Solutions
Part 2 - Office Programming in .NET: Programming in Excel; Working with Excel Events; Working with Excel Objects; Programming Word; Working with Word Events; Working with Word Objects; Programming Outlook; Working with Outlook Events; Working with Outlook Objects; Introduction to InfoPath
Part 3 - Office Programming in VSTO: The VSTO Programming Model; Using Windows Forms in VSTO; Working with Action Pane; Working with Smart Tags in VSTO; VSTO Data Programming; Server Data Scenarios; .NET Code Security; Deployment
Part 4 - Advanced Office Programming: Working with XML in Excel; Working with XML in Word; Developing COM Add-Ins for Word and Excel; Creating Outlook Add-Ins with VSTO
Index

The two Erics have put together a very nice volume that shows how the programmability of Office is structured, and then how that object model can be used within the Visual Studio environment using special tools provided for that purpose. While you have to have the latest and greatest Office and VS software to follow along, their writing style is pretty straight-forward, and the reader should be able to pick up on the core concepts to understand the possibilities inherent in the integration. Even if you're not necessarily ready to fire up VS to program Word or Excel, Part 1 and 2 do a great job in showing the object layout of those Office components and how they can be manipulated. If you've never gotten into the code that can be added to a Word or Excel document, those two parts of the book would be worth it alone.

For me, I'm going to gain two benefits from this book. First, the object model information will help me better integrate Office into my Notes/Domino applications. I do some of that now, but the object model for Excel and Word have always been somewhat hazy to me. This book will help clarify those areas. Second, I think that knowing more about InfoPath will be part of my process as I seek to understand more about Microsoft collaboration application development. As a result, having this book should help me tie InfoPath into the Visual Studio environment and get a running start on my education.

Definitely a useful addition to your library if this is an area of interest to you...

This is a solid walkthrough of building C# automation code for Office, and for writing code that integrates into Office. Excel is covered in depth. As are Word, Outlook and the fascinating new Infopath product that is an XML technologies client.

The writing is good. I could have used a few more non-screenshot graphics to illustrate the control flow between applications. But these are nit-picks. This is a solid book on automating and integrating with office using C# and .NET framework.

Most everything in the book somehow ends up back to people wanting to travel to get frequent flyer miles. I travel a lot for my job...the frequent flyer miles are not worth it. Where did the author get that idea anyway. Dilbert (Scott Adams)is a much better authority on office high-jinx.

I accidentally had the misfortune to have director of my dept notice me and he was bent on getting rid of me ASAP. I was at the lowest point of my life and was getting written up at my new job on the grounds that I was tactless and rude to my fellow co-workers, who I didn't work with.

I had 6 years of experience in the field and was definitely not naive in the workforce. However, I never played office politics. My immediate manager did not want to do the dirty work of firing me though she was instructed by this director, so she suggested that I get some training on anything to help me with my situation. I found this book in the company library and it described everything that was happening to me with this new company. I followed the suggestion of 'laying low' until they forgot about me and it worked.

All of this happened in 2001 and now it is 2006, I am happy to say that I am still employed with this company and all the managers that I had the bad experience to work with (including the director) has left the dept or the company. This book saved me emotionally and financially, as my expertise is very specific and I was 'black-listed' from getting employment from other companies. I learn this when I tried to transfer jobs and nobody would hire me after they learn my name. I am so glad this author took the time to write this book as I have never seen anything so clearly written to describe real office politics.

Great Humor. Sarcastic look at fellow employees, management , and procedures. I saw myself and co-workers in this book. This stuff is all too true; the author had the guts to tell it like it is.

If you are completely new to the work world, and very naive in general, this book may tell you something new about the way things work in business. The subject matter was mostly fluff, and was far from funny. Try reading Winning Office Politics by Dubrin instead.

I thought this book was extremely humorous while conveying a realistic perspective about life in big companies. The Personality types, Games, and Procedures mentioned are all too real. This book somehow comforted me because I shared some of the experiences discussed. I almost missed a good read because of the two negative reviews in Amazon. It seemed as if those reviewers were advertising 2 other books instead of giving an honest apprasial of this book. For example, I found only 3 references to frequent flier miles and their use. Perhaps the context and humor of this reference was not understood.