What Came Before Word 2003?

Microsoft has been producing Word for years , so several versions of the program are floating around. To make things more confusing, there is more than one way to refer to some versions. Table 1.1 lists the most recent versions of Word to help you understand where Word 2003 fits in. You can run all these versions on Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, and Windows XP. In contrast, Word 2003 only runs on Windows XP and Windows 2000.

Table 1.1. The Recent Incarnations of Microsoft Word

You may work with people who haven't yet upgraded to Word 2003. If you do, you probably will have to open documents created in earlier versions of Word and save documents in a format that older versions of Word will be able to read. In Hour 18, "Collaborating on Documents," you learn how to cope with these situations.

Conventions Used in This Book

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Word 2003 in 24 Hours uses a few conventions to present concepts and skills clearly:

• Menu commands are separated by commas. For example, if you need to click the Save command in the File menu, you will see instructions to choose File, Save.

• Keyboard shortcuts that require you to hold down the first key or keys and then press a letter key are shown combined with a + sign, like this: Ctrl+B. (It doesn't matter whether Caps Lock is turned on when you type the b , but you should not use the Shift key to make the letter uppercase.)

• In numbered steps, commands or options that you need to click or select are shown in boldface .

• For simplicity's sake, procedures that involve the operating system describe the steps that are required in Windows XP. If you are using Windows 2000 (or have turned on the Classic Start menu in Windows XP), your operating-system “ related procedures will differ to some degree. Furthermore, this book assumes that you are using Microsoft Office 2003 and not a standalone version of Word 2003. If you are using a standalone version of Word, you may see some minor differences between the procedures described in this book and the ones you need to follow.

Each hour ends with common questions and answers. In addition to the explanatory text and the question-and-answer section, each hour also includes four elements:

Notes provide additional information related to the topic of discussion.

Tips offer alternative or time-saving ways to do things.

Cautions warn you about potential pitfalls and tell you how to avoid them.

Part I: Getting Started

Hour

4 Viewing and Printing Your Document

5 Creating Documents from Existing Documents, Templates, and Wizards

Hour 1. Getting Acquainted with Word

Whether you use a computer at home or at the office, if you work with text documents of any sort , you will probably come to view Word as your "home base" on the computer. Word gives you quick access to the commonly used commands, while also providing a host of more advanced features that enable you to create a variety of specialized documents. You can "talk" to Word in a variety of ways ”with menus , toolbars , and keyboard shortcuts. The exact methods that you use are a matter of personal preference. Experiment with all of the methods described here and see which ones you like best.

Highlights of this hour include

• Pointers on installing Word

• Starting Word

• Elements of the Word window

• Getting around in Word

• Working with task panes

• Moving and resizing the Word window

• Getting help

• Closing documents and exiting Word