A.2. Using Microsoft's Office Web SiteYou'll find the main Web site that supports Microsoft office products at http://office.microsoft.com. The home page is slickand about as helpful as a magazine ad. You need to dig a little deeper to get to the helpful features. To zero in on some more useful articles and links, click the Products tab at the top of the page. Along the left side, you find links to specific office products, including Word. Click the Word link, or go directly to the page that focuses on Word by typing http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word into the address box of your browser. The Word page changes periodically, but it usually looks something like Figure A-4.
A.2.1. Discussion GroupsDiscussion groups are one of the great resources of the online world. You can post a question in a discussion group and come back in a couple hours or the next day and other people will be posting answers and debating the fine points of the issue. It's an excellent way to dig deep into a subject and make some online friends in the process. You can also search through the discussion group to see if someone else has asked the same question. Type a word or a phrase in the "Search for" box near the middle of the screen (Figure A-5). After some churning, topics related to your search words appear in the center list. Click a + button to expand the topic, and then click a name to read the contents of the post.
Tip: Before you post your question, it's good online etiquette to check the group to see if a FAQ (frequently asked questions) posting is available. Sometimes experts get annoyed when newbies ask the same question over and over. The posts in a discussion are listed in chronological order, with the first message at the top. So, start at the top to read the question, and then work your way down the list to read the answers and other responses. Some questions will be answered quickly, with one or two on-target responses. A hot topic can result in a lengthy debate, with a dozen or so responses. Some of the experts who participate in these discussion groups are Microsoft MVPs. For a description of Microsoft MVPs, see the box on the following page. In general, you'll find the contributions from the Microsoft MVPs both accurate and concise .
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