Office 2008 for Macintosh: The Missing Manual

Now open on my desk. Needed the information as I opened the package.
B. J. Comngore, Seguin, Texas

Love the manual. Have used Excel and Word from the beginning, but upgraded to Office 2008 and ordered the manual at the same time. My old manual are dog eared and well used and this one is starting out the same way. Very useful. Would not hesitate to buy again.

A tip: don't buy manuals for your new software until you have used it for a while. Use 'help' functions built in your software as much as possible. Document your big questions in a list and when you've got maybe 4-5 questions, that's the time to check out the manuals.

When shopping, I pull out every manual I can find for the software and sit down and read. The key aspects of a good technical manual are organization and ease of reading.

Ultimately, I buy the book that answers all or most of the questions I still have after working with the software for a while.

This is a good manual. It's got both a book and an online form. Note the online form is available for free for a limited time, then you will need to pay a subscription fee.

It's not a bad idea at all to have an online version as well as the book:

Online is available if you're traveling and don't have the book in hand.
Online searches can be quicker than the book.
An online version will be updated when new versions of the software come out and/or new issues about the software arise.

The downside of this manual--it's got a lot more information than I currently need. It didn't answer the one pressing issue I had about resuming a document at the last edit and both my husband and I searched for that one question.

Still, my very technical husband and I both like the O'Reilly line of software manuals because they tend to be some of the most complete out there. Add in the online versions and you have a book that should last beyond the first blush of software use.

Rebecca Kyle, August 2008

Sunday, August 17th, 2008

I have been greatly impressed by the writing and knowledge of this author. He is thorough in his descriptions and can lead even the most novice or computer illiterates find their way through the book and get some things done on their computer! This is a MUST have book as a resource and useful "buddy" to help walk you though this software. It is even entertaining and can get you to smile!
Highly recommended!

No doubt at all it should have been in the box!

Covers everything from installation, standard and options, user guide through to trouble shooting. First class manual at a first class price!