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Summary:
Every Office 2000 user deserves a reliable reference!
Review:
This is the book that damn paper clip would write, if it didn't work for Microsoft.If you want the truth about Office 2000, you've come to the right place. We created this book from the ground up, based on what Office really does - not what some product designer or marketing droid thinks it should do. We tell you what works and what doesn't, how to take advantage of the good parts, and how to avoid the stuff that goes bump in the night. No pulled punches. No glossing over the hairy parts. Hundreds of "signature tips" you won't find anywhere else. Unrelenting emphasis on how to use Office 2000 to get your work done - now. "Special Edition Using Office 2000" is simply the most valuable Office 2000 resource you'll find. But don't take out word for it - hey, we're biased, and we readily admit it! Look at what our readers have to say, in the reviews posted here. They know what it's like to hit a brick wall, to struggle through something that doesn't work right, to get bogged down in a myriad of useless details. We do, too. That's why we wrote this book - and why we use it every single day. You will, too.
Rating: 
Summary: In a word...great
Review: A great book for tricks of the trade and overview. For step-by-step how to, other reads may be better. But for anyone who has at least some familiarity, this is the only book needed about Office 2000 and its Premium package. It is clear that the authors not only use Office's ingredients, but seek common denominators and cross-program insights. The included CD provides incredibly useful, and interesting, custom utilities...free. Its benefits/weaknesses analyses are top notch. It would be great if there were similar books in other topic areas (eg, the Adobe array of programs and objective non-cult usable analysis of the benefits/weaknesses of the various OS platforms...hint,hint) with the well-honed perspective of this Office 2000 treatise.
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Summary: Great Book for Office 2000
Review: As a person who has worked on and off for years with the previous Office products, I figured it was time to learn Office 2000 well. This book is just what I was looking for: Easy to understand, comprehensive, and full of great tips.
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Summary: Essential Reading If You Are Going To Use Office 2000.
Review: Granted, I've only managed to read through the introduction and part of Chapter 1, but if you expect to work with Office 2000, this book will save you a lot of time and effort in the end. Leonhard and Bott are gifted writers who know what they are talking about and who don't play games with you or your time. A quick scan of the inside front cover might disclose a tip you can use right away. Leaf through the interesting insert on the WOPR Power Pack and put the CD somewhere safe till O2000 is released in June. Check the 'Contents At A Glance' and you can probably go straight to the section you need forthwith. Read Chapter 1 and notice the blue text cross references that send you straight to a useful discussion. Leaf through the pages in search of the unique 'Ed & Woody' signature tips. Be sure to check out the Office 2000 installer. The Installer is itself a brand new Microsoft product and you'll meet it a lot in Office 2000 -- every time you decide to use a feature which is 'advertised', but not installed, on your system. I am an avid peruser of Leonhard's Word 97 Annoyances book from O'Reilly Press. That small volume has been very helpful to me with Word 97. I use Word 97, often for hours at a time, week in and week out, and this book helps me cut the time I spend on editing chores. I expect my copy of Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2000 will help me even more. (I'm already using it with the Beta release of Office 2000.) Speaking personally, I just do not have the time to waste on books which will not cut to the quick and answer my software questions. Bott and Leonhard give answers instead of tripe. That is why I bought this book. Now, if only the authors could write extensively on getting Word 2000 to work within PC Docs or other ODMA-compliant applications. NOTE that this book does not cover some of the special Developer tools in Office 2000 Developer Edition. It also does not cover the Small Business Tools package.
Rating: 
Summary: A lot of tips, but still not all the answers
Review: I bought "Woody Leonhard Teaches MSO 2000" and realized that I needed a more advanced book on MSO 2k, so I bought the Special Edition (SE). Yes, it covers by far more topics than the first one I bought... but not all: It does not have all the answers for my questions, and maybe just the same for yours. For example, it doesn't cover MS Equation Editor (the one you use in Word). OK, I found interesting (and maybe useful later) info on handling formulae in Word and Excel, but not on editing equations. I had found a solution for my problem before searching in the SE book, but I wanted a faster one (mine was somehow time-consuming). The book had nothing better to offer. Moreover, even though this SE had the solution for other problems, it was difficult to find through the book. You have to read section after section till find what you need. One more problem you should consider are the differences between editions of Office 2k, say, language or release time. What worked for one Office 2k didn't work for another Office 2k. This might not be a fault of the book, but think on it if you are going to use it.
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Summary: The book is great! But the software...
Review: I have found the book to be absolutely indispensable! I found every thing I needed, spelled out in plain and easy to understand language. I am no computer geek, but now I can certainly make Office 2000 do geeky things! My friends are in awe! However... The book comes with a set of enhancements called the WOPR pack. Many of the utilities are very useful, though some of them are handy only to certain types of writing. One problem is that there are a few bugs in the programs (The Zip code lookup feature for one) that have not been remedied. Posts at the WOPR website indicate that this problem has existed since at least January 2000, and there is still no fix, or even a mention that they are working on it! Emails asking for help or information go unanswered and the posts on the message boards keep piling up asking when there will be a fix. For people so good at asking Microsoft where the fixes are, you would think they would take some of their own advice and at least admit they have been unable to fix the darn thing! Don't let this criticism dissuade you from buying the book, just be aware that the software is not perfect and the support leaves a lot to be desired.
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Summary: Priceless information! Miles ahead of other Office books
Review: I have spent years yelling and screaming at Microsoft Office, and I hate to even think of how many dollars I wasted on other books that just cut and pasted text from the help files. This one is different. Oh man, is it different. This book doesn't waste your time with basic details any idiot can figure out. Instead, they show you how to really make these programs work. Just skimming through this book, I found myself stopping to try new and cool things I didn't know, and I think of myself as an Office expert. If you've already learned the basics of Office, think of this as your graduate course. It's good stuff.
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Summary: Simply The Best
Review: I know Tina Turner says it , but it's true, this book is like no other and is simply the best one I have encountered. No techno-speak here. Plain language that all can comprehend. If you have this book, you have no need for the rest. 5 Stars guys, and if they had a higher rating, you'd be guaranteed to have it. Thanks for the input.
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Summary: The essential Office 2000 book
Review: I'm another lucky person who happened upon Woody's free email newsletter - Woody's Office Watch which lead me to get his books. Woody's books always tell you how the software really works -- unlike Microsoft Press books that are often extended press releases that never mention bugs or problems. I think the guy from Brooklyn must have meant another book -- Special Edition Using Office 2000 has over 1450 pages of great information plus the CD. The index and TOC are comprehensive and lead me to the pages I need. No grammar or spelling errors have leapt out at me. I have plenty of computer books -- but only Woody Leonhard's books have a permanent place on my desk.
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Summary: Woody does it again!
Review: I've been a fan of Woody's Office Watch for years, and I've read all his books, but this one is the best ever. Anyone who uses Office 2000 should get a copy. I was totally impressed with the chapters on Outlook, which finally helped me make my e-mail work right. Thanks, Woody!!!!!
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