This book is written for the power user, the software enthusiast, the consultant, the solutions developer, or the company guru—the one others come to for help. It's designed for the person who wants to learn the essentials quickly and then go on to more interesting topics—advanced timesaving techniques, bug workarounds, troubleshooting advice, and insights into Office's inner workings. It's written for the computer user who needs to solve the problems that will inevitably occur with software as complex as Office. And it's targeted to the reader who wants an honest, objective evaluation of the different Office components, clarifying which features to use and which to avoid.

Rest assured that the book also covers the essentials. Contrary to the typical media depiction of a computer genius, even the savviest computer expert needs to learn the basics of a new program. In this book, however, the essentials are taught as they would be in a graduate seminar rather than in a freshman 101 course—quickly and concisely, relying on your general computer understanding and your ability to translate your current insights and skills to the topic at hand.

Consequently, to get the most out of this book, you should know the basics of computer hardware and software. You should know Microsoft Windows. You should know how to use the file system, how to access the Internet, and how to manage your e-mail. You should have used a word processor and spreadsheet program before, so that the essential concepts are familiar to you. But most important, you should be excited about exploring the fascinating territory that lies just beyond the surface of Office XP.