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Microsoft® Office 2011 for Mac®For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/office2011formac to view this books’ cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I: Introduction to the Microsoft Office 2011 Suite
Chapter 1: Overview from 10,000 Feet
The Three Faces of Office for Mac 2011
Installing Office 2011
Setting Up with Setup Assistant
Chapter 2: A Sweet Suite: Introducing the Office 2011 Applications
What’s New and Good
The suite life
Word
PowerPoint
Excel
Outlook
What’s New but Bad
Together, They’re Better
Chapter 3: Common Knowledge: Things That Work the Same in All Office Applications
Using Menus in Office Applications
Toolbars, Ribbons, and Palettes: Think “Visual” Menus
Traversing toolbars
Reveling in the Ribbon
Tinkering with the Toolbox
Customizing Toolbars, Menus, and Keyboard Shortcuts
Creating and Saving Documents
Using the Gallery to open templates or recent documents
Saving a document
Saving (And Using) Documents “In the Cloud”
Saving a file on a SkyDrive or SharePoint location
Sharing a file you’ve saved using SkyDrive or SharePoint
Opening a file you’ve saved on your SkyDrive or SharePoint location
What’s Your Preference? Understanding Application Preferences
Application preferences: Why?
Application preferences: How?
Help: It’s more than just a Beatles movie
Part II: Mastering
Chapter 4: Getting to Know Microsoft Word
Using a Variety of Versatile Views
Draft view
Print Layout view
Full Screen view
Notebook Layout and Publishing Layout views
Outline view
Web Layout view
Zoom, zoom, zoom
Getting Around in Your Document
A scroll new world: Navigating by using the mouse
Navigating by using keyboard navigation
Chapter 5: Processing Documents with Word
Adding Text and Graphics to Your Document
Entering text in your document
Inserting an image in your document
Selecting Text for Editing and Formatting
Formatting Text, Paragraphs, and Images
Changing the look of the font
Changing the look of paragraphs
Changing the look of images
Copying Words and Images from Other Sources
Dragging and dropping
Copying and pasting
Other Document Elements
Working with elements in your document
Chapter 6: Refining and Editing Documents with Word
Moving Text and Images in Your Documents
Moving items easily within a document
Using special Word features that make moving stuff easier
Check It Out: Checking Your Spelling, Grammar, and Hyphenation
Double-checking your spelling and grammar
Correcting your errors automatically with AutoCorrect
Hypnotic hyphenation
Discovering the Word Reference Tools
The thoroughly terrific thesaurus
The online reference tools
Saving Time with the Find and Replace Feature
Finding and replacing text
Using Find and Replace to make formatting changes
Using advanced search options to get even more done fast
Chapter 7: Going for the Designer Look: Using Templates and Other Design Elements
Canned Design: Working with Word Templates
Getting started with the Document Gallery
Sample project: Starting a custom invoice from a template
Customizing a Word template
Saving your customized template
Adding Basic Design Elements to Your Document
Imagine that: Adding and resizing an image
Moving images around documents
Creating headers and footers
Adding lines to your header or footer
Arranging text with some help from tabs
Setting Tabs, Margins, and Other Types of Indents
Setting tabs
Making your margins
Columns and Lists and Text Boxes (Oh, My)
Column creation
Lists made easy (and pretty)
Text anywhere with text boxes
Working with Tables
Creating a table
Formatting a table
Chapter 8: This and That: Advanced and Collaboration Features
Going in Style: Defining Styles for Easy Formatting
The easy way: Defining a style by example
The harder way: Defining a style by dialog
Customizing Toolbars, Menus, and Keyboard Shortcuts
Customizing toolbars and menus
Customizing keyboard shortcuts
Creating a Table of Contents Automatically
Using Collaboration Features
Addressing Envelopes and Creating Labels
Creating and printing an envelope
Creating labels
Creating Web Pages
Part III: Powerful Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint
Chapter 9: Getting to Know Microsoft PowerPoint
Viewing Slides with the Various Views
Normal view
Slide Sorter view
Slide Show view
Notes Page view
Presenter view
Planning Your Presentation: A Few Tips for Making Your Slide Shows Better
Use the 10/20/30 rule
Start with an outline
Chapter 10: Creating Slide Shows
Getting Started
Giving Your Presentation a Visual Theme
Using a theme “as is”
Customizing a theme’s colors or fonts
Using Labor-Saving Slide Layouts
Mastering Slide Masters
Working with title and text objects
Working with PowerPoint Objects
Formatting tables
Creating a chart
Get smart: Use SmartArt
More media: Adding images, movies, or sounds
Using Quick Styles and Effects
Aligning, arranging, and distributing objects
Chapter 11: Making Your Slide Shows Sing
Using Transitions to Create a Polished-Looking Presentation
Applying transitions
Transition options
Using Custom Animation
Animating text or graphics
Animating a chart or SmartArt graphic
Creating Interactivity with Action Buttons
Share and Share Alike
Printing hard copy
Exporting (saving) your presentations as files
Chapter 12: Presentation Mastery
Using the PowerPoint Tools for More Effective Slides
Working with the basic PowerPoint tools
Using hyperlinks
Recording narration
Making the Most of Your PowerPoint Presentation
Rehearsing and setting slide timings
Using the presenter tools
Working with a single display
Part IV: Crunching Data with Microsoft’s Most Excellent Excel
Chapter 13: Getting to Know Microsoft Excel
Interfacing with Excel’s User Interface
Understanding the Concept of Rows, Columns, and Cells
Using the Views
Navigating within Your Spreadsheets
Chapter 14: Crunching Numbers (And Data) with Excel
Working with Templates
Choosing a local template
Working with online templates
Entering, Formatting, and Editing Data in Cells
Copying and Pasting Data (And Formatting) Between Cells
AutoFilling Cells
Understanding Formulas and Functions
Creating a formula
Keeping track of Excel formulas with the Formula Builder
Using the Error Checking Feature
Sorting and Filtering Data
Sorting data
Using filters to narrow your data searches
Finding and Replacing Data
Chapter 15: Enhancing and Printing Your Excel Spreadsheets
Creating and Formatting Charts
Including Pictures and Shapes
Adding Formatting and Special Effects
Creating and Sorting Custom Lists
Creating a custom list
Sorting a list
Adding Headers and Footers
Creating a header or footer
Editing a header or footer
Printing Your Spreadsheets
Preparing for printing with Page Setup
Ready, set, print
Chapter 16: Advanced Spreadsheeting
Customizing Excel
Preferences
Toolbars and menus
Conditional Formatting
Naming a Cell Range
Working with Multiple Worksheets
Hyperlinking
Collaboration and Revision Tracking (a.k.a. Change Tracking)
Sharing a workbook
Tracking your changes
Accepting and rejecting your changes
Part V: Microsoft Outlook: Miraculous Manager of Most Things
Chapter 17: Getting to Know Outlook
Taking a Quick Tour of Outlook
The Mail module
The Contacts module
The Calendar module
The Notes and Tasks modules
Chapter 18: Outlook Online
Setting Up Outlook for E-Mail
Setting up your e-mail automatically
Setting up your e-mail account manually
Sending, Receiving, and Managing Your E-Mail
Creating and sending messages
Receiving messages
Dealing with junk mail
Managing your e-mail
Chapter 19: Managing Your Affairs with Outlook
Managing Your Crew with the Contacts Module
Adding and removing contacts
Working with contacts
Delving into the Home tab
Scheduling Events with the Calendar
Understanding Notes
Tracking Progress with the Tasks Module
Chapter 20: Getting Advanced with Outlook
Customizing: It’s Not Just for Hot Rods Anymore
Tweakin’ the toolbar and reducin’ the Ribbon
Fine-Tuning Your Outlook Layout
Concentrating on columns
Hiding and showing interface elements
The fast way to start an Advanced Search
What’s Your Preference?
Colonel Parker, meet General Preferences
Roll over, Beethoven, and catch the E-Mail preferences
Everything but the Kitchen Sync
Part VI: The Part of Tens
Chapter 21: Ten Things in Office 2011 That Didn’t Fit Elsewhere
My Day
Microsoft Messenger
Clip Gallery
Free Online Content for Clip Gallery
Holidays on Your Calendar
Play Windows Media Files Free
Official Microsoft Web Sites
The Database Utility (For Outlook)
A Multitude of Fonts
Microsoft Communicator
Chapter 22: Ten Timesaving Shortcuts and Tips for Enhanced Productivity
Memorize Keyboard Shortcuts
Get to Know Your Preferences
Save a Document As a PDF File
Save Time by Using the Share⇒E-Mail (As Attachment) Menu Item
Save Time and Effort with Automator Work Flows
Use the Open Recent Feature to Open Items from the Dock
Get Help
Use the Format Painter
Choose the Notebook Layout for Lectures (Word Only)
Don’t Forget Your Free SkyDrive
Chapter 23: Ten Ways to Customize Office
Make Your Toolbars and Menus Work Harder for You
Hide the Standard Toolbar Completely
Modify Existing Toolbars
Modify Existing Menus
Create a New Toolbar for Frequently Used Commands
Deal with Frequently Used Documents
Remove Unused Keyboard Shortcuts
Change an Existing Keyboard Shortcut
Create a New Keyboard Shortcut
Create Your Own Templates
Cheat Sheet

Microsoft® Office 2011 for Mac® For Dummies®

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About the Author

Bob LeVitus, often referred to as “Dr. Mac,” has written nearly 60 popular computer books, including iPhone For Dummies, iPad For Dummies, Incredible iPad Apps For Dummies, and Incredible iPhone Apps For Dummies for Wiley Publishing, Inc.; Stupid Mac Tricks and Dr. Macintosh for Addison-Wesley; and The Little iTunes Book and The Little iDVD Book for Peachpit Press. His books have sold more than a million copies worldwide.

Bob has penned the popular Dr. Mac column for the Houston Chronicle for the past ten years and has been published in dozens of computer magazines over the past 16 years. His achievements have been documented in major media around the world. (Yes, that was him juggling a keyboard in USA Today a few years back!)

Bob is known for his expertise, trademark humorous style, and ability to translate techie jargon into usable and fun advice for regular folks. Bob is also a prolific public speaker, presenting more than 100 Macworld Expo training sessions in the U.S. and abroad, keynote addresses in three countries, and Macintosh training seminars in many U.S. cities. (He also won the Macworld Expo MacJeopardy World Championship three times before retiring his crown.)

Bob is considered one of the world’s leading authorities on Mac OS. From 1989 to 1997, he was a contributing editor/columnist for MacUser magazine, writing the Help Folder, Beating the System, Personal Best, and Game Room columns at various times.

In his copious spare time, Bob heads up a team of expert technical consultants who do nothing but provide technical help and training to Mac users, via telephone, e-mail, and/or our unique Internet-enabled remote control software, which allows them to see and control your Mac no matter where in the world you may be.

If you’re having problems with your Mac, you ought to give them a try. You’ll find them at www.boblevitus.com or 408-627-7577.

Prior to giving his life over to computers, LeVitus spent years at Kresser/Craig/ D.I.K. (a Los Angeles advertising agency and marketing consultancy) and its subsidiary, L & J Research. He holds a BS in Marketing from California State University.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my wife, Lisa, who taught me almost everything I know about almost everything I know except technology. And to my awesome kids, Allison and Jacob, who love Apple technology almost as much as I love them (my kids, not my Macs, iPhones, iPads, etc.).

Author’s Acknowledgments

Special thanks to the tireless teams at Microsoft and Edelman P.R. (you know who you are), who worked overtime to help me turn this book around in record time: I couldn’t have done it without you.

Thanks also to super-agent Carole McClendon, for deal-making and moral support, yet again. You’ve been my agent for over 21 years and you’re still the best.

Big-time thanks to the gang at Wiley — all of the editors, production, graphics, marketing, sales, and other personnel who worked tirelessly to make this book a success. You guys totally rock!

I’d also like to extend extra special thanks to Mark Chambers, for revising a number of chapters when I was juggling three books in production at once.

Thanks to my family and friends, for putting up with me during my all-too lengthy absences during this book’s gestation.

And last, but certainly not least, thanks to you, gentle reader, for buying this book.

Publisher’s Acknowledgments

We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development

Project Editor: Pat O’Brien

Acquisitions Editor: Bob Woerner

Copy Editor: Becky Whitney

Technical Editor: Dennis Cohen

Editorial Manager: Kevin Kirschner

Media Development Project Manager: Laura Moss-Hollister

Media Development Assistant Project Manager: Jenny Swisher

Media Development Associate Producers: Josh Frank, Marilyn Hummel, Douglas Kuhn, and Shawn Patrick

Editorial Assistant: Amanda Graham

Sr. Editorial Assistant: Cherie Case

Cartoons: Rich Tennant (www.the5thwave.com)

Composition Services

Project Coordinator: Patrick Redmond

Layout and Graphics: Joyce Haughey, S. D. Jumper

Proofreaders: Laura Bowman, Rebecca Denoncour, John Greenough

Indexer: Glassman Indexing Services

Publishing and Editorial for Technology Dummies

Richard Swadley, Vice President and Executive Group Publisher

Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher

Mary Bednarek, Executive Acquisitions Director

Mary C. Corder, Editorial Director

Publishing for Consumer Dummies

Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher

Composition Services

Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services

Introduction

You made the right choice twice: Office 2011 for Mac and this book.

Take a deep breath and get ready to have a rollicking good time. That’s right — this is a computer book, but it’s fun. What a concept! Whether you’re brand-spanking new to the Office suite or a grizzled old Office veteran, I guarantee that discovering the ins and outs of Office 2011 for Mac with this book is fun and easy.

About This Book

Why write a For Dummies book about Office 2011 for Mac? Well, Office 2011 for Mac is a big, somewhat complicated suite of productivity applications, so I made Office 2011 For Mac For Dummies a not-so-big, not-so-complicated book that shows you how to perform the most common tasks you’re likely to perform using Office 2011 for Mac, all without boring you to tears, confusing you, or poking you with sharp objects.

In fact, I think you’ll be so darned comfortable that I wanted the title to be Office 2011 For Mac without Discomfort, but the publisher wouldn’t let me. Apparently, we For Dummies authors have to follow some rules, and using For Dummies and Office 2011 For Mac in this book’s title are among them.

Speaking of dummies, remember that it’s just a word. I don’t think you’re dumb — quite the opposite! My second choice for this book’s title was Office 2011 For Mac For People Smart Enough to Know That They Need Help Using It, but you can just imagine what the Wiley folks thought of that. (“C’mon, that’s the whole point of the name!” they insisted. “Besides, it’s shorter this way.”)

Anyway, the book is chock-full of information and advice, explaining everything you need to know about Office 2011 for Mac in language you can understand — along with giving you timesaving tips, tricks, techniques, and step-by-step instructions, all served up in generous quantities.

Conventions Used in This Book

To get the most out of this book, you need to know how I do things and why. I use a few conventions in this book to make your life easier:

check.png When I want you to open an item on a menu, I write something like “Choose FileOpen,” which means, “Pull down the File menu and choose the Open command.”

check.png Stuff you’re supposed to type appears in bold type, like this.

check.png Sometimes an entire a sentence is in boldface, as you see when I present a numbered list of steps. In those cases, I leave the bold off what you’re supposed to type, like this.

check.png Web addresses and characters that appear onscreen are shown in a special monofont typeface, like this.

check.png For keyboard shortcuts, I write something like Command+A, which means to hold down the Command key (the one with the little pretzel or mac symbol on it) and then press the A key on the keyboard. If you see Command+Shift+A, you hold down the Command and Shift keys while pressing the A key. Again, for absolute clarity, I never refer to the Command key with the mac symbol, even though some keyboards display both symbols on that particular key.

Foolish Assumptions

Although I know what happens when you make assumptions, I’ve made a few, anyway. First, I assume that you, gentle reader, know nothing about using Office — beyond knowing what it is, that you want to use it, that you want to understand it without digesting an incomprehensible technical manual, and that you made the right choice by selecting this particular book.

And so, I do my best to explain each new concept in full and loving detail. Maybe that’s foolish, but — oh, well.

Oh, and I also assume that you can read. If you can’t, just ignore this paragraph.

How This Book Is Organized

Office 2011 for Mac For Dummies is divided into six parts. As you probably know, For Dummies books are designed to give you the information you need about a feature or task without having to read the book from cover to cover, so feel free to skip around and read the parts that interest you most. Here’s a summary of what the parts contain:

check.png Part I: Introduction to the Microsoft Office 2011 Suite: This first part amounts to basic training. Along the way, you can find out about the three different Office editions, how to install Office, and how to ensure that the version you use is always updated in a timely fashion.

check.png Part II: Mastering Microsoft Word: In this part, you discover everything you need to know about using spreadsheets. Just kidding. You get to know spreadsheets in Part IV, whereas in this part, I tell you lots of important stuff about processing words with Microsoft Word.

check.png Part III: Powerful Presentations with Microsoft PowerPoint: This part is all about letting it slide. I mean slide shows, of course. Microsoft PowerPoint is the Office application you use to create presentations, also known as slide shows. So, in Part III, you get the goods on PowerPoint and how to create great slide shows.

check.png Part IV: Crunching Data with Microsoft’s Most Excellent Excel: Microsoft Excel is the spreadsheet application of the Office suite, so of course, Part IV delves into the wonderful world of numbers — in rows, columns, formulas, and notebooks. Not only that, but this part shows you how to spiff up those numbers to make them look really pretty.

check.png Part V: Microsoft Outlook: Miraculous Manager of Most Things: In Part V, you meet the last of the Big Four applications in the Office suite: Microsoft Outlook. This virtual smorgasbord of functionality includes an e-mail client, address book, and appointment calendar, plus notes, tasks, a to-do list, and project managers.

check.png Part VI: The Part of Tens: Finally, “The Part of Tens” (which might have started life as a David Letterman rip-off) includes ten things you should know about that didn’t fit elsewhere in the book, plus ten timesaving shortcuts and ten ideas for customizing Office so that it works the way you want it to work.

Icons Used in This Book

Little round pictures (icons) appear to the left side of the text throughout this book. Consider these icons miniature road signs, telling you a little something extra about the subject at hand. Here’s what the different icons look like and what they all mean:

tip.eps Look for Tip icons to find the juiciest morsels: shortcuts, tips, and undocumented secrets about Office 2011 for Mac. Try them all; impress your friends!

remember.eps When you see this icon, you know that this particular morsel is something I think you should memorize (or at least write on your shirt cuff).

technicalstuff.eps Put on your propeller-head beanie and pocket protector; these tidbits include the truly geeky stuff. They’re certainly not required reading, but they must be interesting or informative or else I wouldn’t have wasted your time with them.

warning_bomb.eps Read these notes very, very, very carefully. (Did I say very?) Warning icons flag important information. Neither the author nor publisher is responsible if your Mac explodes or spews flaming parts because you ignored a Warning icon. (Just kidding — that type of catastrophe isn’t likely to happen.) Macs don’t explode or spew (with the exception of a few choice PowerBook 5300 machines, which don’t run Office 2011 for Mac, anyway). But I got your attention, didn’t I? I tell you again: Read the Warning notes very carefully.

rantrave.eps These icons represent my ranting or raving about a topic that either bugs me or makes me smile. When I’m ranting, imagine foam coming from my mouth. Rants are required to be irreverent or irrelevant, or both. I try to keep them short, more for your sake than for mine.

newin2011.eps Well, now, what could this icon possibly be about? Named by famous editorial consultant Mr. Obvious, this icon highlights all things new and different in Office 2011 for Mac.

Where to Go from Here

Go to a comfortable spot (preferably not far from a Mac) and look through this book.

In the first few chapters, I describe the basic everyday topics you need to understand in order to operate your Mac effectively. If you’re new to Macs and Office 2011 for Mac, start at Chapter 1.

Even though Office 2011 for Mac is somewhat different from previous versions, the discussion in the first part of this book is so basic that if you’ve been using Office awhile, you might think you know it all — and you might know most of it. But, hey! Not-so-old-timers need a solid foundation. So read what you need and skip the rest.

tip.eps I didn’t write this book for myself — I wrote it for you and would love to hear how it works for you. Please drop me a line or register your comments on the Wiley Online Registration Form at www.dummies.com.

You can send snail mail in care of Wiley Publishing, Inc., or send e-mail to me directly at Office2011@boblevitus.com. I appreciate your feedback, and I try to respond to all reasonably polite e-mail within a few days.

Does this book work for you? What do you like? What don’t you like? What questions are unanswered? Do you want to know more about something? Do you want to find out less about something? Tell me! I have received more than 100 suggestions about previous editions, most of which are incorporated here. So keep up the good work!

What are you waiting for? Go — enjoy the book!

Part I

Introduction to the Microsoft Office 2011 Suite

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In this part . . .

Wether you’re a longtime Office user or Office 2011 for Mac is your first experience with using an Office suite, you have to learn to crawl before you can walk (much less run).

In this part, you can start with a broad overview of the various versions of Office 2011 for Mac available for purchase and how to install and set them up. Then I briefly introduce you to the four major applications that comprise the Office suite. You can check out some features that are new or improved in the 2011 edition and take a quick look at how this quartet plays nicely together. Finally, you explore Office features that work the same way in all four applications, such as menus, toolbars, preferences, and help.

So get comfortable, roll up your sleeves, fire up your Mac if you like, and grab your Office 2011 for Mac install disc if you haven’t yet installed the software.

Chapter 1

Overview from 10,000 Feet

In This Chapter

arrow Deciding which of the three editions of Office for Mac 2011 to buy

arrow Installing Office 2011

arrow Getting set up using the Setup Assistant

arrow Removing Office 2011

Over the next several hundred pages, you can find out in detail about the applications that make up the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 suite. But first you must decide which version of the suite you want or need (there are three of ’em), acquire a copy of it, and then install it and find out how to update it to ensure that you’re always running the latest and greatest (not to mention most stable) version.

So, without further ado, dig in!

The Three Faces of Office for Mac 2011

Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 comes in three tasty flavors:

check.png Office for Mac Home and Student 2011

check.png Office for Mac Home and Business 2011

check.png Office for Mac Academic 2011

The three editions have this in common: All three have the exact same versions of the “big three” applications — Word, Excel, and PowerPoint — plus a copy of Microsoft Messenger (an instant messaging, or IM, program that you can download from the Microsoft Web site for free). The differences between the editions lie in which features you get in addition to the big three:

check.png Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011: The retail price is $119 for a single install or $149 for a Family Pack with three installs. As the least expensive edition, it includes the big three applications and Messenger and nothing more. Of course, many (if not most) users need nothing more, so unless you can find a compelling reason to spend two or three times more money for the same three applications, this edition is the most affordable.

Note that this edition does not include Microsoft Outlook. Outlook, sometimes called the “Swiss army knife of personal communications software,” combines an e-mail client with an address book, a calendar, to-do lists, and searchable notes in a single application.

tip.eps Unless you dislike the Mail, Address Book, and iCal applications that are included with Mac OS X, you probably won’t miss Outlook much. And, if you’re a student or a staff or faculty member in higher education, you may qualify for the $99 single-install Academic edition, which does include Outlook. (See the third bullet1 in this list.)

check.png Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011: The retail price is $199 for a single install or $279 for a Multi-Pack with two installs. What do you get for the additional dough? In two words: Microsoft Outlook.

What’s that, you say? You don’t know whether you need Outlook? Well then, I suggest that you save yourself a bundle and start with the Home and Student Edition. If you later determine that you do need Microsoft Outlook, you can upgrade to the Home and Business edition online.

check.png Microsoft Office for Mac Academic 2011: The retail price is $99 but is available only to higher-education students, staff, and faculty. This edition includes everything in the Home and Business edition (including Microsoft Outlook) at half the price. But in this case you have to prove that you’re in the field of higher education.

So there you have it — three editions for three budgets.

By the way, you don’t have to prove you’re a student (or live in a home) to purchase the Home and Student edition for $119, but you have to prove that you’re in the field of higher education to get the Academic edition for $99. The bottom line: For most users, the Home and Student edition is the most cost-effective way to acquire the big three Office applications.

Installing Office 2011

When you insert the Office 2011 DVD, you launch the Office Installer by double-clicking it.

9780470878699-ma101.tif The first screen you see is Welcome to the Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 Installer, which informs you that in order to install Microsoft Office, you need the username and password for an Administrator account on this Mac. If you have no Administrator account and password handy, it would behoove you to get one now.

This screen also recommends that you temporarily disable any virus protection applications on this computer before you continue. That’s a good idea, so if you’re running any antivirus software, disable it before you proceed or else it can interfere with your installation.

When you have both of the aforementioned ducks in a row (you have an Administrator account name and password and have disabled all antivirus software), click the Continue button.

The second screen displays the license terms. Because you must accept these terms to use the software, you should read every word before you even think about clicking the Continue button.

technicalstuff.eps I’m only half kidding — I know that nobody reads the licensing information. But because you’re about to enter into a legally binding agreement, I would be remiss not to at least pretend to urge you to read every word.

When you’re done reading, click the Continue button. A sheet with three buttons — Agree, Disagree, and Read License — appears. Assuming that you’ve read the agreement already, I strongly suggest that you click Agree. If you haven’t read the agreement, click the Read License button to return to the second screen, where you can read the fine print. Or, if you read it and disagree, click the Disagree button and the Installer quits. In other words, unless you specify that you agree, you can’t install the software.

The next screen, labeled Select a Destination, lets you choose the destination disk for the software installation. Click the hard disk icon in the middle of the window to select the disk you want to install the software on, and then click Continue.

The next screen is labeled Standard Install on [your hard drive’s name] at the top. The Microsoft Office 2011 folder is installed in your Applications folder by default. If you want to install the Office folder elsewhere, click the Change Install Location button and select another destination.

Before you click the Install button, click the Customize button and deselect any items you don’t want to install.

tip.eps If you’re short on disk space, consider not installing some of the proofing tools. By default, all languages (including Catalan, Dutch, Finnish, German, two flavors of Portuguese, and more) are installed. To save some disk space, first click the little triangle to the left of the words Microsoft Office 2011 to reveal its contents, and then click the little triangle to the left of the words Proofing Tools. Finally, deselect the check boxes for the languages you don’t need. If you don’t install these languages, you don’t save a ton of disk space, but why install them if you’re never going to use them?

Now click the Install button to open an authentication window so that you can provide an administrator name and password. Do so and then click OK. Go get yourself some coffee or a soft drink — you have a bit of time.

When the installation is complete, the screen informs you that the installation was successful and the software was installed. D’oh. Click the Close button and the Office Setup Assistant launches itself.

Setting Up with Setup Assistant

The Welcome to Office for Mac 2011 screen appears with the following three options:

check.png Enter Your Product Key: Click this option and then type your product key, which you can find in the box with your installation disc. When you’re done, click the Continue button to see a screen acknowledging that your copy has been activated. Your product ID number also appears on this screen with the suggestion that you store it with your records because you’ll need it in order to register or obtain technical support.

tip.eps If you forget the product ID number or fail to write it down and “keep it with your records,” you can find it in the About dialog box for Excel, PowerPoint, or Word.

check.png Try Free for 30 Days: If you have a demo version of Office for Mac 2011, click this option to use the software without a product key for as long as 30 days.

check.png Purchase a Product Key Online: Click this option and follow the onscreen instructions to purchase a product key on the Web.

At this point, you may or may not see a screen congratulating you or encouraging you to enjoy the demo, or telling you something entirely different. Click Continue.

A screen offers to either use your existing settings (from an earlier version of Office for Mac) or create new settings. Click an option and then click Continue.

Next is the Keep Office Up to Date screen, which offers two simple yes-or-no options: Keep Office for Mac Up to Date and Join the Customer Experience Improvement Program. Respond to both and then click Continue.

Before you complete this action, though, read this tip:

tip.eps The DVD you just installed Office 2011 from was manufactured several months ago (or longer). In the meantime, Microsoft may have discovered bugs in the software and issued software updates to correct them. I recommend that you click Yes. Office then runs the AutoUpdate application periodically and updates your software when necessary. That way, you always receive the benefits of updated software, which generally increase reliability and enhance performance and even, occasionally, add a new feature or functionality. If you choose Yes, you can specify that Office should check for updates every day, week, or month.

warning_bomb.eps If you choose not to run AutoUpdate at this time or you click the Manually button, don’t forget to run the Microsoft AutoUpdate application manually every few weeks by choosing HelpCheck for Updates in any of the Office applications.

The second option determines whether you want to participate in the Microsoft Customer Experience Improvement Program. Office then occasionally sends information about your hardware and how you use Office (as well as information on crashes, freezes, and unexpected shutdowns) to Microsoft via the Internet. No personal information is sent; it’s totally anonymous. Click the radio button for Yes or No, and then click the Continue button.