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MICROSOFT PUPLISHER 2007
by Dorothy Alexnader

Software Created by:
Microsoft Corporation
One Microsoft Way
Redmond, WA 98025

Price (full version): $249.95 Cdn.. (@ Staples)

System Requirements:
500 MHz or faster processor
256 MB RAM
1.5 GB space on hard drive CD-ROM or DVD drive
1024 x 768 or higher resolution monitor
Microsoft Windows XP with service pack 2 - or - MS Windows 2003 with service pack 1
Internet access

Since I am reviewing this product I decided to do the review in one of the templates that is in the program. Microsoft Office Publisher 98, is the last publisher that I used, and I found that there were a lot of changes and additions/improvements in the 2007 version.


Since I needed some new business cards, that was my first project. There are lots of templates from which to choose. It was relatively simple to import a photo and make the changes that I wanted in a very short length of time. I was able to print a whole sheet of business cards on an 8.5" x 11" sheet.

My next attempt was making a calendar. To my surprise, all the information from the business card, had been posted to the template that I chose. So I now have matching documents! What else do I need? A brochure to advertise an upcoming showing of my product - right! Once again all the necessary information was already in the chosen template. All I had to do was import the photo and add the date, time and place of the show.

Now this got me to thinking long range. I produce a Christmas joke, hint, puzzle book for the holidays for close friends and family members. How will this work for this project? This publication template, that I am using for this review, would work well.

Aside from my requirements I believe this desktop publishing application would meet most small business requirements. MS Publisher could work nicely for our SCUG newsletter with over 600 template choices plus mega clip art. There is a new Search tool to quickly locate and preview templates. More templates are available on the web site.

For home applications you can make your own greeting cards for Easter, Christmas, Thank You and even postcards.

One of the new features is the Content Library. By saving bits and pieces of frequently used text and graphics, you can pull them into other publications rather than opening and closing multiple locations to collect the articles that you need. You can save any project that you made in Publisher and organize them by categories.

Publisher 2007 also has a Graphics Manager. Thumbnails are displayed to the right or left of your work area for easy access. No need to go find them the next time you need to use them.

Publisher has Design Checker which you can run to identify and fix common errors.

The Microsoft site has a very good tutorial on Publisher which gives you a heads up on the software.

There is a spellchecker, thesaurus and proofreader in Publisher. It also supports HTML. It offers a database for mailing purposes and tools for email and web-based marketing for the small businesses. I have touched on but a few of the features that MS Publisher 2007 offers you.

When I get some free time (yes, that is a joke) I plan to investigate the paper folding projects. That looks like fun. I could go on and on with what this software can do but I have restricted space so I will end with why not download a trial version. at the MS site and see what you can do?

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Office 2007-The Missing Manual

Book Review
OFFICE 2007
Title-Office 2007-The Missing Manual
Author-Chris Grover, Matthew MacDonald, and E.A. Vander Vee
Published by-Pogue Press, Oâ?TREILLY
1005 Gravenstein Highway North, Sebastopol, CA 95472
Printed April 2007 First Edition
Cost $45.99 cdn

The book OFFICE 2007 has 34 chapters, five Appendixes. It is divided into four parts;
Part One: Word 2007
Part Two: Excel 2007
Part THREE: Power Point 2007
Part Four: Access 2007

The five Appendices include,
A: Customizing the Quick Access Tool Bar,
B: Getting Help: Index Word 2007: Index Excel 2007:
Index PowerPoint 2007: and
Index Access 2007. In total the book has 853 pages.

From the above you can see that Office 2007 The Missing Manual has a tremendous amount of information. If I was to go through this manual methodically to ensure that Vista will or can do all that the manual says that it should, before I was 50 per cent finished I would have forgotten most that I first read and no doubt be referring back many times to earlier pages.
My original approach was to carry out a significant sample to ascertain to my satisfaction that Vista will do as the manual states and report on how useful the manual can be.
When I got to page 200 I began to realize that the book was more than anything that I have experienced before. It is a text book which in detail takes the user through the many steps required to carry out the program such as Word. It in detail, outlines, for example, how to set tabs, margins, select fonts, etc. The use of bullets, hyphens are described. In Excel formatting cells is described, formulas are reviewed, and I could go on and on about the different items covered. What I am trying to say is that this is a text book and not a filler to just increase your knowledge on word, excel, and power point. It is a text you could teach from. It is four text books in one.
Access 2007 is all about how to create a Data Base. For the novice Data Base creator, Access 2007 takes you to the beginning and goes thru the steps required to create a simple Data Base, for example, your telephone numbers, or your addresses and how to update them as changes occur. From the simple Data Base, Access 2007 continues to describe more complicated Data Bases.
There are times when the book is not easy to follow. On a number of occasions I had to refer back or forward a few pages in order to accomplish the next step. In a number of places I encountered, for example, go to page 509 for the full scoop? and I was on page 505, or I would be directed to another chapter in order to clarify a point. Maybe I was expecting too much and would like to â?obe babiedâ?.
I have heard someone comment that they did not care how Microsoft has laid out Word 2007. I am sure I would hear similar comments on Power Point, and even Excel. What this book is trying to do is teach you on how to use the many items that Microsoft has included in their program which you did not have in Word 2000 or 2003.
I cannot comment on whether Word 2007, for example, is better or worse than Word 2000 or 2003, but in my opinion the book Office 2007 The Missing Manual, does an excellent job in making you familiar on how to use the four programs it covers. Even if you have never used the programs before.
I believe that this book, Word 2007, The Missing Manual, is a must for users such as me that use the four mentioned programs on occasion.
Bill Colotelo
SCUG Vice President

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