Suzanne
Sun Feb 26 10:58:06 CST 2006
Just in case you do come back, here are a few pointers:
> Next I went to the 'go to' section in the 'edit' menu. A window popped up
> and asked me to enter a page number. Now, this is no good if your
document
> changes size constantly, such as when writing a book or long report. Why
> couldn't I just go to the last page? My old Lotus software can do it. I
> rang a friend and he told me that there is a control key which enables you
to
> go to the end of a document. I thought to myself, I don't want to have to
> remember a lot of control codes in order to use this software, it should
all
> be in the menu.
Ctrl+End takes you to the end of the document, Ctrl+Home to the beginning.
These are pretty standard Windows shortcuts that work in most applications.
Shift+F5 will take you to the last place you were editing when you saved the
document. You can also quickly scroll through the document (even all the way
to the end) by dragging the thumb button on the vertical scroll bar.
Moreover, using the Browse buttons at the bottom of the scroll bar, you can
advance (or retreat) through the document by section, heading, table,
graphic, footnote, endnote, etc.
> Then I thought, oh well, I'd better try the macro facility. There I found
> that there was a dearth of features compared to my old software. You
> couldn't even set a startup macro.
The VBA macro language in Word is very powerful; if you learn VBA you can
automate documents in ways beyond belief (for starters, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/VBABasicsIn15Mins.htm). But you can also
create macros with the recorder (see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/UsingRecorder.htm). If you want a macro
to run at Word startup, you name it AutoExec. Other "auto" macros are
AutoNew, which runs when you create a new document based on the template the
macro is saved in; AutoOpen, which runs when you open a document based on
the template; AutoClose, which runs when you close such a document; and
AutoExit, which runs at Word shutdown.
> I then had a look at the icons. There must have been all of thirty of
them.
> In Lotus you get a few hundred.
Not sure what you mean by icons. If you mean toolbar buttons, have a look at
the All Commands list in Tools | Customize. If you're talking about the
selection of button faces available through Change Button Image, yes, there
are only 42, and they are mostly pretty dorky, but you can copy/paste any
available button image (for a complete selection, see
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/MacrosVBA/CustomButtonFaces.htm), and you can also
create your own with the Button Editor.
As for reference books, I'm not sure where you got the idea that they would
be included with Word or where you found the dictionary with French and
English words interspersed (I've never seen such a thing). Works Suite
(which includes Word 2002) does include the Encarta encyclopedia, but Word
depends on online reference sources. Word is intended to be a word
processing application, not a reference tool.
It's unfortunate that you just threw away your copy of Word 2003. Your local
library or favorite charity would have been very grateful to receive it.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site:
http://word.mvps.org
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all may benefit.
<rover@woof.arf.com> wrote in message
news:71D1EF44-20AA-41C4-B78F-ADF12C12D04E@microsoft.com...
> When I bought my last computer, (the one before this one,) it came with
Lotus
> Word Pro '97. I found this to be a very robust program and have been
using
> it all this time. Recently, however, I decided that it was time to get
> something new. I'd heard a lot about Microsoft Word 2003, (you can't help
> hearing about it everywhere,) and I bought a copy. I wish I hadn't.
>
> The first thing I did, when I loaded the program, was to look at the
> reference books. I found an english thesaurus, that was good. And then
> there were about another six thesaurusi in different languages, and that
was
> it. There were no marvelous reference books, which was the subject of
much
> of the sell on the back of the box. Looking further, I found that there
was
> no english dictionary. I found a bilingual dictionary which had french
text
> interspersed with english. In order to use this dictionary, I had to
> constantly sift out french phrases in order to concentrate on the english
> text. I found this psychologically irritating in the extreme.
>
> Next I went to the 'go to' section in the 'edit' menu. A window popped up
> and asked me to enter a page number. Now, this is no good if your
document
> changes size constantly, such as when writing a book or long report. Why
> couldn't I just go to the last page? My old Lotus software can do it. I
> rang a friend and he told me that there is a control key which enables you
to
> go to the end of a document. I thought to myself, I don't want to have to
> remember a lot of control codes in order to use this software, it should
all
> be in the menu.
>
> Then I thought, oh well, I'd better try the macro facility. There I found
> that there was a dearth of features compared to my old software. You
> couldn't even set a startup macro.
>
> I then had a look at the icons. There must have been all of thirty of
them.
> In Lotus you get a few hundred.
>
> I then got so fed up that I uninstalled Word 2003 and took it back to PC
> World. They wouldn't accept it back. As I walked from the store I
thought
> to myself. What to do with it? Should I try to sell it on Ebay? No, I
> thought, too much time, energy and hassle. Should I give the program to
> somebody I knew. I could think of no-one. I thought for a moment and
then
> chucked it in the nearest bin! As I walked on, I knew that that meant
that I
> was left with my old software to use. But I felt light hearted and happy.
I
> was shut of something I just didn't want. It was worth paying two hundred
> pounds just to shove that pile of over hyped, over priced, software drivel
in
> the bin!
>
> My last words, on this forum, are - beware. You probably don't know what
a
> shabby service you have received from Microsoft unless you have something
to
> compare it with. Also beware of Microsoft moles who come on after me only
to
> sing the praises of Microsoft Word.
>
> I won't be returning to this forum. I only came here, briefly, in order
to
> write this entry. I won't be reading the replies. Good luck.