At the first sight Word 2007 might seem completely different program from Word 2003. But in reality, it's the same program with very same features with some non-essentials added.

What's different in 2007, and can be very unsettling to many, is the interface. Those same features are invoked in a very different way in 2007.

I will admit, it's terribly annoying to look for something, and not finding it where you are used to find it in the earlier versions of Word. You want to head straight for Microsoft in search for the responsible! How could they? After I became so proficient in Word, to rip the carpet from underneath my feet.. I know, I know.... but before you do this, please take a moment. What helped me, is accepting the fact that 2007 looks very different. If one starts resisting it, it will cause much anger and frustration (read negative comments in reviews above). The fact remains- Word 2003 is not coming back.

I've been a fan of this series for many years. This one did not disappoint me. I like the book's to-the-point attitude, its organization. I like the fact that you don't have to read a lot to get a lot. It does not have For Dummies books' silly "hysterical" titles, useless wordiness and its cheap environmentally-friendly paper. With this one, you will find what you are looking for and the book will break it for you into manageable steps.

I found that it's intended for people who already know the essentials of Word and are pretty comfortable with them (from working the previous versions).The child-like colors and cute pictures can deceive one into thinking that Word is a synch and this one is for a complete beginner. It's not at all. This is a reference, foremost, with pictures to quickly locate a familiar feature (mail merge, tables, formatting)-this book is the best way to achieve this.

I believe, the problem with many reviewers who despised this book is the mismatch in their expectations and the book's intentions. They mistook the colorful nature and it's size to mean that its for a beginner. Instead, they find out that this book will require some time to comprehend even though it's made out mostly of pictures.

In case you've never touched Word before, this is definitely not a good book for you. You'll need something easy and step by step. And it will take some time learning this powerful software.

To sum this up: this one is for someone who is familiar with the most features, someone who, for example, does not need to learn what a mail merge is, but needs to access the mail merge in 2007.

Good luck!

This book has been very useful as the transition to Word 2007 was undertaken. The folks at Microsoft took what many of us have used for 20+ years and shuffled all the commands around in almost random directions. Thus trying to print an envelope was a task, as was formatting numbering on section heads.

Unlike the big "fat" books, which go on forever, this book, and the others in the series, take the approach of visually showing you where the folks in Redmond hid the stuff you had used for decades. Thus you can use the index, go to the page, look at the picture and now you see where they hid table sorting, or adjusting the width of tables, or how to modify the table of contents so it included five sections and not three!

The books features are simple:

1. It has a good index, especially if you are an experienced office user

2. It explains simply and uses the picture, because all you want as an experienced user is to find the command the folks in Redmond so elegantly hid.

3. The material is collected in a logical format and you frequently come away with several added tips, and possibly some new insight

This book is a God send for the experienced user who does not want to read through dozens of pages of words, for the user who really knows what they want and how it works, just show mw where it is. Good Job!

The author makes some assumptions about you already having Windows Vista and says you can use the book with Windows XP but I found that awkward to say the least. I got another help book that is much better.

Thank you very much.

This book claims that it's a let's-git'er-done but it's not. It's more like a conversation with a knowledgeable person who refuses to tell you anything concrete for the most part and you're left with an awful taste in your mouth afterwards.
There are better books out there...Inside Out and Step by Step come to mind.

I don't know how this book got the good reviews it has received - - friends of the author? relatives? - - but it is terrible. It provides virtually no useful information for those of us struggling to go from previous Word versions to the truly different and extremely difficult Word 2007. You would think that is what this book would be about. It is not. Microsoft Office Word 2007 Plain & Simple may be plain and may be simple, but it is not informative.

Very helpful book with all color pages which really makes reviewing items easier.