| Getting Started with Microsoft Word Book an open course in Microsoft Word with the content sorted later. 1 Contact us to book 2 Pay ($225) |  Pay here |
These Masterclasses are my take on Word and how to get the best out of it with the least effort. I’ve used and taught Word since it’s inception as a Word Perfect clone – Word for DOS – in the pre-Windows days of flipping floppies and 640×480 CRT’s. Yeah, that old!
I am here to help you on your way, suggest pointers on what to avoid and provide foundationing for you to capture the feel of Word. Mastering Word isn’t about memorising sequences, it’s getting in the head-space of the nerds that bolted it together from Visual BASIC (a mutant spawn of programmers with low people skills with a penchant for linear sequences.
The short take is that despite many makeovers, Word is still a clunky beast. Effective, powerful and efficient but a beast nonetheless.
So now you’ve had a giggle, let’s move on…
Microsoft Word, the mainstay of serious editors, really?
Actually, has it ever been, outside of Redmond? Well, yes, no and whatever; depending upon which camp you sit in. You can do wonders with Word, so long as you take the time to understand its quirks and stay away from inherent dangers whilst pushing limits.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan – have been since Word 2 was released (there was no Word 1, Word 2 was released with the second iteration of Microsoft’s flagship; Excel). It’s an impressive program (the app is another story). It’s a masterful authoring tool, can be a decent desktop publisher and has many features that make life as an author or editor easier and productive.
If you want flexibilty in layout, exacting precision in copy then Microsoft Word is still ‘it’.
But is it a dinosaur, has it had its run, is it now outmatched by rival online apps?
No, not really. It still holds its own space, unrivalled. But there are alternatives that do a good job and don’t require an everlasting subscription. Some are golden oldies like Adobe In Design (not so much an alternative really, but a dedicated suite for professional publication), others are clones like Open Office (quite good actually). Then you have eBook editors, defaults apps that come with various systems and specialist editors within Content Management Systems (CMS’s).
So what can I teach you about Word that you can’t find with a quick Google? There are heaps of YouTube vids, uncounted articles, cheat sheets, tutorials and books. Technical help abounds, so go get it! Really! I’ll actually point you towards these things in our MasterClass. It’s not about me, it’s about you and how you can move on. I’m just the launchpad, you don’t need a tether.
What I do here is to gather essential core skills and pass them on.
Courses
- Getting Started with Word
Never used Word before? Well this one is for you, a gentle introduction to Word basics and what you can accomplish - Basic Skills and Techniques
You are somewhat familiar with Word already. You have used it here and there and know a few things. I’m here to help you move on with Word and to bring it all together so that you can use Word as its designed to be used, effectively and efficiently integrating Word features to get the job done - Word Management
An understanding of Word management will help you to avoid document corruption, odd behaviours and missing information.
You are familiar with Word, actually you know quite a bit. But now your documents are being used by others or need to be set to organisational guides or standards. Let’s bring it all together so that you can manage Word so as to minimise disruption and fuss.
- Style Basics and Management
An understanding of Word Styles will help you to be more effective, productive and efficient. Styles management will enable you to mix and match your goodies from one document to another.
You are familiar with Word, actually you know quite a bit. But you have a lot on your p[late and need to automate, consolidate and manage the look and feel of documents to a certain level of consistency, perhaps even organisational guides or standards. Let’s bring it all together so that you can manage Word effectively and efficiently..
- Using Word Features Effectively
Work with a range of documents, formatting techniques and table features. Work with Headers, Footers, Layout and References. You are familiar with Word, actually you know quite a bit, but it’s not enough…
- Working with Graphics
Work with Graphics – Pictures and Shapes – to enhance your documents. Explore cropping, sizing, reducing and reformatting graphics using a variety of tools, including Windows Snipping Tool, Snagit and Photoshop.
You are familiar with Word, actually you know quite a bit. But you have a lot on your p[late and need to automate, consolidate and manage the look and feel of documents to a certain level of consistency, perhaps even organisational guides or standards. Let’s bring it all together so that you can manage Word effectively and efficiently..
- Recipient Lists and MailMerge
So you need to manage lists and get a bunch of personalised letters out? No probs, it’s easily done, using internal lists as well as linked data from other sources. - Complex Documents
This course is for experienced Word users. It assumes that you are more than comfortable using Word and are happy to ‘get under the hood’ and poke around at the engine a bit. We look at Tables of Content, indexing, referencing, collaborative work, commenting and tracking changes.
You have a lot to pack in to your documents and want to make the reader experience a good one.
- Building Blocks, Master Documents and Working Collaboratively
This course is for experienced Word users. It assumes that you are more than comfortable using Word and are happy to ‘get under the hood’ and poke around at the engine a bit. We look at Building Blocks and Master Documents and Comparing Documents.
You have a lot to pack in to a lot of documents and want to minimise mistakes and duplication. Some of those documents may be authored by others and you’re simply collating them into a master volume.
- Open Class
We negotiate the learning outcomes ahead of time and re-check at the start of each session to ensure that participants are onboarded and engaged.Open Class with Microsoft Word
An open session where learning is experiental.
Choose parts from the courses listed above, or
we can help you along with a Needs Analysis.
1 Contact us to book
2 Pay ($225)
Book hereContact us to book, then follow the links to PayPal to secure it
We monitor and adjust to keep learning flexible.
Create - Manage - Produce 