The Exploring series helps students master the "How and Why" of performing tasks in Office to gain a greater understanding of how to use the individual applications together to solve business problems. Exploring titles feature “Perfect pages” where every step of every hands-on exercise as well as every end-of-chapter problem begins on a new page and has its own screen shot to make it easier to follow. Each chapter contains Hands-on Exercises, Capstone Exercises, and Mini-Cases for practicing and reviewing skills acquired. Exploring Microsoft Office 2007 Brief,1/e contains an introductory and proficiency-gaining chapter on Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint. Ideal for students and individuals seeking a concise introduction to Office 2007 applications.

Microsoft Office Word 2007

    Chapter 1 - What Will Word Processing Do for Me?

    Section 1 Introduction to Word Processing

        Understanding Word Basics

        Using AutoText

        Viewing a Document

        Using the Mini Toolbar

            Hands-On Exercise #1:  Introduction to Microsoft Word

    Section 2 Document Formatting

        Setting Margins and Specifying Page Orientation

        Inserting Page Breaks

        Adding Page Numbers

        Inserting Headers and Footers

        Creating Sections

        Inserting a Cover Page

        Using Find and Replace Commands

            Hands-On Exercise #2: Document Organization

    Section 3 The Final Touches

        Checking Spelling and Grammar

        Using Save and Backup Options

        Selecting Printing Options

        Customizing Word

            Hands-On Exercise #3: The Final Touches

    Summary

    Key Terms

    Practice Exercises

    Mid-Level Exercises

   Capstone Exercise

    Mini Cases

Chapter 2 - Gaining Proficiency: Editing and Formatting

    Section 1 Text Formatting

        Applying Font Attributes Through the Font Dialog Box

        Highlighting Text

        Controlling Word Wrapping with Nonbreaking Hyphens and Nonbreaking Spaces

        Copying Formats with the Format Painter

            Hands-on exercise #1: Character Formatting

    Section 2 Paragraph Formats

        Setting Off Paragraphs with Tabs, Borders, Lists, and Columns

        Applying Paragraph Formats

            Hands-on exercise #2: Paragraph formatting

    Section 3 Styles and Document References

        Creating and Modifying Styles

            Hands-on exercise #3: Styles

        Table of Contents and Indexes

            Hands-on exercise #4: Reference Pages

    Summary

    Key Terms

    Practice Exercises

    Mid-Level Exercises

    Capstone Exercise

    Mini Cases

Microsoft Office Excel 2007

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Excel

    Section 1: Introduction to Spreadsheets

        Defining Worksheets and Workbooks

        Using Spreadsheets Across Disciplines

        Planning for Good Workbook and Worksheet Design

        Identifying Excel Window Components

        Entering and Editing Data in Cells

            Hands-On Exercise #1:  Introduction to Microsoft Excel

    Section 2: Mathematics and Formulas

        Describing and Using Symbols and the Order of Precedence

        Displaying Cell Formulas

        Inserting and Deleting Rows and Columns

        Using Cell Ranges, Excel Move, Copy, Paste and Paste Special, and AutoFill

            Hands-On Exercise #2:  Jakes Gym Continued

    Section 3: Workbook and Worksheet Enhancements

        Managing Worksheets

        Formatting Worksheets

            Hands-On Exercise #3: Formatting Jake's Gym Worksheet

    Section 4: Page Setup and Printing

        Selecting Page Setup Options for Printing

        Managing Cell Comments

            Hands-On Exercise #4: Printing Jake's Gym Worksheet

    Summary

    Key Terms

    Multiple Choice

    Practice Exercises

    Mid-Level Exercises

    Capstone Exercise

    Mini Cases

Chapter 2 - Microsoft Excel: Formulas and Functions 

    Section 1: Formula Basics         

        Creating and Copying Formulas  

        Using Relative and Absolute Cell Addresses        

            Hands-On Exercise #1:  Smithtown Hospital Radiology Department Payroll           

    Section 2: Function Basics        

        Using AutoSum

        Inserting Basic Statistical Functions       

        Using Date Functions    

            Hands-On Exercise #2:  Completing the Smithtown Hospital Radiology Department

    Section 3: Logical and Lookup Functions

        Using the IF Function

        Using the VLOOKUP Function

            Hands-On Exercise #3:  Athletic Department Eligibility Gradebook

    Section 4: Financial Functions   

        Using the PMT Function

        Using the FV Function   

            Hands-On Exercise #4: Purchasing a Van for the School for Exceptional Children  

    Summary         

    Key Terms       

    Multiple Choice 

    Practice Exercises        

    Mid-Level Exercises      

    Capstone Exercise        

    Mini Cases

Microsoft Access 2007

Chapter 1 - Introduction to Access: Finding Your Way through a Database

    Section 1: Data and Files Everywhere!

        Exploring, Describing, and Navigating Among the Objects in an Access Database

        Understanding the Difference Between Working in Storage and Memory

        Practicing Good File Management

        Backing up, Compacting, and Repairing Access Files

            Hands-On Exercises 1 Introduction to Databases

    Section 2: Filters, Sorts, and Access Versus Excel

        Creating Filters

        Sorting Table Data on One or More Fields

        Knowing When to Use Access or Excel  to Manage Data

            Hands-On Exercises 2: Data Manipulation: Filters and Sorts

    Section 3: The Relational Database

        Using the Relationship Window

        Understanding Relational Power

            Hands-On Exercises 3: Introduction to Relationships

    Summary

    Key Terms

    Multiple Choice

    Practice Exercises

    Mid-Level Exercises

    Capstone Exercise

    Mini Cases

Chapter 2 - Relational Databases and Multi-Table Queries: Designing Databases and Using

    Section 1: Related Data

        Table Design, Properties, Views, and Wizards

        Designing Data

        Creating Tables

            Hands-On Exercises 1: Table Design, Properties, Views, and Wizards

    Section 2: Multiple Table Database

        Understanding Table Relationships

        Sharing Data with Excel

        Establishing Table Relationships

            Hands-on Exercises 2: Imports and Relationships

    Section 3: Queries

        Creating a Query

        Specifying Criteria for Different Data Types

        Copying and Running a Query

        Using the Query Wizard

        Understanding Large Database Differences

            Hands-On Exercises 3: Multi-Table Query

    Summary

    Key Terms

    Multiple Choice

    Practice Exercises

    Mid-Level Exercises

    Capstone Exercise

    Mini Cases

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Chapter 1 - Introduction to PowerPoint

        Purpose of PowerPoint Presentations

        Understanding the PowerPoint Interface

        Creating a Basic Slide Show

        Running a Slide Show

        Page Setup

        Printing with PowerPoint

            Hands-on Exercises 1-4

            Capstone Exercise

            Mini-Cases 1-3

            (Content Application, Disaster Recovery, Research)

    Chapter 2 - Developing a Presentation

        Planning Process

        AutoContent Wizard

        Outline Tab

        Import Outlines

        Animate Text

        Print Outline

        Export Outline to Word

        Headers and Footers

            Hands-on Exercises 1-4

            Capstone Exercise

            Mini-Cases 1-3

            (Content Application, Disaster Recovery, Research)