The two quickest ways to start a Microsoft Office program are to select it on the Dock or double-click an alias icon on the desktop. However, you can also start a program from the Office 2008 folder located in the Applications folder. By providing different ways to start a program, you can work the way you like and start programs with a click of a button. When you start an Office program, the Project Gallery appears—depending on your preferences—or a program window opens, displaying a blank document, where you can begin working immediately.

The Project Gallery provides easy access to blank documents, templates, wizards, existing or recently opened documents, and projects. You can open the Project Gallery from the Dock in the Finder or from any of the Office programs. The Project Center uses tabs—New, Recent, Project Center, and Settings—to group commands. The Settings tab allows you to set preferences that apply to all Office programs, such as Show Project Gallery at startup, or that change the display of the Project Gallery.

Use the Project Gallery

Start Project Gallery.

• From the Finder. Click the Microsoft Project Gallery icon in the Dock.

• From an Office Program. Click the File menu, and then click Project Gallery.

Timesaver

To open the Project Gallery from an Office program, press .

The Project Gallery dialog box appears.

Click a tab or button to create or open a document, or set preferences.

• Create a new document. Click the New tab, select Blank Document from the Category list, select a document type, and then click Open.

• Open a recent document. Click the Recent tab, select a time period from the Date pane, select a document, and then click Open or Open a Copy.

• Open a project file. Click the Project Center tab, select a document, and then click Open.

• Open an existing document. Click the Open Other button, select a document from the Open dialog box, and then click Open.

Set Project Gallery Preferences

Click the Microsoft Project Gallery icon in the Dock, or open an Office program, click the File menu, and then click Project Gallery.

Click the Settings tab.

Specify any of the following options:

• Show Project Gallery at startup. Display the Project Gallery when you start an Office program.

• Confirm before opening other programs. Display an alert before opening other programs.

• Open on. Display the Project Gallery with a specific tab or the last selection.

• Show this number of recently opened files. Display the specified number of recent documents in the Recent tab.

• Documents and Wizards. Select the document types and wizards you want to view.

• File Locations. Click the link to change the default file location for local templates or workgroup templates.

• Restore Defaults. Click the Restore Defaults button to change the preference options back to the original settings.

Click OK.

See Also

See “Creating a Document Using a Template” on page 12 for information on using templates and wizards.

The Office commands are organized in groups on menus and toolbars. Menus display commands organized in groups, while the Standard toolbar displays frequently used buttons that you may be already familiar with from previous versions of Office. In addition to menus, you can also display a shortcut menu with a group of related commands by right-clicking or Control-clicking a program element.

Choose a Command from a Menu

Click a menu name.

Click the command you want.

If the command is followed by an arrow, point to the arrow to see a list of related options, and then click the option you want.

Timesaver

You can use a shortcut key to choose a command. Press and hold down the first key and then press the second key. For example, press and hold the key and then press S (or ) to select the Save command.

Choose a Command from a Shortcut Menu

Right-click or Control-click an object (a cell or graphic element).

Click a command on the shortcut menu. If the command is followed by an arrow, point to the command to see a list of related options, and then click the option you want.

When an Office program starts, the Standard toolbar appears at the top of the window, unless you’ve changed your settings. Office includes its most common commands, such as Save and Undo, on the Standard toolbar. Click a toolbar button to choose a command. If you are not sure what a toolbar button does, point to it to display a ScreenTip. You can customize the toolbar by adding command buttons or groups to it. You can also display toolbars designed for specific tasks, such as drawing pictures, importing data, or creating charts. If you’re not using a toolbar or want to position it in another place, you can hide or move it. When you move a toolbar, you can dock it to the document window or allow it to float (undock) in a separate window. The toolbars are personalized as you work, showing only the buttons you use most often. Additional toolbar buttons are available by clicking the double-arrow on the right-edge of the toolbar.

Show and Hide a Toolbar

Control-click any visible toolbar, or click the View menu, and then point to Toolbars.

Click the name of the toolbar you want to display or hide.

The Elements Gallery (New!) is a new look for Word, PowerPoint, and Excel that provides a visual way to quickly make document design and formatting changes. You can apply built-in layouts and other common design features to documents, such as a cover pages in Word, ledger sheets in Excel, and themes in PowerPoint. The Elements Gallery is located above the document window and is comprised of tabs (New!) that are organized by tasks or objects. The controls on each tab are organized into groups. The controls in each group execute a command, or display a menu of commands or a thumbnail gallery. In preferences, you can change how the Elements Gallery opens and appears.

When you start an Office program, the program window opens with a new blank Office document—a Word document, Excel workbook, or PowerPoint presentation—so that you can begin working in it. If preferences are set to display the Project Gallery, you can create a blank new document using the You can also start as many new Office documents as you want whenever an Office program is running. Each new document displays a default name—such as Document1, Book1, or Presentation1—numbered according to how many new documents you have started during the work session until you save it with a more meaningful name. The document name appears on the title bar.

Office provides a collection of professionally designed templates that you can use to help you create documents. Start with a template when you have a good idea of your content but want to take advantage of a template’s professional look. A template is an Office program file that provides you with a unified document design, which includes themes, so you only need to add text and graphics. When you start an Office program, a blank document opens based on a default template. The default template defines the page margins, default font, and other settings. When you create a document from a template, Office uses a copy of the template, not the original template. A wizard walks you through the steps to create a finished document tailored to your preferences. First the wizard asks you for information, and then when you click Finish, the wizard creates a completely formatted document based on the options and content you entered. If you can’t find the template you want on your computer, you can check the Mactopia Office Online web site for more.

Create an Office Document with a Template

Click the File menu, and then click Project Gallery.

Click the New tab.

Select a category from the Category list.

• Click the Blank Documents category to create a blank document.

• Click the My Templates category to open the Project Gallery where you can select a saved template.

• Click a document type category, and then click a template from the Spotlight section.

Click the Show drop-down, and then select an Office program to narrow down the available templates.

Select the template you want.

Click Open.

Edit and format the template content.

Create an Office Document with a Wizard

Click the File menu, and then click Project Gallery.

Click the New tab.

Select a category from the Category list.

Click the Show drop-down, and then select an Office program to narrow down the available templates and wizards.

Select the wizard you want; not every wizard has the word Wizard in it’s name.

Click Open.

Follow the step-by-step instructions. Click Next to move to the next wizard dialog box.

When you reach the last wizard dialog box, click Finish, Save & Exit, or OK. (Button names vary.)

Did You Know?

You can download template packs on the web. Go to www.microsoft.com/mac, and then search for Office Templates.

You can create a new document based on a recent document. In the Project Gallery, click the Recent tab, select a document, and then click Open a Copy. Office uses the document template to create the new document.

You can display the Project Gallery at startup for an Office program. Click the <Program> menu, click Preferences, click the General icon, select the Show Project Gallery at Startup check box, and then click OK.

You can open an Office document and start Office simultaneously, or you can open an Office document or file created in another program after you start an Office program. You can open an existing Office document by using the File menu or the Standard toolbar. On the File menu, you can choose the Open command to locate and select the document you want in the Open dialog box or choose a recently used document from the Open Recent submenu list. If the Open Recent list gets too long, you can set preferences to specify the number of documents you want to display. In the Open dialog box, you can open Office documents based on the current or older versions, or other document types, such as text files and web pages. When you open an Office document from 97-2004, Office 2008 goes into compatibility mode (New!)—indicated on the title bar—where it disables new features that cannot be displayed or converted well by previous versions.

Open an Existing Office Document

Click the Open button on the Standard toolbar, or click the File menu, and then click Open.

If you want to open a specific file type, click the Enable drop-down, and then click a file type.

If the file is located in another folder, click the Where drop-down, and then navigate to the file.

Select the Office file you want to open.

Click the Open drop-down, and then click one of the following options:

• Original to open the selected file.

• Read-Only to open the selected file with protection.

• Copy to open a copy of the selected file.

Click Open.

For Your Information: Using the Office Program Viewer

An Office program Viewer—Word, Excel, and PowerPoint—is a program used to open and view Office documents on computers that don’t have Microsoft Office installed. The Office program Viewer is available for download from the Microsoft Office Online web site in the downloads section. Check the Microsoft web site for software requirements.

Open a Recently Opened Documents

Click the File menu, and then point to Open Recent.

Click the Office document you want to open.

• To clear the Open Recent menu, click Clear Recent.

Did You Know?

You can change the number of recently opened files that appear on the menu. Click the <Program> menu, click Preferences, click the General icon, change the number of documents in the Display X documents in Open Recent box, and then click OK.

You can open a recently opened document in Project Gallery.Click the File menu, click Project Gallery, click the Recent tab, select the file you want, and then click Open.

You can open a document from the Finder.In the Finder, navigate to the file on the Desktop or in a folder, and then double-click the file icon.

You can import a file in a Word document.If you have information in a file that you want to include in a Word document, you can import it into the current Word document. Click the Insert menu, click File, click the Enable drop-down, select a file format, select the file you want, and then click Insert.

For Your Information: Changing the Default File Location

When you display the Open dialog box, the default file folder location appears. If you prefer a different folder location, you can change the default file location using program preferences. In Word, click the Word menu, click Preferences, click the File Locations icon, select the file location you want to change, such as Documents, Clip art pictures, or User templates, click Modify, navigate to the new folder location, click Choose, and then click OK. In Excel, click the Excel menu, click Preferences, click the General icon, click Select for the Preferred file location or At startup option, navigate to the new folder location, click Choose, and then click OK. In PowerPoint, click the PowerPoint menu, click Preferences, click the Advanced icon, click Select for the Default file location option, navigate to the new folder location, click Choose, and then click OK.

Every Office program and document opens inside a window, which contains a title bar and work area. This is where you create and edit your data. Most often, you’ll probably fill the entire screen with one window. But when you want to move or copy information between programs or documents, it’s easier to display several windows at once. You can arrange two or more windows from one program or from different programs on the screen at the same time. However, you must make the window active to work in it. You can also click the document buttons on the Dock to switch between open documents.

Each Office program provides different views to help you work with and display information. To quickly switch between views—such as Normal, Page Layout, and Print Layout—you can use buttons on the view selector in the lower-left corner of the document window. Normal view is the main view in PowerPoint and Excel. It lets you focus on entering, modifying, and managing your data. Page Layout view and Print Layout view are the printout-related views in Excel and Word respectively. They let you focus on how your document is going to look when you print it. In addition to the view selector, you can also use view buttons on the View menu to switch between views.

The Toolbox (New!) provides a variety of tools organized on tabs and grouped into panels all in one central location. Some tabs are available in all of the Office programs, such as Formatting Palette, Object Palette, Scrapbook and Compatibility Report, while others are program-specific, such as Formula Builder (Excel) and Custom Animation (PowerPoint). The Toolbox is a floating window that you can move around the screen for easy access. In addition, you can customize the Toolbox to specify which panels and tools to show and how to the Toolbox appears.

Customize the Toolbox

Click the Toolbox Settings button on the Toolbox title bar.

The Toolbox flips to display Toolbox settings.

Click the Close Effect drop-down, and then select an effect: Genie, Scale, or None.

Select the When inactive for check box to specify how you want to show the Toolbox when not in use, and then specify any of the following:

• Inactive Interval. Drag the slider.

• Inactive Action. Click the Collapse, Fade, or Close.

Click the Palette drop-down, and then select the tab you want to customize.

Specify the options you want for the selected tab; options vary depending on the tab.

Click OK.

The Compatibility Report (New!) identifies the potential loss of functionality when you want to save an Office document for use in a previous version of Office on the Macintosh or in Windows. The Compatibility Report generates a report that provides a summary of the potential losses in the document. Use the report information to determine what caused each message and for suggestions on how to change it. If the loss is due to a new feature in Office 2008—such as custom layouts or styles applied to shapes, pictures, and WordArt—you might be able to simply remove the effect or feature. In other cases, you might not be able to do anything about it. To maintain a visual appearance, SmartArt graphics are converted to bitmaps to preserve their overall look and cannot be edited.

Check Compatibility

Open the Toolbox, if necessary.

Click the Compatibility Report tab on the Toolbox.

Click the Check compatibility with drop-down, and then select the Office version in which you want to check against.

Click Check Document.

Office checks compatibility and displays issues and the button changes to Recheck Document.

Select each numbered issue that appears in the Results box.

View the compatibility summary information for each issue, so you can make changes, as necessary.

For each selected issue, click one of the following:

• Fix issues. Click Fix (once), or click the Fix drop-down, and then click Fix Once, Fix All, or Don’t Show Again.

• Ignore issues. Click Ignore (once), or click the Ignore drop-down, and then click Ignore Once, Ignore All, or Don’t Show Again.

Click OK, if prompted.

Set Compatibility Preferences

Click the <Program> menu, and then click Preferences.

Click the Compatibility icon.

Select the Check documents for compatibility check box to use the Compatibility Report on the Toolbox.

To check for compatibility issues previously ignored, use either of the following buttons:

• Reset Ignored Issues. Checks the current document for issues previously ignored.

• Reset All Issues. Checks all documents for issues previously ignored.

In Word, click the Recommended option for drop-down, select word processing program you want to display compatibility options for, and then select the ones you want.

Click OK.

When you create an Office document, save it as a file on your computer so you can work with it later. When you save a document for the first time or if you want to save a copy of a file, use the Save As command. When you want to save an open document, use the Save button on the Standard toolbar. When you save a document, Office 2008 saves 97-2004 files in an older format using compatibility mode (New!) and new 2008 files in an XML (Extensible Markup Language) based file format (New!), which is the same as Office 2007 files for Windows. The XML format significantly reduces file sizes, makes it easier to recover damaged files, and allows for increased compatibility, sharing, and transportability. An Office 97-2004 document stays in compatibility mode—indicated on the title bar—until you convert it to the new 2008 file format. Compatibility mode disables new features that cannot be displayed or converted well by previous versions.

Save a Document for Office 2008

Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar, or click the File menu, and then click Save.

Timesaver

Press .

If the Office document is new, the Save As dialog box appears, where you can save the document.

Type a document file name.

Click the Where drop-down, and then click the drive or folder where you want to save the file.

Click the Format drop-down, and then select the Office 2008 file format, such as Word Document (.docx), or Excel Workbook (.xlsx).

Select the Append file extension check box to append and display the file extension, which is useful for cross-platform compatibility.

To check compatibility, click Compatibility Report, and then work through any issues.

Click Save.

Save an Office 97-2004 Document

Open the Office 97-2004 document you want to continue to save in the 97-2004 format.

The 97-2004 document opens in compatibility mode.

Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar, or click the File menu, and then click Save.

The Office program stays in compatibility mode.

Set Save Options

Click the <Program> menu, and then click Preferences.

Click the Save icon.

Timesaver

In Word and PowerPoint, click Options in the Save As dialog box to display the Save Preferences dialog box.

Set the save options you want; options vary depending on the Office program.

• Not sure about an option?

  Point to an option to display a description at the bottom of the Preferences dialog box.

Click OK.

Office 2008 is a versatile suite of programs that allow you to save your documents in a variety of different formats—see the table on the following page for a list and description. For example, you might want to save your document as a Web page that you can view in a Web browser. Or you can save a document in an earlier 97-2004 version in case the people you work with have not upgraded to Office 2008. If you save a document to 97-2004, some new features and formatting are converted to uneditable pictures or not retained. In this case, it’s important to run a Compatibility Report to check for any issues. In addition to the new XML-based file format for Office 2008 (New!), Excel 2008 also allows you to save a workbook in a binary file format (or BIFF12), which is based on the segmented compressed file format (New!). This file format is most useful for large or complex workbooks, and optimized for performance and backward compatibility.

Save an Office Document with Another Format

Click the File menu, and then click Save As.

Type a document file name.

Click the Where drop-down, and then click the drive or folder where you want to save the file.

Click the Format drop-down, and then select a file format.

See the table on the following page for a description of different formats.

Select the Append file extension check box to append and display the file extension, which is useful for cross-platform compatibility.

Click Save.

See Also

See “Creating a PDF Document” on page 492 information on using and saving a file with different formats.

Common Office 2008 Save File Formats

Save As file type	Extension	Used to save
Word Document (New!)	.docx	Word 2008 document
Word 97-2004 Document	.doc	Word 97 to Word 2004 document
Word Template (New!)	.dotx	Word 2008 template
Word 97-2004 Template	.dot	Excel 97-2004 template
Word Macro-Enabled Document (New!)	.docm	Word 2008 document that includes macros
Word Macro-Enabled Template (New!)	.dotm	Word 2008 template that includes macros
Excel Workbook (New!)	.xlsx	Excel 2008 workbook
Excel 97-2004 Workbook	.xls	Excel 97 to Excel 2004 workbook
Excel Binary Workbook (New!)	.xlsb	Excel 2008 workbook with a binary compressed file format for large or complex workbooks
Excel Template (New!)	.xltx	Excel 2008 template
Excel 97-2004 Template	.xlt	Excel 97-2004 template
Excel Macro-Enabled Workbook (New!)	.xlsm	Excel workbook that preserves VBA and Excel 4 macro sheets
Excel Macro-Enabled Template (New!)	.xltm	Excel template that preserves VBA and Excel 4 macro sheets
PowerPoint Presentation (New!)	.pptx	PowerPoint 2008 presentation
PowerPoint 97-2004	.ppt	PowerPoint 97 to PowerPoint 2004 presentation
PowerPoint Template (New!)	.potx	PowerPoint 2008 template
PowerPoint 97-2004 Template	.pot	PowerPoint 97 to PowerPoint 2004 template
PowerPoint Show (New!)	.pps; .ppsx	PowerPoint 2008 presentation that opens in Slide Show view
PowerPoint 97-2004 Show	.ppt	PowerPoint 97-2004 presentation that opens in Slide Show view
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Presentation (New!)	.pptm	PowerPoint 2008 presentation that preserves VBA code
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Template (New!)	.potm	PowerPoint 2008 template that includes macros
PowerPoint Macro-Enabled Show (New!)	.ppsm	PowerPoint 2008 show that includes macros
Rich Text Format	.rtf	Text document with formatting
Plain Text	.txt	Plain text without any formatting
PDF (New!)	.pdf	Fixed-layout electronic file format that preserves document formatting developed by Adobe
Single File Web Page	.mht	Web page as a single file with an .htm file
Web Page	.htm	Web page as a folder with an .htm file

You can create your own template as easily as you create a document. Like those that come with Office, custom templates can save you time. Perhaps each month you create an inventory document in which you enter repetitive information; all that changes is the actual data. By creating your own template, you can have a custom form that is ready for completion each time you take inventory. A template file saves all the customization you made to reuse in other Office documents. Although you can store your template anywhere you want, you may find it handy to store it in the Templates folder that Microsoft Office uses to store its templates. If you store your design templates in the Templates folder, those templates appear as options when you choose the Project Gallery command on the File menu, and then click My Templates.

Create a Template

Enter all the necessary information in a new document—including formulas, labels, graphics, and formatting.

Click the File menu, and then click Save As.

Click the Format list arrow, and then select a template format.

• <Program> Template. Creates a template for Office 2008.

• <Program> Macro-Enabled Template. Creates a template for Office 2007 with macros.

• <Program> 97-2004 Template. Creates a template for Office 97-2004.

  The folder changes to My Templates.

Type a name for your template.

Click Save.

Modify an Existing Template

Click the File menu, and then click Open.

Navigate to the Templates folder, and then open the folder with the template you want to change.

The Templates folder is typically located in the Applications: Microsoft Office 2008:Office: Media:Templates folder.

Click the Enable drop-down, and then click <Program> Templates.

Select a template.

Click Open.

Make the changes you want to the template.

Click the File menu, and then click Save As.

• Replace Template. Click the Save button on the Standard toolbar.

Type a new name for your template.

Navigate to the My Templates folder.

The My Templates folder is typically located in the Users: <UserName>:Library:Application Support:Microsoft:Office:user Templates:My Templates folder.

Click Save.

AutoRecover saves your current Office document at preset intervals into a separate AutoRecover file. If an Office program encounters a problem and stops responding, the program automatically opens the AutoRecover file—a temporary copy of your current file. If you want to keep the file, save it with a new name and you’re good to go again. AutoRecover runs in the background as you work. If the AutoRecover save interval is set to run frequently, it can slow down your computer. However, if it’s set to run at a longer interval, you could lose valuable information. It’s a balance you need to determine.

Recover an Office Document

Click the <Program> menu, and then click Preferences.

Click the Save icon.

Do one of the following:

• Word and PowerPoint. Select the Save AutoRecover info every x minutes check box.

• Excel. Select the Save AutoRecover information after this number of minutes check box.

Enter the number of minutes, or click the Up and Down arrows to adjust the minutes.

Click OK.

Office offers a quick and easy way to update an Office program with any new software downloads that improve the stability and security of the program. Simply, select the Check for Updates command on the Help menu to use Microsoft AutoUpdate, which scans your computer for necessary updates, and then choose which Office updates you want to download and install.

Get Updates on the Web

Click the Help button, and then click Check for Updates.

The Microsoft AutoUpdate dialog box appears.

Select an update option.

• Manual. Select to check for updates when you want.

• Automatically. Select an interval to automatically check for updates: Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.

Click Check for Updates.

Important

You will need to close any open Office programs.

Select an install check box to specify which updates you want to download and install.

Click OK when no updates are available or click Install, and then follow the setup wizard instructions.

Did You Know?

You can participate in the Microsoft Customer Improvement Program. Click the <Program> menu, click Preferences, click the Feedback icon, click the Yes, I am willing to participate anonymously in the Customer Improvement Program. (Recommended) option, and then click OK.

At some time, everyone has a question or two about the program they are using. Each Office program provides answers and resources you need, including feature help, articles, and tips. By connecting to Microsoft Online Help, you not only have access to standard product help information stored on your computer (Offline Help), but you also have access to updated information over the Web (Online Help) without leaving the Help Viewer. The Help Viewer allows you to browse a catalog of topics using a table of contents to locate information or enter phrases to search for specific information. When you use any of these help options, a list of possible answers is shown to you with the most likely answer or most frequently-used at the top of the list.

Browse for Help Information

Click the Help button on the Standard toolbar, or click the Help menu, and then click <Program> Help.

Locate the Help topic you want.

• Click a link on the Help Home page.

• Click the Topics button on the toolbar, click the Contents tab on the Topics pane, click a help category (triangle icon) and then click a topic (doc icon).

Read the topic, and then click any links to get additional help information.

Use the Help toolbar to navigation help topics:

• Click the Home button to return to the first page of the help.

• Click the Back and Forward button to view previously viewed topics.

• If you want to print the topic, click the Print button on the toolbar.

When you’re done, click the Close button to quit Help.

Search for Help

Click the Help button on the Standard toolbar, or click the Help menu, and then click <Program> Help.

Type one or more keywords in the Search box, and then press Return.

The Topics pane appears with a list of topics that meet your search criteria.

Click a topic.

Read the topic, and then click any links to get information on related topics or definitions.

• To restart a search, click the Close button (x) in the Search box, type new keywords, and then press Return.

When you’re done, click the Close button.

For Your Information: Getting Help Online

You can contact Microsoft for product information and provide feedback. You can find out more about Microsoft Office 2008 or send feedback to Microsoft concerning a program online at the mactopia web site. Click the Help menu, and then click Visit the Product Web Site or Send Feedback about <Program>.

Did You Know?

You can re-use recent searches. In the Help Viewer, click the magnifying glass in the Search box, and then select a recent search. Click Clear Recent Searches to clear the list.

You can change the Help source.In a Help Viewer, click the drop-down in the bottom-left corner, and then click Online Help or Offline Help.

You can specify whether the Help Viewer always stays on top.By default, the Help Viewer window stays on top of all open windows. If you want to change it, click the Action drop-down at the bottom of the window, and then click Always on Top (uncheck).

After you finish working on a document, you can close it. Closing a document makes more computer memory available for other activities. Closing a document is different from quitting a program; after you close a document, the program is still running. When you’re finished using the program, you should quit it. To protect your files, always save your documents and quit before turning off the computer.

Close an Office Document

Click the Close button on the Document window, or click the File menu, and then click Close.

Timesaver

Press .

If you have made changes to any open files since last saving them, a dialog box opens, asking if you want to save changes. Click Save to save any changes, or click Don’t Save to ignore your changes.

Quit an Office Program

Click the <Program> menu, and then click Quit <Program>.

For example, for Word, click the Word menu, and then click Quit Word.

Timesaver

Press .

If you have made changes to any open files since last saving them, a dialog box opens asking if you want to save changes. Click Save to save any changes, or click Don’t Save to ignore your changes.