Starting up

About Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom

Microsoft Office 2013 is the leading software package for communicating and organizing everything you need for work, school, or home. Microsoft Office 2013 is available in three versions: Home and Student, Home and Business, and Professional. This book covers all three versions of Microsoft Office 2013, so you can use it with any of these three versions. This book includes sections that cover the Office 2013 versions of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, and Publisher.

You can use the Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom to discover how to create professional-looking documents with Word, impactful presentations using PowerPoint, and high-quality publications with Publisher. You’ll also discover how to use powerful analytical tools with Excel, Track information using Access, Stay connected and organized using Outlook, and keep your data organized using OneNote.

The Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom helps you to understand the capabilities of these software tools so you can get the most out of Microsoft Office and get up-and-running right away. You can work through all the lessons in this book, or complete only the specific lessons that you need right now. Each lesson includes detailed, step-by-step instructions, along with lesson files. Many lessons also contain useful background information and video tutorials available online.

Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom is like having your own expert instructor guiding you through each lesson while you work at your own pace. This book includes 27 self-paced lessons that let you discover essential skills, explore new features, and understand capabilities that save you time and let you work more efficiently. You’ll be productive in Microsoft Office 2013 right away with real-world exercises and simple explanations. Each lesson includes step-by-step instructions that use lesson files that are available for download from the Digital Classroom website. There are also video tutorials online that enhance the materials covered in the book. The Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom lessons are developed by a team of experts that have created many of the official training guides for companies such as Adobe Systems and Microsoft. The lessons in this book cover the essential skills for using the software programs that are part of the Microsoft Office 2013.

Prerequisites

Before you start the Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom lessons, you should have a working knowledge of your computer and Microsoft Windows. You should know how to use the directory system of your computer so you can navigate through folders. You also need to understand how to locate, save, and open files, and you should also know how to use your mouse to access menus and commands. If you need help with the basics of operating Microsoft Windows, explore the Microsoft Windows 8 Digital Classroom book, available from your favorite bookseller.

Before starting the lessons files in the Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom, make sure that you have installed Microsoft Office 2013. The software is sold separately and is not included with this book. You can use the free trial version of the Microsoft Office applications available at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/try/ website, subject to the terms of its license agreement.

System requirements

Before installing the Microsoft Office 2013 software, make sure that your computer is equipped for running it. Remember that you must purchase the software separately. You can find the minimum system requirements for using Microsoft Office 2013 at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/try/ by clicking the System Requirements link. Note that the system requirements vary for each of the three versions of Microsoft Office 2013: Home & Student, Home & Business, and Professional.

Menus and commands are identified throughout the book by using the greater than symbol (>). For example, the command to print a document could be identified as File > Print.

Fonts used in this book

Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom includes lessons that refer to fonts that were installed with your copy of Windows or Microsoft Office 2013. If you did not install the fonts, or have removed them from your computer, you can substitute different fonts for the exercises or re-install the software to access the fonts.

If you receive a Missing Font warning, replace the font with one available on your computer and proceed with the lesson.

Loading lesson files

The Microsoft Office 2013 Digital Classroom includes files that accompany the exercises for each of the lessons. These files are available for download at www.digitalclassroombooks.com/Office2013. You may download all the lessons at one time or you may choose to download and work with specific lessons.

For each lesson in the book, the files are referenced by the file name of each file. The exact location of each file on your computer is not used, since you might have placed the files in a unique location on your hard drive. We suggest placing the lesson files in the My Documents folder or on your desktop for easy access.

Downloading and copying the lesson files to your hard drive:

1 Using your web browser, navigate to www.digitalclassroombooks.com/Office2013. Follow the instructions on the web page to download the lesson files to your computer.

2 On your computer, navigate to the location where you downloaded the files and right-click the .zip file you downloaded, then choose Extract All.

3 In the Extract Compressed (Zipped) Folders window, specify the location where you want to save

Video tutorials

The www.digitalclassroombooks.com/Office2013 site provides Office 2013 Digital Classroom book readers with many video tutorials that enhance the content of this book. The videos use the popular Silverlight player for viewing on your desktop or notebook computer, or use iPad compatible video if you are using an iPad to read an electronic version of this book. Most other ePub devices are not optimized for playing video, and you should use a notebook, desktop, or tablet computer for viewing the video tutorials. An Internet connection is necessary for viewing the supplemental video files.

The videos enhance your learning as key concepts and features are discussed by the book’s authors. The video tutorials supplement the book’s contents, and do not replace the book. They are not intended to cover every items discussed in the book, but will help you gain a better or more clear understanding of topics discussed in many lessons of the book.

Additional resources

The Digital Classroom series goes beyond the training books. You can continue your learning online, with training videos, at seminars and conferences, and in-person training events.

On-demand video training from the authors

Comprehensive video training from the authors is available at DigitalClassroom.com. Find complete video training along with thousands of video tutorials covering Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and related Microsoft Office apps along with digital versions of most Digital Classroom books. Continue your learning at DigitalClassroom.com.

Training from the Authors

The authors are available for professional development training workshops for schools and companies. They also teach classes at American Graphics Institute, including training classes and online workshops. Visit agitraining.com for more information about Digital Classroom author-led training classes or workshops, including live online training from the authors that can be accessed anywhere.

Resources for educators

Visit DigitalClassroomBooks.com to access resources for educators, including instructors’ guides for incorporating Digital Classroom into your curriculum.