早在 2011 年 5 月，我就回顾了Microsoft Office Inside Out 2010，并对该书及其涵盖Office 2010 软件套件(software suite)的方法印象深刻。作者Ed Bott 和 Carl Siechert(Ed Bott and Carl Siechert)是公认的专家，在编写高质量的科技(quality tech)书籍方面拥有丰富的经验，他们能够创造出高质量的产品。现在有一个新版本，涵盖Office 2013，我很想看看我是否还会给这本新书一个积极的评价。我对新的Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition做了什么决定？让我们来了解一下。
时代在变，办公室也在变
再一次，作者编写了一本书，主要是为以前使用过一个或多个Office程序并且习惯使用它们的人设计的——尽管我相信这对完全的新手来说不会太难。这本书像以前一样详细地涵盖了Word、Excel、Outlook、PowerPoint和OneNote ，并提供了关于(OneNote)Access、Publisher和Lync的很好的介绍（但不是同样全面的细节）。最受关注的五个程序在家庭和商业环境(home and business settings)中使用最广泛，因此这种方法很有意义。
但是等等，还有更多！🙂 Microsoft Office Inside Out：2013 版(Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition)还涵盖了新的Office 365订阅服务、SkyDrive和Office 网络应用程序(web apps)，这意味着这本书几乎可供所有人使用，这是一个真正的优势。我读过的其他一些书对Office 365(Office 365)不公平，这很遗憾，因为我相信随着时间的推移它会变得更受欢迎。虽然Web 应用程序(web apps)类似于它们的桌面Office应用程序，但它们的最小命令集和简化的界面有很大的不同，因此有一个参考来解释一个人可以做什么和不能做什么是非常有用的。
介绍和超越
与之前的版本一样，有一个广泛的概述，旨在帮助人们从之前的版本进行升级。然而，似乎假设大多数读者将来自Office 2007或2010，而不是像本书上一版那样来自Office 2003 。其中一章介绍性章节致力于帮助读者选择最适合他们需要的Office版本。(Office)由于有比过去更多的选项，包括订阅版本，选择一个不再像以前那样简单。还有新的限制和限制，潜在的Office购买者需要特别注意，尤其是在购买时订阅版(subscription edition)。
再次，安装过程(installation process)的描述既详细又清晰。由于有很多选择，手头有所有这些信息应该使安装尽可能轻松。借助更复杂的程序套件，您可以通过更多选项自定义每个应用程序以满足您的需求。Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition对所有这些都进行了介绍，在阅读了本节之后，几乎任何人都应该能够最终获得一个完美满足其需求的界面。当自定义选项被详细解释时，我总是喜欢它，因为尽管有一些Office的经验(Office)组件可以追溯到 1980 年代，我从未对程序开箱即用的方式感到满意。还有对所有Office应用程序通用的命令、文件操作和格式的全面说明。(file manipulation and formatting)在阅读了Office Fundamentals部分之后，大多数人应该有信心继续下去。第二部分，桌面和云中(Office on the desktop and in the cloud)的 Office ，解释了如何使用SkyDrive、Office Web 应用程序和Office 365非常详细。即使您不打算使用其中任何一个，也值得阅读本节，因为随着时间的推移，了解云连接将变得越来越重要。
Office 2013中包含(Programs Included)的程序
涵盖各个应用程序的章节结构是相同的。有一个全面的介绍，一个详细介绍更高级使用的章节，最后一个包含不太常见用途的“由内而外”("Inside Out")一章（例如，在Word中进行(Word)邮件合并或在(mail merge)PowerPoint中协作处理演示文稿）和一章解释作者最喜欢的调整和技巧，这是本书真正的黄金所在。由于这本书的目标读者是从以前的版本升级的人，我决定通过专门讨论PowerPoint的部分来真正对其进行测试——自从(PowerPoint)Office 2000时代以来我就没有使用过. 正如你可能想象的那样，我有很多东西要学！
创建一个基本的演示文稿一直很容易。界面不难理解，一直有很多自定义文本和图形(text and graphics)的选项。但要超越基础知识需要更多地关注细节，而且PowerPoint 2013提供了比其前身更多的选择，因此拥有这种彻底、清晰的书面说明可以使过程不那么混乱。您不仅限于文字、图形和简单的动画；您可以引入各种多媒体对象和图形。PowerPoint还包括用于照片、视频和音频(video and audio)的编辑工具，详细解释这些工具是一个很大的帮助。虽然我熟悉功能区(Ribbon)总的来说，我以前从未使用过“丝带”版的PowerPoint，所以我一直在办公桌上打开面前的这本书。Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition包括的另一件事是任何将使用PowerPoint的人都应该阅读的内容是有关如何创建和交付演示文稿的说明。我知道随着时间的推移，我们都在PowerPoint演示文稿中努力保持清醒，虽然我认为每个人都可以识别其他人工作中的好与坏，但有创建非安眠药演示文稿的说明值得所有这本书的成本独自的。在本节结束时，我觉得我'
整理起来
上一版中有关文件共享和安全性的章节已不复存在。一些材料现在出现在名为“管理 Office(Managing Office)文件”一章的第 2 节中。(Section 2)鉴于详细讨论了新的云选项，我希望至少看到一章专门讨论安全性，但这是一个小问题。故障排除主题索引(Index of Troubleshooting Topics)再次描述了常见问题，并将读者指向本书中的相应页面。这是一个很好的方法，我认为其他作者应该考虑效仿它。
判决
如果您打算使用Microsoft Office 2013或Office 365，本书将提供全面而清晰的说明。如果它不用于主动教学，它将成为一本极好的参考书。(reference book)作者显然对他们的主题了如指掌，他们知道如何向其他人解释。不过话说回来，这本书还是有点贵的。因此，您需要明确计划定期使用哪些Office 2013应用程序。(Office 2013)如果您只需要使用Word和/或Excel，那么您可能需要考虑为这些应用程序购买更便宜的书籍。如果您将使用Office 2013中包含的 3 个或更多应用程序(Office 2013)，那么这本书就是一个守护者。
Book Review - Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition
Back іn May 2011 I reviewed Microsoft Office Inside Out 2010 and was favorably impressed by the book and its approach to covering the Office 2010 software suite. The authors, Ed Bott and Carl Siechert, are recognized experts with lots of experience in writing quality tech books and they were able to create a high-quality product. There's a new edition out now, covering Office 2013, and I was interested to see if I would still give this new book a positive review. What did I decide about the new Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition? Let's find out.
Times Change, and so Does Office
Once again, the authors have put together a book designed primarily for people who have used one or more Office programs before, and who are comfortable using them—although I believe it's not going to be too difficult for the complete newcomer. The book covers Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and OneNote in satisfying detail, as before, and provides good introductions (but not the same comprehensive detail) about Access, Publisher, and Lync. The five programs that receive the most attention are the most widely used in both home and business settings, so this approach makes sense.
But wait, there's more! 🙂 Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition also covers the new Office 365 subscription service, SkyDrive and the Office web apps, which means the book can be used by just about everyone, a real plus. Some of the other books I've read don't do justice to Office 365, which is a shame, because I believe it will become more popular with time. While the web apps are similar to their desktop Office equivalents, their minimal command set and simplified interface is different enough that it's very useful to have a reference explaining what one can and cannot do.
The Introduction and Beyond
As in the previous edition, there's an extensive overview, designed to help people upgrading from previous versions. It appears to be assumed, however, that most readers will be coming from Office 2007 or 2010, rather than from Office 2003 as in the previous edition of the book. One of the introductory chapters is devoted to helping readers choose the most appropriate version of Office for their needs. Since there are so many more options than there used to be, including the subscription editions, choosing one isn't the simple matter it once was.. And there are new restrictions and limitations that a potential Office buyer needs to pay careful attention to, especially when purchasing a subscription edition.
Once again, the description of the installation process is both detailed and clearly written. Since there are many choices to be made, having all this information at hand should make the installation as painless as possible. And with a more complex suite of programs, there are more options for customizing each individual app to suit your needs. Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition goes through all of them, and after reading this section, just about anyone should be able to end up with an interface that suits their needs perfectly. I always like it when the customization options are explained in detail, because despite experience with some Office components going back to the 1980s, I've never been satisfied with the way the program looks right out of the box. There's also a comprehensive explanation of the commands, file manipulation and formatting that are common to all Office applications. After reading the section called Office Fundamentals, most people should be confident to continue. The second section, Office on the desktop and in the cloud, explains using SkyDrive, the Office web apps, and Office 365 in great detail. Even if you don't plan to use any of those, it is well worth while to read this section, because understanding the cloud connection is going to be more and more vital as time goes on.
The Programs Included in Office 2013
The structure of the chapters covering the individual applications is the same. There's a comprehensive introduction, a chapter that goes into detail about more advanced use, and a final "Inside Out" chapter that contains less common uses (for example, doing mail merge in Word or collaborating on presentations in PowerPoint) and a chapter explaining the authors' favorite tweaks and tips, which is where the real gold lies in this book. Since the book is aimed at people who are upgrading from previous versions, I decided to really put it to the test by working through the section devoted to PowerPoint—which I have not used since the days of Office 2000. As you might imagine, I had a lot to learn!
Creating a basic presentation has always been pretty easy. The interface is not difficult to understand, and there have always been plenty of options for customizing text and graphics. But to go beyond the basics takes more attention to detail, and PowerPoint 2013 offers a lot more options than its predecessors, so having this kind of thorough, clearly written instruction makes the process a lot less confusing. You're not limited to text, graphics and simple animation; you can pull in all kinds of multimedia objects and graphics. PowerPoint also includes editing tools for photos, video and audio, and having those tools explained in detail is a big help. While I'm familiar with the Ribbon in general, I'd never used a "ribboned" edition of PowerPoint before, so I worked with the book open in front of me on the desk the whole time. The other thing that Microsoft Office Inside Out: 2013 Edition includes that should be required reading for anyone who's going to be working with PowerPoint is directions on how to create and deliver a presentation. I know we've all struggled to stay awake during PowerPoint presentations over time, and while I think everyone can recognize what's good and bad in other people's work, having instructions for creating non-sleeping-pill presentations is worth the cost of the book all alone. By the end of the section I felt like I'd at least got the basics of effective slideshows in hand.
Finishing Up
The previous edition's chapters dealing with file sharing and security are gone. Some of the material now appears in Section 2 in the chapter called Managing Office files. Given that the new cloud options are discussed in detail, I would have liked to see at least a chapter devoted to security, but that's a minor quibble. Once again, the Index of Troubleshooting Topics describes common problems and points the reader to the appropriate page in the book. This is an excellent approach and I think other authors should consider emulating it.
Verdict
If you're going to use Microsoft Office 2013 or Office 365, this book will provide comprehensive and clear instructions. It would make an excellent reference book if it's not being used for active instruction. The authors clearly do know their subject inside out, and they know how to explain it to everyone else. Having said that, though, this book is somewhat expensive. Therefore you need to be clear on which Office 2013 applications you plan to use regularly. If you need to use only Word and/or Excel, then you might want to consider cheaper books for these applications. If you will use 3 or more of the applications included in Office 2013, then this book is a keeper.
