Surfing the Web for Answers

Sometimes you will run across a problem that is not addressed here or when searching with the Microsoft Office Assistant. These problems take many forms and can include but are not limited to the following:

• Errors in Office after installing updates.
• Errors when you try to print or save, or quit a program.
• Runtime errors that cause a program to close unexpectedly.
• Errors related to missing dynamic link library (DLL) files.
• An inability to open files created in Office 2007 in other versions of Office.
• Windows installer starting each time you open an Office application.
• Inability to open files or folders with long names.

These problems are all known issues and listed in Microsoft Knowledge Base articles at http://support.microsoft.com. If you run across a problem that you cannot solve using this tutorial or Microsoft Help and Support inside the application, you will need to take additional steps by browsing through these articles.

Using the Microsoft Office Assistance Home Page

The Microsoft Office Home page is currently located at www.microsoft.com/office and offers help and support for Office products. You can browse by program, suite, or technologies, just to name a few. You can view free training videos, or search Microsoft for the help you need. To find the Microsoft Assistance Home Page, go to www.microsoft.com and type the title in the Search window. Once at the Microsoft Office Assistance home page, just type in information about the problem you are having, and click Go. You will usually find the information you're looking for in the results.

Accessing Newsgroups and Online Communities

Newsgroups and online communities let you post a question to a large group of people (just like you), and receive answers. A newsgroup is an online community where people exchange questions, answers, and ideas on a specific topic. It is a public place where posts are created for public viewing. Anyone who has completed the required registration (there is generally no cost to do this) can post and reply.

Specifically, you will want to post your difficult questions to a newsgroup created by and for Microsoft Office 2007 users. To find one, go to www.microsoft.com/office, scroll down until you see Office Community, and click it. You can then search the Microsoft discussion groups for answers, or, post a question yourself. You will notice there are discussion groups on almost anything you can think of regarding Office.

Once you have found a newsgroup you like, create a user name and password as prompted by the group (for Microsoft you will use your Passport), and follow the directions to create a post. You can select to be notified of any replies, or, you can refresh the site often to see if you post has been answered.