Hiring someone to train your troops to use Word is a great idea, but there won’t always be a trainer nearby . Fortunately, there are a number of ways users can get help, for free. Chances are it might take a bit of research, but you can usually find the help you need, with a bit of perseverance.
[F1]
The first line of defense is [F1]. Press [F1], enter a few descriptive words, such as “change style,” or “delete header.” Word will display a list of help topics, based on your input. Sometimes this works great and sometimes the results are inconsistent. However, it’s the best place to start, because sometimes the answer pops right up!
[F1] is available in all Office applications. You must install Help for these files to be available.
Microsoft Answers
Microsoft Answers is a free support site (forum). If you want to search available posts, enter a question in the Find Answer control. If you don’t find what you need, click Ask A Question (at the bottom of the page). You have to sign in using your Windows Live ID. If you don’t have one, there’s a link for that too.
Microsoft Answers supports Office, not just Word.
Word MVPs
MVP ’s are volunteers who share their expertise, worldwide and for free. Microsoft honors those who stand out with the MVP title. MVPs really know their stuff and there are two ways to benefit from their expertise and generosity. First, visit The
Word MVP Site. There’s a lot of information readily available. If you don’t find an answer, click Contact, read the instructions and submit your question. There’s no guarantee anyone will respond, but it can’t hurt. However, try to find the answer yourself first. You’re probably
not going to get a response to a question that’s answered by an existing Help file. By all means, please be polite. These folks provide this service for free.
In addition,
MVP Web Sites lists current MVP’s with links to their sites. You can’t submit questions, but you will find valuable information.
