$100 reward for MSoffice 2003 info......I couldn't be more serious!?

Question

I bought the MS office 2003 suite, but don't know where to start.

I know what Excel, Powerpoint, etc is "designed" to do, but I don't know how to tie them together. For example, I want my email adrs book to link to my calendar and my calendar to link to my contact list so that my contacts can see my email addresses......get it?

I open each app and it doesn't make sense to me. Is there somewhere i can learn what Microsoft office does AS A WHOLE?

I've posted several questions saying I would pay someone $100 for the correct answer (and I would), but noone has given the proper answer. It seems that anyone willing to spend 12 minutes to PROPERLY answer my question would do it for $100 (certified check AND I'M SERIOUS).

Please.....If anyone who really knows MSoffice 2003, call or email me at the contact below and I really will pay you. If I'm expecting too much fromt this software, that's ok. I just need to know that.

[e-mail]
[phone]
~desperate small biz owner

Answer 1

I feel your pain.
You might not like what im about to tell you...
The Microsoft Office 2003 Suite is "broken"
as is characteristic of MOST Microsoft products.
The most "RELIA[cough!]BLE" Office Suite was "Office 97",
It wont even INSTAL on an XP system unless you first run THIS little known registry hack :
run "Regedit" from your Start menu, & then navigate down to:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Image File Execution Options \ htmlmarq.ocx
...and...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Image File Execution Options \ htmlmm.ocx
You will need to rename BOTH of those registry keys by changing their ".ocx" portion from ".ocx" to ".old" in order to instal the relatively more stable & POWERFUL older "Office97" version on your machine.
you have to do this to install Office97 on MS Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) because they DISABLED the "active x control" (HTMLMarq.ocx) for "security reasons". [what a JOKE.]
truth is, they disabled it for FINANCIAL motives to manipulate artificial public dependence onto their newe$t M$office ver$ion during XP's launch, because nobody in their right mind would so unnecessarily expose their mission crittical business workflow systems to an UNTESTED & UNPROVEN new office software suite [as is YOUR current problem] without a REALLY good reason, of which Microsoft has NEVER provided. other than CLAIMING [ l y i n g ] that the older version was not compatible with an XP O.S. "upgrade". NOT true. Never was, & they KNOW it. Microsoft has repeatedly proven themselves characteristically manipulative like that, & they usually get away with it, playing the public for the mostly computer illiterate fools he seems to think we are. the same way the "Dilbert" tech support team takes total advantage of their boss' computer illiteracy.

Unfortunately, the HORRIBLE Office2003 is even MORE unstable than version97 in too many ways for me to even begin to adequately list in this tiny reply box.
Though 2003 is graphically prettier than 97, some of the more powerful features have been removed or overlooked.
not to mention being built on a shaky & bloated object oriented programming foundation. powerpoint97 runs circles around the newer version.
so as a potential FIRST step, consider getting rid of COMPLETE reliance on office2003 for now, START with 97 if youre serious about running a business. the so called interface "upgrades" they 'incorporate' into the 2003gank-ware make it exponentially less stable than the previous version, & as if that werent enough they've sprinkled it with ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC conventions like irritating dual dropdown arrows that serve NO logical purpose whatsoever other than forcing you to ad a good 250 extra mouse clicks to an average document editing session.
Microsuxx is SO notorious for making you tweak & navigate an interface, instead of getting any actual WORK done. some of the commands you may be used to using have been removed WITHOUT an equivalent replacement, not to mention it's not easily backwards compatible with MOST of the versions the rest of the world still uses. biggest gripe is one that MOST users wont even realize is a problem until they actually try to USE one of it's features only to find that a LARGE portion of the program is NOT even completely installed on their "pre-installed" machines. the stupid thing will ask you for a CD that most never had, because the software came bundled with the majority of machines people are using it on. [mr. bill worked out MA$$IVELY profitable pre-install-deals with the OEM-VAR ["Original. Equippment.Manufacurers. -&Value.Added.Reseller."] DISTRUBUTORS to foist this latest abomination on earth's user communities bundled with his CRASH-PRONE XP-home & pro Operating Systems. Not many people would have actually gone out looking to buy that software originally. ... this info is NOT as off topic as it may seem= the SAME characteristics plague MSoffice2003 in ways too numerous to even count.

instead of fixing their operating systems & applications, microsoft's insatiable greed has spread them WAAAAAYYYY too thin attempting to buy out & corner too many markets instead of simply making software that WORKS.

but it's all beginning to crumble, cyber-pimp-Bill-Gates is being forced out of his own company, soon to be replaced by at least 2 corporate figureheads. as Microsoft's massive productivity void has been consistiently filled by TRUE software innovators who's applications [at least initially] simply work.
search = Google
internet communications = Skype
presentation graphics = the former Macromedia
web browser = FireFox
etc, etc, etc....

I SO wish Microsoft products would actually WORK the way they are supposed to... for the software you currently have, that almost IS asking too much... but in the mean time, there ARE work-around solutions...
Of course, this little text block is to small to cram in everything.
If you need specific survival tips, or want to learn the ways of the force [office-wise] you can contact Hulksmaash at YAH00 d0t coM to most quickly lift your business' besieged PRODUCTIVITY out of the Microsoft-hell youre currently experiencing.
im a Graphic Artist / Computer Technician who has been there & done that.

and YES, there IS "training" for microsoft products, but it's mostly FLUFF. When you finish you will realize just HOW MUCH office 2003 simply sucks by NOT allowing you to do some pretty basic functions like those you mentioned.
You'd think after ALL THIS TIME, they'd have adressed some of those oversights, but noooooOOOOhh...
http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC011205671033
and IF you are currently a Microsoft "Outlook" hostage, you might be justifiably frustrated when you finally realize it wont let you share your contact or calendar data without also installing the equally-ganky Microsoft Exchange Server. http://www.slipstick.com/outlook/share.htm

The GOOD NEWS Open Contacts 3.5 is POWERFUL address book FREEWARE http://www.fonlow.com/OpenContacts/
that CAN begin to address some of the issues you mentioned.
it can Import [RESCUE] all your contact info out of the clutches of MS Outlook, & Outlook Express. it also supports Eudora, Netscape/Mozilla/Portable Thunderbird, XML, CSV and vCard!!! & that's just the beginning. it includes dynamic shortcuts to telephony, Skype, emailing or Web/File browsing.
you can also PRINT your contact info from built-in functions or external label printing programs.
THANKFULLY, it also lets you EXPORT your contact info to indented text, CSV, Excel & XML, you can attach files and photos to your contacts. it supports Google's Map services & has multilingual features.
AAAAAAAND IT'S FREE !!!!
infinitely more effective than bogging your system down deeper into the endless Microsoft hostage-crisis, wouldnt you say?

Sometimes i wonder if Microsoft Office developers have ever actually tried to USE their own software to do any REAL work in the REAL world? -instead of just testing it just enough to be able to claim some relatively useless new feature whenever Gates wants another excuse to "upgrade" [$$$cha-CHING!!!$$$]!!!!


=Hulksmaash !

Answer 2

Hi Shane,

For the task of letting your contacts see your other contacts, MS Office does not do that; it has to do with security concerns. Basically all of that stuff is stored on your computer, and you'd have to give all of those people (or the entire Internet) some degree of access to your computer for that to work like you want. But there are other tools you could use to get that done.

If you could explain why you'd like to have the calendar and the contacts linked, I can give you some suggestions. Same goes for why you want to publish the contacts. And any other questions you may have--- simply send me a private message by clicking on my avatar.

I'm on business travel tomorrow so I may be slow to respond for parts of the day but will get back to you!

PS--- you should remove your email address from your post (send it in your email to me though) because spammers use software to crawl the web looking for the @ sign, knowing that's almost never going to show up in anything other than an email address... you will get a ton of spam by posting your address to the Internet like that.

Answer 3

Sweetie,
your best bet is to call Microsoft directly or use the tutorials that come with MSoffice 2003. If you click on the help button, you will learn a lot of information. In Outlook, your contacts are linked to your calendar. As far as your friends being able to see your email addresses, when you send them an email and they receive it, they should be able to right click on the name, scroll down to properties, and it will bring up the name and actual email address.

Answer 4

Im not sure how helpful it will be but this webpage is a training site for the microsoft programs. It takes you step by step through aspects of each program depending on what you need. Im going to keep looking into it but this might be able to get you started!!