August 2007 note: This page is out of date, and I no longer use Microsoft Word; in 2006 I switched to OpenOffice.org, and since 2011 I have been using LibreOffice.
I’ve used Microsoft Word for years, going back to Word 3 or 4 on DOS, but up until about 1997, I had no idea that I needed to get patches and upgrades (and certainly not how or where to get them), or where to get help (other than phoning Microsoft’s help desk, often an excercise in frustration). Then I discovered some of the resources listed below. If you’re not already aware of them, I hope this list will help you too. If you have a great Word resource to add to this list, please let me know!
Word for Windows
MVP Word site includes tutorials and an FAQ by people associated with Microsoft’s Most Valuable Professional program. Very good explanations of complicated topics like templates, list numbering, and more. http://www.mvps.org/word/
Woody’s Office Watch, a free weekly e-mailed newsletter from Woody Leonhard. I find it valuable mainly for the notices of patches that can be downloaded or ordered from Microsoft (and descriptions of why I need them), plus instructions on how to get them. He also has a lot of discussion about how to use various features of Word (or how to get around them). To subscribe, send a message to wow@woodyswatch.com or check this web page http://www.woodyswatch.com/office/index.asp.
Woody’s Office for Mere Mortals is more oriented towards beginner and intermediate users of Word. http://www.woodyswatch.com/wowmm/index.asp.
Woody’s Lounge is a great place to ask questions or just read the messages to learn a lot about using Word. Look for the link to the Lounge from http://www.woodyswatch.com/.
WordTips, another free weekly e-mailed newsletter. See http://wordtips.vitalnews.com/.
Editorium Update http://www.editorium.com/.
To subscribe, send a blank e-mail to: editorium-subscribe@topica.com.
Word-PC discussion list. Send a blank e-mail to word-pc-subscribe-request@liverpool.ac.uk. Archives are at http://listserv.liv.ac.uk/archives/word-pc.html.
The Electric Editors have lots of useful resources on a variety of relevant topics, including a collection of macros for Microsoft Word and links to a huge selection of Word resources, and three mailing lists. http://www.electriceditors.net/
Word for Macintosh
Word-Mac discussion list. Send a one-line message to Listproc@scu.edu.au in this form:
subscribe word-mac Your First and Last Names
McEdit discussion list for editors who work on Macintosh to discuss matters relating to editing that are of limited interest to lists such as Copyediting-L because they are specific to the Mac. To subscribe, send a blank e-mail message to McEdit-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Last updated 25 May 2003