Microsoft Office Demonstration and Example files

My computing book Microsoft Office for the Older and Wiser takes a project-based approach to teaching you how to get the most from the Office suite. It introduces key Office features in the context of a useful application for them, so that you acquire useful new skills in each chapter, and have a good idea of how they can be applied to other projects you want to undertake.

On this page, you can download all the demonstration and example files I created for the book.

NEW: Check out my new book 100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel!

How to download the files

To download the files,follow these simple steps:

1. Find the link to the file you want to download below.
2. Put your mouse pointer on it and then press the right mouse button (right-click it)
3. From the menu that opens, choose Save Target As...
4. When the file browser opens, navigate to where you want to save your file. You can put it on the desktop to find it easily.
5. Click the Save button.
6. The file will download to your computer, and will be stored in the location you chose in step 4. You can open it in the same way you open your own Office files, including by double-clicking on it.

If you experience difficulties downloading, please email me and I'll try to help.

Part I: Using Microsoft Word

Chapter 1 introduces Word with a project to write a letter. You can download my final letter here. You can also download the dummy file I created to demonstrate text formatting (Figure 1.9). If you open that file in Office 2007, the advanced text effects from Office 2010 shown in the book will not be available.

Chapter 2 shows you how to use Word templates to create a poster. You can download my final poster created using Word templates here. To save your download time, I've compressed the images in this, but this is still a fairly big file (141KB) and might take a little longer to download.

Chapter 3 shows you how to create a newsletter. You can download my newsletter here and use it as a template for your own, or just experiment with it. This is a large file (468KB) and will take some time to download.

Part II: Using Microsoft Excel

Chapter 4 shows you how to create an address book using Excel, and introduces the basics of using spreadsheets. You can download a file that illustrates the right way to organise a spreadsheet, as shown in Figures 4.2 and 4.3. If you want to experiment with sorting and adding filters, download my unsorted address book. You can also download my final address book spreadsheet. One of the suggested additional projects you can undertake with the skills learned in this chapter is a task planner. You can download my task planner as a starting point.

Chapter 5 shows you how to use Excel for calculation, with the example of a simple holiday budget. Download my final holiday budget demonstration spreadsheet here. The chapter concludes by showing you how you can copy a spreadsheet from Excel into Word, and you can download my example itinerary which illustrrates this. One of the additional projects suggested at the end is a times table calculator, which you can also download.

Chapter 6 uses Excel in combination with Word to create customised invitations using a feature called mail merge. You can use the same address book you created for Chapter 4 and modify it slightly, or you can download my address book with a dinner invitations column. You will also need a standard letter for use with Word. You can download my standard letter here. I've had to replace the Nelson's Column photo in the book with a photo of just blue sky because the original photo would take way too long to download (without adding much value to your learning). You can download my labels template here. The additional project suggestions for this chapter include printing your Excel address book in a more attractive format. If you use a personal organiser like a Filofax, you can download my template to print onto organiser paper.

Part III: Using Microsoft Office to organise and share your photos and ideas

Chapter 7 shows you how you can use PowerPoint to create a photo album. You can download my PowerPoint photo album. I've removed some slides from this presentation so that it downloads more quickly.

Chapter 8 reveals how you can use OneNote to create a recipe book, but for technical reasons, the demonstration file (which was just a single recipe in any case) is not available for this.

Chapter 9 shows you how to share your ideas over the internet using Windows Live Mail. Again, there are no demonstration files available for this.

Find out more...

Find out more about my book Microsoft Office for the Older and Wiser.

Update: This book is now out of print and the rights have reverted to me. Copies are still available to buy, and you may find you can borrow it from your local library. If you are interested in Microsoft Excel, I recommend my new book, 100 Top Tips: Microsoft Excel.