Where things go in Word X in Panther

[Hylton Boothroyd]

Could you please comment on three possibilities for locating the main
data folders with Word X (as part of Office X) and 10.3.5.

In "Users:OwnName" do we
a) add the main project folders alongside Desktop,
Documents, Lib etc
b) go down one level to "Users:OwnNameocuments" and open the main
project folders alongside "Microsoft Users Documents",
c) go down two levels to "Users:OwnNameocuments:Microsoft Users
Documents" and make that the home for the main project folders.

The project areas would be the preparation/publishing of educational
materials in French, the organisation of one or more charities in the
town in which we live, and running our lives at home.

An additional consideration is the likely use and location of one or
more Excel databases for each project area.

Background
==========
My wife has just acquired a powerbook, but has scarcely any previous
computer experience. I know OS9 and Office 98 from four years of near
daily use on my iBook, but I am one of the people who elected for
reasons of software and hardware incompatibility not to transfer to OS
X.

My attempts to use the built-in helps for OS X on the power book aren't
as yet very successful even for the most elementary things. For
example, I entered "rename" in the expectation that I could get info on
how to rename a .doc file, and failed!

I don't think I've felt quite so much a babe in arms since I faced one
of the first IBM PCs and took an hour to find how to switch from drive
a: to drive c:

That said, I _am_ getting quite a lot right just by trying OS9-like
moves.

With thanks for any pointers ...

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Could you please comment on three possibilities for locating the main
data folders with Word X (as part of Office X) and 10.3.5.

In "Users:OwnName" do we
a) add the main project folders alongside Desktop,
Documents, Lib etc
b) go down one level to "Users:OwnNameocuments" and open the main
project folders alongside "Microsoft Users Documents",
c) go down two levels to "Users:OwnNameocuments:Microsoft Users
Documents" and make that the home for the main project folders.

Where one puts one's documents is largely a matter of taste, but my
personal preference would be to put the main data folders in the
Users:OwnNameocuments folder. If you want to access them from the
desktop, you can select the data folder, Ctrl-click it and choose Make
Alias, then drag the alias to the desktop.

OTOH, this is no longer how I do things... With Office 2004, there's a
new functionality called Project Manager, based within Entourage, that
is an excellent way to maintain collections of Word, Excel, or other
files, as well as any associated emails, tasks, notes, etc.

By default, "watch" folders for projects live in the
Users:OwnNameocuments:Office Projects folder

 

[Hylton Boothroyd]

... my
personal preference would be to put the main data folders in the
Users:OwnNameocuments folder.

Thanks. That's what we'll do.

... With Office 2004, there's a
new functionality called Project Manager, based within Entourage, that
is an excellent way to maintain collections of Word, Excel, or other
files, as well as any associated emails, tasks, notes, etc.

Which is the strongest argument I've so far met for the value of
upgrading. A definite plus.

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Which is the strongest argument I've so far met for the value of
upgrading. A definite plus.

When I first saw it, I thought it was the kind of fluff that WinOffice
was adding. I've since changed the entire way I work. I typically have
at least 10-15 projects going at a time, and the ability to be working
on one, then instantly (one click) shift to a new "space" when a client
calls - instantly having his or her files, emails, tasks, schedules, and
notes right in front of me - is well worth the price of upgrading.

I wouldn't say it revolutionized my business, but it sure made it more
organized, and relatively painlessly.

Of course, Word's notebook view saved me the price of an upgrade many
times over. I had a client try to reject some work because it didn't
meet the specifications we agreed on. When I played him the audio
recording I'd done while taking notes, he cut me a check (and a change
order) the same day.