Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac is a collection of programs, tools, and utilities you can use to manage and present information of all sorts. To meet the varying needs of individuals and organizations, there are three editions of Office 2008. This book is based on the Home and Student Edition, which includes Microsoft Word 2008 for Mac, Microsoft Excel 2008 for Mac, Microsoft PowerPoint 2008 for Mac, Microsoft Entourage 2008 for Mac, and Microsoft Messenger for Mac. The standard edition of Office 2008 also includes Microsoft Exchange Server Support and Automator Actions for Workflows. The Special Media Edition includes all of the above, plus Microsoft Expression Media.

Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Step by Step includes in-depth coverage of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Entourage, which are the core programs of all three editions.

From time to time, Microsoft releases service packs containing updates to the programs in your installation of Office. This book was written against Office 2008 Service Pack 1 (SP1), which fixed several problems with the original release of Office 2008 and provided additional functionality for the core programs. By the time you read this, additional service packs might be available.