Crabby Office Lady

Office demos (short for demonstrations, not demolitions) are one of our most popular types of content on the Office Online Web site. And why not? They don't just tell you how to do something, they show you.

When we launched Office demos several years ago, the response was overwhelmingly positive. It was as if you'd been waiting for these your whole life, and I can see why: just like in Creative Writing 101 or Drawing 101, we all know that showing (rather than just telling) is a much more effective way to get the point across.

Git yer red hot demos here!

Check out the Office Demos Showcase and see for yourself. There are demos featured at the top and bottom of that page, and you can browse them by program (Office 2007 or Office 2003 programs).

Let's use the Excel demo, Keep column names in sight when you scroll, as an example. This particular demo was created based on feedback that you, our customers, gave us. (Come to think of it, most of the demos we've created are based on feedback we've received from you.) Apparently, you were losing sight of column names when you were in an Excel worksheet that had many rows, and you let us know you were peeved (good for you!). When you click the link that takes you to this demo's launch page, you're offered not one, not two, but all three ways in which to learn how to employ the Freeze Panes feature:

1. You can watch the demo itself and be swept away by the drama of it all.
2. You can click the link under How to do it (text version), which whisks you away to an article that explains, in depth, not only how to do this but why you'd want to.
3. You can take the online training course that walks you through the process (at your own pace, of course) and also offers a Quick Reference Card that sums up all the lessons you learned from the course.

Types of demos

Everyone learns differently. Some learners do really well when the teacher verbally explains the task first, and then performs the task while the learner is watching. Other learners like to try to accomplish the task while watching the teacher do it at the same time. And still others prefer to jump right in there, allowing trial and error to guide their way.

Whichever way you learn best, Office Demos has something for you. And if your idea of learning is sitting in a wooden, straight-back chair with chewing gum stuck to the bottom of the seat ... think again. This isn't the chalkboard, desks in rows, scary headmistress kind of learning.

• Step-by-step   An example of a step-by-step demo is Keep column names in sight when you scroll (mentioned previously). In this demo you learn you can keep Excel column names in sight, no matter how far you scroll down the sheet, by freezing the names in place.
• Demos that introduce new products or features   Maybe you're new to Office (welcome — where have you been?), or perhaps you've just installed a newer version of the program. (Good for you! See? All that nagging about upgrading did pay off ... finally.) Oftentimes, a demo is just what Doctor Crabby ordered — something to give you an up-close and personal look at some of the new or improved features that you don't quite "get"... yet. An example of this type of demo is one that explains how to make the most of the Ribbon that replaced the menus and toolbars in several Office programs. (And here I'm required to call it the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface.): Place your favorite commands on the Quick Access Toolbar. After you watch this demo, you can refer to the text version of the demo in case you missed anything or just want to refer back to it.
• Tours  An example of a tour demo is Up to speed with PowerPoint 2007. Learn the aforementioned Ribbon, how a live preview of style galleries lets you see how things look before you apply them, and more. Watch the demo and then take some online training or read some articles that all have to do with the new look of PowerPoint.

Some technical details

Just as everyone learns differently, everyone also has a different connection speed. Therefore, the demos might load quickly for one person and slowly for another. If you're having trouble accessing the demos themselves, be sure to click the link, on every single demo page, that offers you help. It looks like this:

And don't forget, once the demo is playing, you can start, stop, and pause the demo. These controls might be out of sight, so scroll down in the demo window to see them. Also, if the status says "Ready," you'll need to click "Play" to start the demo.

So you see (and hear!)

You owe it to yourself to take a walk around the Office Demos Showcase and see what new Office feature, program, or Office Online product awaits you.

"If you can't bite, don't show your teeth." — Yiddish Proverb

About the author

Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that you let her know whether this column was useful to you — or not — by entering your feedback using the Was this information helpful? tool below. And remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain.