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END USER SUPPORT NEWSLETTER
UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
V. IV ISSUE 2 www.miami.edu/user-support SUMMER 2001
Once an individual has completed the classes, he/she will be
MOUS EXPERT COURSES...
better prepared to take the certification exams offered at MOUS
Beginning this summer, the End User Support testing centers. These exams provide a valid and reliable mea-
Training Group will offer expert level courses sure of technical proficiency and expertise by evaluating your
for the Microsoft Office User Specialist overall comprehension of Microsoft Office applications, your
(MOUS) program. These new MOUS expert ability to use the advanced features, and your ability to integrate
level classes will include the recommended ma- them with other software applications.
terials to prepare individuals for the MOUS expert certifica-
The End User Support Training Group and NGJ Infor-
tion exams. Microsoft offers MOUS expert certification for
mation Systems Institute are currently not MOUS test-
Microsoft Word 2000 and Microsoft Excel 2000 in addition
ing centers. For more information on the Microsoft Office
to the core certifications for Microsoft Access, Microsoft Ex-
User Specialist certification program, or to find MOUS testing
cel, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft
centers near you, visit http://www.mous.net.
Word. The expert certification indicates that an individual has
mastered many of the advanced features of either Microsoft For more information on EUS training courses, please call (305)
Excel or Microsoft Word. This certification is widely recog- 284-2944 or e-mail microtrainers@miami.edu.
nized as verification of a thorough knowledge of these pro-
grams.
MICROSOFT WINDOWS 2000...
W
ith the newest operating system offered by Microsoft
Microsoft offers a special master certification to individuals
steadily integrating itself within the University of
who pass all of the core and expert MOUS exams for the
Miami, the End User Support Group will officially
Microsoft Office applications. A master certification indicates
offer support for Microsoft Windows 2000 in conjunction with
that a comprehensive understanding of all five Microsoft Of-
Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0. Windows 2000 is the
fice 2000 applications (Access, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint,
latestest network operating system from Microsoft based on
and Word) has been achieved. After passing all of the core
Windows NT technology and is not to be confused with Win-
level exams (Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook), and the expert
dows Millenium Edition which is a personal, non-professional,
level exams, (Word and Excel), a master certification level is
updated version of Windows 98.
attained and no additional testing is needed. The EUS Training
Group will be offering courses in all levels in order to better Windows 2000 boasts a variety of advantages over Windows
prepare UM employees for the MOUS exams. NT 4.0, the greatest of which is efficiency. According to
Microsoft.com, an analysis conducted by Credit Suisse First
The Microsoft Word 2000 Expert Topics 1 course includes
Boston (a subsidiary of the Zurich-based financing company
material from courses formerly offered by the End User Sup-
Credit Suisse Group) suggested that Windows 2000 is capable
port Group such as Mail Merge, Document Formatting, Word
of cutting down unproductive computer time by 41 percent
Graphics, and Word Tables. The course also delves into more
eliciting a substantial increase in employee productivity. With
advanced Word topics. This will be a three-session course.
other new features such as troubleshooting tools, self-healing
The Microsoft Excel 2000 Expert Topics 1 course includes applications and centralized management utilities, a user’s time
material from courses formerly offered by the End User Sup- spent calling help desks and waiting on support technicians can
port Group such as Excel 2000 Database and Filters and Ex- be cut down considerably as well.
cel 2000 Pivot Tables. Other topics include: using conditional
For the purpose of merging the form and function of Win-
formatting, using multiple workbooks, and using worksheet
dows NT 4.0 with the familiarity and user-friendliness of Win-
protection. This will be a two-session course.
dows 98, Windows 2000 contains more Help Wizards, central-
The Microsoft Excel 2000 Expert Topics 2 course includes ized locations for common tasks, and menus designed to adapt
material from courses formerly offered by the End User Sup- to the needs of the user. Windows 2000 also contains a built-
port Group such as Excel 2000 Scenarios and Goals and Ex- in self-repairing program and an operating system core de-
cel 2000 Macros. This will be a two-session course. signed to prevent crashes.
Support for Microsoft Windows 2000 by the End User Sup- A LOOK INTO THE FUTURE...
port Group of Information Technology began on May 1st,
2001. Microsoft will discontinue their support of Microsoft Later this year, Microsoft will release the new-
Windows 95 on December 31, 2001. End User Support will est version of their popular Microsoft Of-
continue to support Microsoft Windows 95 until further no- fice software suite, currently code-named
tice. To learn more about EUS support of Microsoft Win- Microsoft Office XP. Microsoft Office XP is an upgrade from
dows 2000 please call (305) 284-2944 or email Microsoft Office 2000 and has many new features. When the
microtrainers@miami.edu. To learn more about the new fea- programmers of Microsoft Office XP began to plan and de-
tures of Microsoft Windows 2000, please visit Microsoft’s web velop the new software, they decided to create new and im-
site at http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/default.asp. proved features based on feedback from current Office 2000
users. The features that have been added to the newest Microsoft
NEW COURSE REGISTRATION SYSTEM... Office version cater to three user groups: individuals, teams,
T
his summer, the End User Support Training Group and organizations. Many of the new features allow users to
will implement a new registration system to better as- more easily access features that existed in previous versions, but
sist our customers. The new system, called were difficult to locate and/or implement. Office XP will also
TrainingServer, includes many new features that can be cus- allow users to easily integrate the Internet with documents,
tomized to fit the specialized needs of the university commu- spreadsheets, presentations, and databases they create.
nity. Some of the key features of TrainingServer are its online Many of the new features added to Microsoft Office XP are
capabilities, its ability to automate reminder/confirmation email designed to enhance features that existed in previous versions
messages, and new standby lists for each class that is offered. of Microsoft Office. For example, Microsoft Office XP will
Currently we offer a website where our customers can view feature Smart Tags, a new set of buttons that are shared across
class schedules and course descriptions & prerequisites. all of the Office applications. Different Smart Tags appear for
TrainingServer will allow individuals to view their own class different tasks, but they are designed to help a user take full
history as well as classes that they are scheduled for in the fu- advantage of a feature. Fore example, if a user types up a
ture. formula within a cell in Microsoft Excel, a Smart Tag will ap-
pear to help correct any errors that may have been made when
Another innovative feature of TrainingServer is the automa- typing the formula. Another new feature designed to make
tion of electronic class confirmations and class reminders. regular tasks easier is the Task Pane. The Task Pane will be an
Current employees are contacted with a telephone call in order area on the right side of the screen where users will be able to
to receive confirmation that they have been enrolled for a class. perform searches, create new documents, open existing docu-
Additionaly, employees receive a phone call one week before ments, and format their documents and presentations. The
their class as a reminder. TrainingServer is designed to auto- Task Pane is a centralized location to access frequently performed
matically send out class confirmation and reminder messages tasks. Microsoft Office XP will also include new speech and
via email. This automated feature will ensure that employees handwriting features. The speech feature will allow users to
receive current updates about their registration status. perform tasks and commands in Office applications by using
spoken commands rather than using their mouse or keyboard.
Occasionally we receive enrollment requests for classes that are
The new handwriting feature will allow users to upload hand-
already full. TrainingServer is designed to create a separate
written notes from their handheld device (such as a Palm Pilot)
stand-by list for each class that is full. When TrainingServer is
directly into Microsoft Word as typed text. Microsoft Office
implemented, an individual that registers for a class that is full
XP will also offer many more new features that will appeal to
will have the option to go on the stand-by list for that class
individual users.
(meaning they will be contacted on a first-come first-serve basis
if any spaces become available for that particular class). If the Microsoft Office XP will have a greater integration with the
individual chooses not to be enrolled for the particular class Internet. One of the improved features will give users a link to
that he/she is on the stand-by list for, then they may be placed the Internet which will have access to hundreds of document
in another class or placed on the waiting list for future classes. templates, clip art images, sounds, animations, and photographs
This new method will provide students with more opportuni- to be used in documents and presentations. Office XP will also
ties for attending classes and allow our office to function more include improved Web Queries, with which Excel users can ac-
efficiently. cess and analyze data from the Internet. Users will also be able
to print Internet files from Office applications rather than a
When TrainingServer is placed into production, it will create
web browser in order to get a higher quality print.
huge improvements in the way that business is handled here at
the End User Support Training Center. The new system will For more information on Microsoft Office XP visit Microsoft’s
make our services more accessible to the faculty, administra- website at http://www.microsoft.com/office/xp/default.htm.
tion and employees of the University of Miami.
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