MCAS Microsoft Certified Application Specialists

The core Microsoft Office Specialist Certification Program credential has been upgraded to validate skills with the 2007 Microsoft Office system as well as the new Windows Vista operating system. The Application Specialist certification targets Information Workers and covers the most popular Microsoft Office applications such as Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, Excel 2007, and Outlook 2007. To earn MCAS certification you need to pass one of the five exams available. After passing an individual exam, a person becomes an MCAS in the particular software application they took the exam in.

Overview/Description
With Office Word 2007, Microsoft introduces some of the most significant changes to Word in years. Most notable is the new intuitive user interface which replaces the traditional menus and toolbars, featuring the Ribbon , the Quick Access toolbar, and the Mini Toolbar as well as a new Office button which replaces the File menu. This course provides an introduction to Word 2007 and demonstrates how to navigate within the new user interface.

Overview/Description
Word 2007 makes it easy to apply formatting to documents by providing a live visual preview of various formatting options. This enables you to view the formatting change before actually committing to it. This course explains the Font and Paragraph formatting options, as well as the Mini toolbar and live preview features. In addition, the creation and formatting of bulleted, numbered, and multi-level lists and the insertion of symbols or special characters are demonstrated. Setting margins, paragraph indents, tab stops, text alignment, and showing or hiding formatting marks will also be explored in this course.

Overview/Description
Word 2007 provides many options for structuring and editing documents which are complemented by a variety of editing tools. There are also options for saving documents which can be customized to suit your word processing needs. This course explains the use of page and section breaks, spacing adjustment, and column insertion, and explores the basic editing tools packaged with Word 2007. A new feature of Word 2007 demonstrated in the course is the ability to save a document in PDF or XPS format, in addition to being able to save as a web page. The course also explains how to save documents so that they can be viewed in previous versions of Word.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Word 2007 provides new features called Quick Styles and building blocks which make it easy to create great looking documents quickly. You can select Quick Styles using the new Live Preview feature to view the different styles before committing the changes. This course demonstrates the use of Quick Styles, building blocks, templates and AutoCorrect features in detail. Previewing and printing options, as well as Word 2007's Help and Research options, are also explored and demonstrated.

Overview/Description
Themes, Backgrounds and Borders can be used in Microsoft Office Word 2007 to create engaging and professional looking documents. With Word 2007, these tasks are made easier then ever before, specifically with the use of theme colors, theme fonts and theme effects. This course demonstrates how borders, shading, margins and horizontal lines are used when creating interesting documents and implementing emphasis to various parts of a document. Themes colors, theme fonts and theme effects are explained in detail and background colors and fill effects are explored as well. This course also demonstrates the use footnotes and endnotes.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Word 2007 has many features that enable you to create robust documents that can be easily navigated, reviewed, and recovered if issues are encountered. This course explains how tables of contents are created, modified and deleted in conjunction with the use of tables of figures and tables of authorities. The insertion, modification, deletion and navigation of hyperlinks, bookmarks, and frames are demonstrated, as well as the creation of indexes and index cross-references. The course also discusses using track changes and comments when reviewing documents, and explores repairing corrupted documents.

Overview/Description
By using the tabular and charting utilities of Microsoft Office Word 2007, you can format, sort, and analyze your data with ease. In Word 2007, you can insert a table by selecting its layout from a list of preformatted tables, or by selecting the number of columns and rows that you require. You can insert a table into your regular document layout, or you can nest it within another table for increased complexity. There may also be times when you need to insert Excel data or charts into a Word document, and Word 2007 enables you to do so with a few simple steps. This course demonstrates how to create, format, and modify Word 2007 tables, including inserting and deleting table elements, resizing tables, merging and splitting cells, sorting data, using simple formulas, as well as converting a table to text. Methods of inserting, linking, and embedding Excel objects in Word documents are explained in this course, in addition to inserting and formatting charts.

Overview/Description
Word 2007 enables you to create forms quickly and easily, so that they can be used by other users of Word 2007. Forms contain form fields that you can link to external data sources, and Word 2007 contains security features to protect forms from tampering by other users. Inserting fields has been simplified in Word 2007 by means of built-in commands and content controls. The mail merge feature is also improved and simplified in Word 2007, enabling users to merge content into letters, e-mail messages, envelopes, and labels very easily.
The course demonstrates how to add, modify, and update form fields, as well as walking through the mail merge process.

Overview/Description
Some of the advanced features of Microsoft Office Word 2007 offer ways in which you can automate and streamline the way you work. You can use macros in Word 2007 to easily automate repetitive, complex tasks. A macro is a set of instructions that can group a series of actions and keystrokes as a single command. You can also simplify the management of your Word 2007 files by using master documents. Master documents divide large files into related subdocuments through a series of links. This course demonstrates how to create, edit, copy and delete macros through the use of the macro recorder. In addition, aspects of master and subordinate documents are explained, including outline levels, rearranging and restructuring subordinate documents in the master, and converting, deleting, merging, and locking subdocuments. Customization of the Quick Access Toolbar is also explored in this course.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Word 2007 offers several options for securing and protecting Word documents as well as providing various collaborative features. This course demonstrates how to use Word 2007's document security, which includes locking document formatting, password protecting a document, marking a document as read-only, using Document Inspector, viewing privacy options, and adding a digital signature. It explains the various workspace collaboration features available using SharePoint in addition to creating a document library. This course also discusses and demonstrates working with HTML to save a document as a web page and creating a web page in Word as well as how to create blogs in Word 2007.

Overview/Description
To test your knowledge on the skills and competencies being measured by the vendor certification exam. TestPrep can be taken in either Study or Certification mode. Study mode is designed to maximize learning by not only testing your knowledge of the material, but also by providing additional information on the topics presented. Certification mode is designed to test your knowledge of the material within a structured testing environment, providing valuable feedback at the end of the test.

Overview/Description
With the introduction of Office Excel 2007, Microsoft has made substantial changes to the user interface of its spreadsheet application. This course will help get you up-to-speed on the new features, and will introduce you to the basic features and functionality of Excel 2007. This will be accomplished through the demonstration of workbook creation and navigation, and worksheet data entry at a user-friendly beginner level.

Overview/Description
Excel 2007 provides a number of improved tools and new features that allow you to visually enhance the appearance of sheets and workbooks. Cells, rows, columns, sheets, and workbooks can be manipulated and customized using various positioning and formatting features. This course explores the processing of copying and moving cells, columns, rows, and sheets, as well as inserting or removing sheets and modifying workbooks. Formatting tables, textual data, and numerical data, as well as conditional formatting, is also covered.

Overview/Description
Excel 2007 simplifies the reviewing and printing processes by centralizing all related features within the various tabs of the Ribbon. The Review tab enables you to quickly access tools for proofing content and adding comments. Using the Page Layout view, you can preview how your worksheets will look when they are printed, and adjust them as needed to achieve professional results. This course explores Excel 2007 reviewing features, such as spellchecking, translating, and using comments. Configuring entire workbooks, spreadsheets, and spreadsheet selections for printing, using the Page Layout view, and printing using the Office button are also covered.

Overview/Description
Excel 2007 provides numerous functions and formulas for performing simple and complex calculations on workbook data. The Ribbon's Formulas tab provides convenient access to groups of data analysis and calculation tools, such as the Function Library, Named Cells, Formula Auditing, and Calculation groups. This course demonstrates how to create and edit formulas, use references and names, and work with tables in Excel 2007. Basic, logical, financial, and date functions are also covered.

Overview/Description
Enhancements to charting, themes, and styles in Excel 2007 enable you to create attractive and well-organized representations of spreadsheet and workbook data. Charts, themes, styles, and pictures can all be easily inserted and customized from the Ribbon bar. This course demonstrates how to effectively use and customize charts in Excel 2007, and explores available chart types and styles. Using themes and styles to improve presentation, and adding visual elements to workbooks, are also covered.

Overview/Description
Charts and pictures enable you to present data visually, demonstrating data more effectively than rows and columns of data. In Excel 2007, you can customize charts and their individual elements, as well as pictures and clip art, to create professional and appealing documents. Formatting, both custom and condition-based, enables you to display data in formats that best suit your needs. This course explores modifying charts and pictures and creating and editing custom number formats.

Overview/Description
Excel 2007 provides multiple features for organizing and managing data, so you can ensure data is entered correctly and that calculations and formulas are valid. Data organization features enable you to sort, filter, and group and outline data so that you can focus on the key parts of your data. Validation features ensure that data is correct, that it is entered in the proper format, and that formulas are working correctly, all of which are incredibly important for maintaining accurate records. This course explores organizing and subtotaling data in Excel 2007 using the available features. It also covers data validation, including error messages, invalid data prevention, formula auditing, error checking, and the Watch window.

Overview/Description
Numerous features and tools in Excel 2007 enable you to customize the look and feel of spreadsheets and workbooks, and also the functionality and efficiency of the program itself. Existing templates, themes, and styles can be altered to meet business needs, or you can create custom templates, themes, and styles to further enhance data presentation. Using macros, you can automate common or repetitive tasks, resulting in time savings and increased efficiency in day-to-day tasks. This course covers creating templates in Excel 2007, as well as customizing workbook properties, themes, and styles. Working with macros, including recording, editing, and running, is also explored.

Analyzing Data in Excel 2007

Overview/Description
Excel 2007 provides powerful data analysis tools that enable you to explore large amounts of data and to make educated business decisions based on that data. With PivotTable reports you can interactively summarize data, making it easier to analyze and present the results. PivotChart reports provide a graphical view of PivotTable report data. Using Goal Seek and Solver enables you to retrieve required results from formulas by determining the data the formula requires. You can also use additional what-if analysis components, data tables and scenarios, to view how value changes in formulas affect the formula results and to forecast worksheet outcome models respectively. This course covers advanced data analysis features, such as PivotTable and PivotChart reports, Goal Seek, Solver, scenarios, data tables, and OLAP.

Protecting and Sharing Excel 2007 Workbooks

Overview/Description
In many organizations, teams and individuals require frequent and possibly simultaneous access to common spreadsheets and workbooks. To meet these demands without affecting efficiency, a number of review, security, and collaboration features are available in Excel 2007. Workbooks, worksheets, and specific data within worksheets, can be protected, enabling only those with access to view or make changes to them. Workbooks can be shared so that multiple people can access required data, and changes made to workbooks can be tracked, accepted or rejected, and merged. The use of Excel Services and Microsoft Windows SharePoint Services adds an additional level of collaboration and security features. This courses covers range, worksheet, and workbook protection, as well as tracking changes and merging workbooks in Excel 2007. Sharing workbooks, using Excel Services for collaboration, and publishing workbooks to SharePoint are also covered.

Exchanging Data with Excel 2007

Overview/Description
In Excel 2007, there are a number of options for importing data and sharing data with other applications. Excel 2007 includes built-in functionality for importing text files and creating database queries to retrieve data from a variety of databases. Other applications, such as Access, Word, and Outlook, can also import Excel data. Using XML in conjunction with Excel enables you to further manage and customize workbooks. This course explores creating links, importing text files, and creating database and web queries. Importing Excel 2007 data into other applications and using XML in Excel 2007 are also covered.

TestPrep Using Excel 2007

Description
To test your knowledge on the skills and competencies being measured by the vendor certification exam. TestPrep can be taken in either Study or Certification mode. Study mode is designed to maximize learning by not only testing your knowledge of the material, but also by providing additional information on the topics presented. Certification mode is designed to test your knowledge of the material within a structured testing environment, providing valuable feedback at the end of the test.

Overview/Description
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 is a powerful authoring application that enables you to create high-impact, professional-looking presentations quickly and easily. This course shows how to create a new presentation from scratch, and also how to use layouts and views to make working with your presentation easy. It provides you with a solid introduction to the basic, must-know aspects of PowerPoint, and it shows you how to use PowerPoint's powerful help features.

Overview/Description
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 is a useful authoring application tool for creating dynamic slide show presentations. This course demonstrates how to create visually appealing presentations using PowerPoint's design templates and implementing new Microsoft Office 2007 themes. The course also explores the introduction of SmartArt in PowerPoint 2007, a feature that allows you to add some glamour to your presentations by using colors and shapes to emphasize text and data. Also covered are the various ways of incorporating diagrams, tables, and charts to enhance your presentations' appeal.

Overview/Description
Microsoft’s PowerPoint 2007 is one of the world’s most widely used applications for creating presentations. Powerful, high-impact slide shows come to life with the addition of multimedia to your presentations. Engage your audience by keeping things lively and interactive with movie and sound clips, animated slide content, and slide transitions. This course will help you to make the most of these feature

Creating Custom Slide Shows in PowerPoint 2007

Overview/Description
With PowerPoint 2007, creating customized slide shows has never been easier. This course shows you how to create custom slide shows that meet your differing audiences' needs. You will learn how to create self-running presentations, how to annotate your presentation while it's running, and how to use Presenter View so that you see one thing while your audience sees another.

Distributing Presentations in PowerPoint 2007

Overview/Description

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 provides numerous ways to produce and distribute dynamic, custom presentations. In this course you will be introduced to the process of securing your presentations for distribution by setting up passwords. You will also examine the various ways to distribute your presentations to colleagues and other audiences. You'll explore how to print your slides, save a presentation as a web page, and e-mail your presentations. And you'll learn how to package your slide show to a CD.

TestPrep Using PowerPoint 2007

Overview/Description
To test your knowledge on the skills and competencies being measured by the vendor certification exam. TestPrep can be taken in either Study or Certification mode. Study mode is designed to maximize learning by not only testing your knowledge of the material, but also by providing additional information on the topics presented. Certification mode is designed to test your knowledge of the material within a structured testing environment, providing valuable feedback at the end of the test.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 is an application used to manage your communication needs. It allows people to send and receive e-mail messages, and provides additional functionality to keep tasks, notes, appointments, and daily activities in one convenient location. This course addresses the basic features and functionality of Outlook 2007, including how to create e-mail messages, view and reply to incoming e-mails, and how to find information using Outlook 2007's basic Help features.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 allows you to quickly organize and format e-mail messages using easy management and time-saving tasks. Outlook 2007 provides formatting features that can be applied to an e-mail message as it is being created, and also includes management tools to find and sort messages quickly. This course demonstrates how to use the various formatting features, and also explores such e-mail message options as signatures and voting buttons, and how to use and work with attachments. In addition, the course demonstrates methods of organizing e-mail using an assortment of views and color-coding techniques.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 provides an easy-to-manage calendar that allows for creation and management of appointments, meetings, and events in a single interface. It also provides a To-Do bar that displays all calendar entries, including tasks and their deadlines, in a customized view that simplifies scheduling. This course demonstrates how to customize the Outlook 2007 calendar using personalized views. It also demonstrates how to create and manage appointments, meetings, and events.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 allows for easy creation and management of all contacts. It provides an easy to use interface for creating contacts, along with business cards, that can also be used for sending e-mail, making meeting requests and journal entries, as well as assigning tasks. Outlook also offers multiple views to easily manage and track tasks. In addition, it allows you to create and store notes for later reference. This course explores how to create and manage contacts, tasks, and notes. It also demonstrates how to customize the Outlook interface using Outlook Today, shortcuts, Favorite Folders, and the Navigation Pane.

Completing Searches, Printing Items, and Working with RSS Feeds in Outlook 2007

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 is a versatile e-mail client application that offers numerous features for interacting and sharing information with others. This course demonstrates the new Outlook 2007 search feature, Instant Search, which is used to locate and manipulate e-mail messages and other Outlook items. It also explores printing options using a variety of print styles. Lastly, RSS feeds will be discussed in depth, explaining how Outlook 2007 users can conveniently view content from multiple sources, such as news outlets or blogs, from a central location.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 is highly customizable. You can tailor the interface by selecting views – or modifying them – to suit your needs. Using a timeline you can track items, such as e-mail or phone conversations, within Outlook itself and also externally. In addition, Outlook allows you to configure and customize multiple e-mail accounts so that you can view e-mail messages from many different accounts within a single Outlook interface. This course demonstrates how to customize Outlook to meet a variety of such requirements, how to track items in Outlook, and how to configure additional e-mail accounts.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 provides you with the tools you need to efficiently manage your e-mail messages. By using predefined or custom rules and alerts, you can organize your messages by moving, deleting, and forwarding them appropriately, and you can even choose to send an automatic reply to incoming e-mail. Outlook 2007 also provides a Junk E-mail Filter to ensure that any spam or unwanted e-mail messages are dealt with by permanently deleting them or moving them to another folder away from your regular e-mail messages. This course demonstrates how to configure rules and alerts to help organize e-mail messages, and how to adjust the Junk E-mail Filter settings to suit your needs.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 enables you to collaborate with others by using a SharePoint site to share information such as contacts and calendars. From within Outlook 2007 you can open, edit, and update SharePoint files, as well as update and add items to calendars on the SharePoint site. With Outlook 2007 you can easily share your calendar either through Outlook itself or online using an Internet Calendar. It also allows you to customize default forms to ensure they meet your needs. This course demonstrates how to use Outlook 2007 to connect to a SharePoint site and open, edit, and update SharePoint files, as well as create calendar items for the SharePoint site. It also explores how to share your Outlook 2007 calendar and customize, test, and publish customized forms in Outlook 2007.

Overview/Description
You can use the enhanced security features included in Microsoft Outlook 2007 to protect your e-mail and computer from malicious attacks that can arrive in the form of incoming e-mail messages. The program also provides you with tools used to archive and manage the size of your mailbox to ensure that you can locally store your e-mail messages for future reference. With Outlook 2007 you can choose to work offline and access your e-mail messages without connecting to a server, and then synchronize Outlook with the server at a more convenient time. You can also connect to the Exchange Server using Outlook Web Access (OWA) at times when you do not have access to the Outlook application. OWA provides you with many of the same features that Outlook 2007 offers, but through a browser interface. This course demonstrates how to configure the security settings, offline access, and synchronization settings for Outlook 2007. The course also shows you how to access Outlook from the Internet, and how to archive data and manage your data file sizes.

Overview/Description
You can secure your e-mail in Microsoft Outlook 2007 using Information Rights Management (IRM), a feature that allows you to set access permissions for specific messages. Setting these restrictions secures your sensitive information against forwarding, printing, and copying. In addition, when used with an Exchange Server, Outlook 2007 provides you with a comprehensive messaging approach, including instant and text messaging to mobile devices. It also allows you to receive and listen to voice mail messages in your inbox, and send and receive faxes directly to and from your inbox. This course explains how to configure and implement IRM. It also discusses how to send and receive instant and text messages and faxes from your inbox, and how to configure Outlook for voice mail.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager helps to save time and improve sales and marketing to ensure excellent customer service by providing customer and contact management in one central location. It allows you to easily manage all your contacts, customer information, and opportunities in one location making it easier to find and manage. It also allows you to create marketing campaigns and send them to prospective customers, as well as track any communications with your customers and contacts to ensure you stay organized. This course demonstrates how to setup Business Contact Manager with Accounts, Contacts, Opportunities, and Projects. It also demonstrates how to track and link items to records, as well as share and protect your data in the Business Contact Manager database.

Overview/Description
With Access 2007, Microsoft introduces some of the most significant changes to Access in years. Most notable is the intuitive new user interface that replaces the traditional menus and toolbars with features like the Ribbon, the Quick Access Toolbar, and the Microsoft Office button. This course provides an introduction to Access 2007 and demonstrates how to navigate within the new user interface. The introductory steps in planning a database, the components and views of an Access database, and database creation methods are also covered.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Access 2007 makes it easy for you to create and manipulate database tables. You can choose between a Datasheet view and a Design view to create tables from scratch, or you can base your tables on one of the many pre-defined templates. The introduction of the Ribbon and contextual tabs in Access 2007 makes table creation even more intuitive, and provides you with easier data manipulation techniques.
This course explains the use of table templates, Design and Datasheet views, field creation, data types, and modifiable properties, and demonstrates the use of masked input fields and indexing. The course also explores viewing, editing, navigating, sorting, finding, and filtering records, in addition to printing data and implementing and maintaining table relationships.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Access 2007 offers several options for creating, customizing, and managing forms. This course describes multiple methods of form creation, including the Form, Split Form, Multiple Items, Blank Form, and Form Design tools and the Form Wizard. This course also explores controls – the available types, how they are added to a form, how their properties are set, and how they are resized, moved, grouped, and positioned on a form. The course demonstrates how forms can be customized using autoformat, or by adding the date and time, page numbers, logos, and other decorative controls. The creation and management of records in forms using different navigational methods, sorting and filtering options, and printing forms is also covered.

Overview/Description
Queries and reports are used in Access 2007 to convert data into useful information and are an essential part of any database application. Access 2007 has a Query Wizard which simplifies the process of formulating a query and provides various methods of creating reports to present summarized information easily and effectively. This course explores the use of the Query Wizard and demonstrates how to create or modify a query in Design view in order to achieve specific results. This course also covers Expression Builder, calculated fields, grouping options for displaying query results, and crosstab, unmatched, and duplicate queries. The use of the Report, Report Wizard, Blank Report, Report Design, and Label options are covered, as well as how to add and bind controls, group and sort data, and modify sections of a report.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Access 2007 offers several options for importing and exporting data, and also provides a variety of data presentation strategies. With Access 2007 you can link to, or import data and objects from external sources such as other Access databases, Excel spreadsheets, text files, XML files, and SharePoint lists. You can also export data and objects from an Access 2007 database to external sources. This course explains and demonstrates the various methods of importing, exporting, and linking to external data sources. It also describes how to create and modify PivotTables and PivotCharts as an alternate way to organize and present database data. The options used to apply aggregate functions to a PivotTable, add a calculated field to a PivotTable, and export a PivotTable to an Excel spreadsheet are also discussed in the course.

Overview/Description
You can use Microsoft Access 2007 to manage your data efficiently using advanced techniques. There are many advanced methods that can be used for modifying and enhancing tables, reports, queries, and forms in order to meet your business needs. This course explains and demonstrates retrieving and validating data, using subforms and subreports, as well as applying conditional formatting in Access 2007 tables, forms, and reports. Advanced query methods make it easy for an experienced end-user to retrieve the results they desire and to have those results displayed in such a way that the data is easy to interpret and analyze. This course describes the various types of join and parameter queries that can be used in Access 2007 and provides demonstrations on the use of action queries, including update, append, delete, and make table queries. It also explores the use of SQL-specific queries such as data-definition, pass-through, subquery, and union queries.

Overview/Description
Microsoft Office Access 2007 makes it easy for you to share and manage data using the collaborative environment of a Microsoft Windows SharePoint site along with the many data management features available within Access 2007. This course explains how SharePoint sites can be used with Access and demonstrates options such as moving data to a SharePoint site, publishing data to a SharePoint site, importing from or linking to a SharePoint list, creating an Access view of a SharePoint list, working offline with SharePoint lists, as well as tracking data versioning in SharePoint.
Another feature of Access 2007 is its programmability. Using Access macros and Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code you can easily add functionality to a database to suit your business needs. In addition to SharePoint integration, this course provides an introduction to programming in Access and explores when to use macros or VBA code to automate processes. It also demonstrates how to create, launch, and modify macros and explains the use of the Visual Basic Editor to create event handlers and set control property values.