For Seniors

Spreadsheet software can be used for something as simple as making a grocery list to keeping track of the finances for a multi million dollar company. And when it comes to spreadsheet software, Microsoft Excel is by far the most popular program in use today.

Excel can be used to perform a variety of tasks from storing lists of names to running complex calculations on financial data. No matter what you plan on using Excel for, you will need to know how to use the software and that starts with the basics.

Once you have the basics down, it will make learning about the more advanced features much easier because you will need to master the fundamentals before trying to use the more powerful components that Excel has to offer.

Even though Microsoft Excel is a very powerful program, I will be sticking with the basics so you can learn how to use the major features of Excel and not get overwhelmed by all the advanced tasks you can perform. I will discuss some of the more advanced features just because I think they are important to at least be aware of. Then once you become proficient with the basics, you can then branch out and learn some of the other features if you choose to do so. 

Email has been around for many years and even though most people now use texting as their preferred way of communicating, it doesn’t mean email is going away anytime soon. Email is still the primary method used for communication by businesses and other agencies to share information as well as to send files in the form of attachments.

Gmail is the email service that is provided free of charge by Google and is one of the most popular email services in use today. You can access your Gmail account from virtually any device that has an internet connection and a web browser such as your computer, smartphone, tablet, and maybe even your car!

Having a Gmail account also gives you access to many other Google services such as the Google Calendar, Google Drive cloud storage, Google Photos as well as their online productivity apps such as Google Docs (word processor) and Google Sheets (spreadsheet), and many more.

The goal of this book is to get you up and running with Gmail and show you how to perform your daily email tasks such as sending and receiving emails, attaching files such as photos to an email, and creating and managing your contacts. 

Email has been around for many years and even though many people now use texting as their preferred way of communicating, it doesn’t mean email is going away anytime soon. Email is still the primary method used for communication by businesses and other agencies to share information as well as to send files in the form of attachments.

Outlook is one of the most popular, if not the most popular desktop email client in use today. It is used by your typical home computer user as well as by large enterprises for corporate email accounts.

Outlook also comes with a built-in calendar, address book (contacts), to do list, and a task list tool, and I will be covering all these other components as I go along in this book just in case you decide you want to use any of these extra features.

The goal of this book is to get you up and running with the Outlook email client and show you how to perform your daily email tasks such as sending and receiving emails, attaching files such as photos to an email, and creating and managing your contacts. I will also be covering some more advanced features such as creating email signatures and group contact lists. 

Word processing software has been around for almost as long as computers themselves. Microsoft came out with their Windows operating system in 1985 but their word processing software actually came out in 1983. It wasn’t until 1989 that Microsoft Word for Windows was released, and it has been the go to word processing software ever since.

Since Windows and Word were both created by Microsoft, it makes sense that they would want to push Windows users to use Word as their word processing software. You might have heard of other word processing software such as Google Docs, LibreOffice, WordPerfect and Apple Pages. Even though these are powerful full featured word processing programs, they are nowhere near as popular as Microsoft Word.

If you have Word installed on your computer, you most likely have other Microsoft programs such as Excel and PowerPoint installed as well since most of the time, people buy Word as part of the Microsoft Office suite of apps even though it is possible to buy Word as a standalone product.

Even though Microsoft Word is a very powerful program, I will be sticking with the basics so you can learn how to use the major features of Word and not get overwhelmed by all the advanced tasks you can perform. I will discuss a few of the more advanced features just because I think they are important to at least be aware of. Then once you become proficient with the basics, you can then branch out and learn some of the other features if you choose to do so. 

With everything being “connected” these days, we tend to rely on the internet more and more just to get by with the basics such as paying bills, buying movie tickets, and communicating with friends and family. And if you are not online in one way or another, you might find yourself not being able to do things such as signing up for a cable or cell phone plan or finding an instruction manual for your new TV.

Keep in mind that if you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way (while you still can) that is fine, but it’s always a good idea to get yourself acquainted with current ways of doing things for when the time comes where it’s the only way to do them. Even if you can still do things like go to the local branch for your banking, buy your movie tickets in person, and call your friends on the phone, it doesn’t mean it’s not a good idea to start making the transition to the online world, even if it’s just for simple web browsing purposes.

 The goal of this book is to first get you acquainted with what the Internet is and how it works. Then I will focus on how you can use the Internet to make your life easier and more productive… and even more fun! I will also go over how to keep yourself safe from all of those bad people out there that are looking to take advantage of those who are not so tech savvy.

This book is not meant to be an advanced book on computing and the complex networking that makes all of the Internet magic happen but rather was, put together to give those who may not be the most technical people a leg up on how to increase their online skills and take advantage of all the things the Internet has to offer.

If you are used to use the older style cell phones and recently upgraded to a smartphone, you might be a bit overwhelmed at how different your new phone is from your old one. Even the most basic smartphone can do so much compared to regular cell phones and many people have trouble trying to figure out even where to begin.

But just like with any new technology or gadget, once you start figuring out how to use it you wonder how it was ever difficult to begin with. And if you are used to using a tablet or computer, then its just a matter of figuring out where to go or what app does what so you can accomplish the task at hand.

One problem that many people have when they get their new smartphone is that they find out that they don’t come with instruction manuals, so you are forced to learn how to use them on your own or with the help of others. And if you are starting from scratch, this can be an intimidating task.

The goal of this book is to get you started on your smartphone adventure without confusing and irritating you at the same time. I find that if you explain things like someone is a total beginner, even if they are not, it makes that topic much easier to understand, and that is the way this book was written, so that anyone can make sense of the content without feeling lost.

This book will cover a wide variety of topics such as initial phone setup and configuration, installing and using apps, texting, making phone calls, using the camera, browsing the internet, getting driving directions with the navigation feature and so on.

These days everyone has a desktop computer, laptop, or at least a device such as a smartphone or a tablet that they use to do things such as go online, send emails, and so on. And for the people who use a personal computer at home or at work, then there is a very good chance that it is running Microsoft Windows and if it’s not, then you are most likely using a Mac and are reading the wrong book!

When Windows 10 first came out, Microsoft has said that it would be the last version of their desktop operating system and that they would just continue to update it and add new features rather than come out with new versions. But now that Windows 11 is out, that proves what many of us always believed, that there would eventually be a replacement for Windows 10. And when a company releases new software, they feel the need to change things around to make it look like it has been “upgraded” but many times, they are making changes just to justify calling it new!

The goal of this book is to help you get the most out of your Windows 11 computer and make you a more proficient computer user. I will cover the basics (in detail) to better help you understand how to do things like open programs, locate your files, customize your desktop, install apps and games, browse the internet, navigate the Windows Start menu and more. 

I always like to take a step-by-step approach so users at any skill level will be able to follow along. I will also include many screenshots to help you see what I am discussing in case you want to follow along on your own computer. 

Email has been around for many years and is still one of the main forms of communication in use today. Sure we have cell phones, social media and even fax machines but people still prefer to send emails since it is very convenient and allows you to keep track of your correspondence and even share emails between friends and family. And of course being able to attach pictures is very handy!

Sending and receiving email is not a complicated process but if you don’t have a lot of computer experience then it can be a little intimidating at first. Knowing how to do the basics on your computer such as opening a web browser and navigating to the site where you check your email is going to be critical if you want to be a proficient email user.

Then there is the matter of having many different types of email accounts to choose from such as Google, Yahoo, AOL, Outlook.com and so on. Each one of these function a little differently but overall, the experience will be the same. So once you get the basics down, you should be able to handle using any one of these account types. These are all web based email accounts, and some people prefer to use email software on their computer such as Microsoft Outlook to connect to their email accounts. But don’t worry about this because even the email software works the same as the online email website email when it comes to its functionality.

The goal of this book is to get you familiarized with how email works and what you need to know in order to send email to one or many people as well as check email that has been sent to you. I will also be covering topics such as how to keep your messages organized, sending attachments, contacts and how to keep yourself safe while online by avoiding scams.

You might have noticed that people like to stay in touch with each other online using their computers and smartphones more than in person. And like it or not, if you insist on only communicating the old fashioned way then you might find yourself talking to yourself rather than your friends and family!

Many people don’t like to learn new things which makes a lot of sense but sometimes it’s best to just “bite the bullet” and dive in and try to become familiar with new technology so you can join the rest of the world and see all of the things that the internet has to offer.

The best way to do this is to sign up for some social media accounts to get in touch with friends from your past and stay in touch with your family, and maybe even make some new friends at the same time. You would be surprised how easy it is to get in touch with people you have lost contact with over the years.

Not all social media platforms are for communicating with friends and family but are rather used to express your ideas, advertise your goods and services or even find a new job. You can join as many of these services as you like and if you realize you don’t like a particular platform, you can just delete your account. For the most part, all social media platforms are free to use even though you might be prompted to sign up for some sort of “premium service” which you can usually just say no to.

The goal of this book is to get you familiar with the most commonly used social media accounts that are used by more “mature” users and to show you how to sign up for these accounts. I will also be going over how to do things such as create your profile, post pictures and videos, perform online chats, search for other people and so on.

These days everyone has a desktop computer, laptop, or at least a device such as a smartphone or a tablet that they use to go online, send emails, watch movies and so on. Technology is a great thing when it works right, but when it doesn’t, then we tend to find ourselves cursing at our computers and complaining about how things are too complicated. So, when it comes to technology, the goal is to find a happy medium between the convenience our computers offer and the stress they can cause when they don’t do what we want them to do.

Desktop and laptop computers have been around for a long time yet there are still many people that are intimidated by them or are simply not using them to their full potential. If you are going to spend hundreds of dollars on something, it would be nice to get your money’s worth!

The goal of this book is to help you find that happy place where you can get the most out of your computer yet deal with the annoyances that can come with owning one. I will cover the basics (in detail) for many topics to better help you understand how things work rather than just telling you to click here or press this key and so on, because knowing how something works makes it much easier to understand rather than just clicking away with your mouse.

I will also cover some basic troubleshooting topics to try and help you figure out things on your own without having to call the grandkids for help! From time to time I will also add in a little advanced information in case you are curious and want to take things a step further. This book is based on the Microsoft Windows operating system but if you use a Mac, then most of the content will still apply.