How to Find Free Online Training Tutorials

Online training tutorials are a free tool that can really help you learn.

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1. Visit the manufacturer's website. Many software manufacturers have tutorials on their website that will get your started and maybe even show you how to use more advanced features. Some software publishers even have video tutorials. If the manufacturer's website does not contain tutorials, it may contain a list of links to helpful third-party websites that do contain tutorials. Find the software manufacturer's website by looking in the documentation that came with your software.

2. Find a user group. Many popular software applications have user groups. These are groups of people who use, know and love a specific software title. They have channeled their passion into action by building a website that offers resources for those who use the software, both experienced users and those who are beginning. User group websites often have tutorials, and they usually have a forum where you can ask questions about where to find tutorials. They may also have a comprehensive list of tutorials that are located on other websites. Find a user group by checking to see if the software publisher lists one on their website, or doing an Internet search for "user group" combined with the title of the software.

3. Search on YouTube.com. YouTube is not just a site for videos of cute cats and spectacular bicycle crashes. Many talented software users share tutorials on YouTube and you can learn a lot from these videos. The best ones will be recorded so that you see the computer screen and the movements of the cursor, and hear the teacher's voice telling you what to do. Visit YouTube and search for "tutorial" combined with your software title, for general tutorials. Find more specific tutorials by adding terms to reflect a specific feature you want to learn about or a task you want to do, such as "mail merge."

4. Do a general Internet search. This should be your last choice, not your first, unless you are looking for a tutorial on a specific feature or task and don't want to wade through long user-group lists to find what you need. Search for "tutorial" combined with the title of the software, and the feature or task you want to learn. Consider including the version of the software you have, if there have been many versions of this software published. The Internet is getting older and it's not uncommon to find information more than five years old still coming up in search results. In the case of software tutorials, those that old may or may not be relevant to you depending on how much the software has changed over time