Any plans for 2008 trial version?

[codeman38]

I'm just curious if there are plans to release a 30-day trial version of Office 2008, as there was for Office 2004, and if so, when it will be downloadable. I'm considering upgrading to Office 2008, but would like to try it out first to make sure it offers what I need compared to 2004.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

I really hope not, considering the plethora of problems associated with
the 2004 trial version!!!

I've been told (at Macworld Expo) that there will be a 2008 trial
version, but no promises as to when.

Re the problems--the problems came from *not* removing the trial version
before installing the real version--I believe the 2008 installer has
been improved to offer to remove earlier versions, and I *think* (not
totally sure) that it will communicate and execute the "test drive MUST
be gone" message.

Codeman38--small specific questions about what it offers may be asked on
the newsgroups, but it's always best to try the program before making a
decision, of course.

Daiya

 

[codeman38]

Daiya Mitchell wrote: Codeman38--small specific questions about what it offers may be asked on the newsgroups, but it's always best to try the program before making a decision, of course.

The two biggest issues I was concerned about involved macros in Excel:

1. Is it possible to record actions done in Excel as AppleScripts using the "Record" button in Script Editor (akin to the Record New Macro command in 2004), or is it only possible to write AppleScripts for Office by hand?

2. Are VBA macros in an .xlsm file preserved in a conversion to .xls (i.e., Excel 2004 format), so that they could be run in Excel 2004 if need be? According to the online FAQ, this is true of Word, but it doesn't specify whether it's true of Excel as well.

If anyone with a copy of Office 2008 could let me know the answers to these questions, it'd be much appreciated; I haven't found a clear answer on either.

 

[codeman38]

I wrote: 2. Are VBA macros in an .xlsm file preserved in a conversion to .xls (i.e., Excel 2004 format), so that they could be run in Excel 2004 if need be? According to the online FAQ, this is true of Word, but it doesn't specify whether it's true of Excel as well.

Never mind; I wasn't looking close enough at the help section. This does appear to be true of Excel as well, unless I'm misreading things.

Still curious about question 1, though; recording macros and then editing them by hand later can be very helpful when one's not entirely sure of the script syntax or semantics.

 

[Daiya Mitchell]

There isn't a recorder.

But, there are similarities. Kinda like it uses the same vocabulary, but
you have to put it into an entirely different grammar?

For instance, compare these two sets of code:

http://word.mvps.org/Mac/PasteText.html
http://word.mvps.org/Mac/word2008/PasteTextAS.html (caveat: draft
article!)

You'll see how they match up. I'm no AppleScripter, so not entirely sure
how true that holds throughout, but it may help.

MacTech has a guide on converting Office VBA to AppleScript that was
written by very good people.
http://www.mactech.com/vba-transition-guide/

Daiya

 

[JE McGimpsey]

Daiya Mitchell wrote: <blockquote><tt>Codeman38--small specific questions
about what it offers may be asked on the newsgroups, but it's always best to
try the program before making a decision, of course.
</tt></blockquote><br><br>The two biggest issues I was concerned about
involved macros in Excel: <br><br>1. Is it possible to record actions done
in Excel as AppleScripts using the "Record" button in Script Editor (akin to
the Record New Macro command in 2004), or is it only possible to write
AppleScripts for Office by hand? <br><br>2. Are VBA macros in an .xlsm file
preserved in a conversion to .xls (i.e., Excel 2004 format), so that they
could be run in Excel 2004 if need be? According to the online FAQ, this is
true of Word, but it doesn't specify whether it's true of Excel as well.
<br><br>If anyone with a copy of Office 2008 could let me know the answers to
these questions, it'd be much appreciated; I haven't found a clear answer on
either.

AppleScripts must be written by the user, they can't be recorded.

VBA macros are preserved in .xls and .xlsm files when round-tripped
through XL2008 (though you're given an option to remove the macros).

 

[codeman38]

I can figure out AppleScript quite easily... however, I"m not so sure that will be true of the people in the freshman-level Computational Science course for which I'm serving as a teaching assistant. If they're doing assignments on their Macs at home, no longer will they be able to just click Record to do something as simple as a repeated copy-paste... they will have to learn to write AppleScript code for it instead, in a class that's not even focused on programming.

I guess I'll just have to tell them to use the Windows machines in the lab instead... or stick with Office 2004... or go buy Parallels, and good luck if they're on an older G4 like I am... or just copy and paste manually 20 times...