Office 2007 changes

[jim]

I've been using Office since 1994 and most would consider me a power user. I
upgraded to 2007 in December. At first I was put-off and bewildered by all
the changes to the user interface, but I decided to give time to "sink in."
After spending 5 hours today trying to get my Word styles templates the way I
wanted them (without success), I'm no longer bewildered; I'm mad, frustrated
and confused. I can't identify anything about the new interface that is an
improvement over 2003. Maybe for the casual user that doesn't try to do
anything complex, this interface is OK. What was broken in 2003 that this
version fixed? What does Microsoft have against menus? I always considered
Office to be the best product that Microsoft sold. Not now. And what make is
even worse, I really have no other options.

 

[Stefan Blom]

Getting used to the ribbon will take some time, but eventually you'll
realize that you can still do what you were able to do in Word 97-2003. Some
options are easier to find, such as the language settings on the Review tab,
while others are more difficult to find.

The new interface may be a little easier for new users, but for experienced
users it's basically just a different way to work with Word. You may find it
superfluous, but it's here to stay (in Word 2010 it will be customizable,
I'm told).

I do appreciate the introduction of context sensitive options (but given a
choice I would have preferred the addition of a context sensitive main menu
item instead).

 

[jim]

Thanks Stefan. I have always been a fan of Office. And I'm one of those that
have learned to use most of the features and capabilities of the these
products, including a lot of the undocumented features. But I didn't get to
this point overnight; I've been using these products since 1994. So when the
developers make a radical change to the user interface without providing a
way to restore the legacy interface, it creates a lot of frustration. I've
had to spend a ton of time trying to figure out how to access those features.
Time I didn't really have. Time that didn't make me any more effective at my
job. Time that wasn't spent learning something new, but just learning how to
do something that I had already learned to do another way. I don't have any
objections to the ribbons. In fact, I really like this idea. I just wish they
had used the old menu arrangement as the basis for the ribbon layout rather
than doing a wholesale remodel. I don't find the new arrangement any more
intuitive than the old one.
Sorry about the rant. Now I can move on.
jim

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

FWIW, there are various add-ins and downloads that can make it easier to
find things on the Ribbon:

Command reference:
Downloadable:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...0B-4E24-4277-B714-66D7B18D0AA1&displaylang=en
Online:
http://office.microsoft.com/assista...t=788&type=flash&CTT=11&Origin=HA100744321033
Search commands:
http://www.officelabs.com:80/projects/searchcommands/Pages/default.aspx
Get Started Tab add-in for Word 2007:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...0C-FDAE-4EDE-B528-AC58031A5DFF&displaylang=en

Where I find all of them less than helpful is in locating specific Options
settings.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org