Why are there no Grammar check "explanations" in Word 2008?

[Luke_D]

When Word 2008 catches a grammar error, it no longer offers an explanation via the Office Assistant of Word 2004 or the "Explain" button of Word 2007. It just gives you a quick view of the error.

Where are the explanations? Will Microsoft fix this?

I feel ripped off.

 

[John McGhie]

I answered you yesterday: Right-click the green line. The explanation
appears in the menu that pops up.

When Word 2008 catches a grammar error, it no longer offers an explanation via
the Office Assistant of Word 2004 or the "Explain" button of Word 2007. It
just gives you a quick view of the error.

Where are the explanations? Will Microsoft fix this?

I feel ripped off.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Luke_D]

I really appreciate the reply and your time, but, with respect, you have not answered my question.

If you have Office 2004 for Mac or Office 2007 for Windows, you would understand the issue.

In Office 2004, with the Office Assistant shown via the help menu, perform a grammar check. You will get a pop-up containing the error in general AND a full explanation of the error via the Office Assistant.

In Office 2007, perform a grammar check. You will get a pop-up of the error in general AND a full explanation of the error via the "Explain" button.

These features are not in Word 2008.

I just want to highlight this problem and show that it has not been resolved.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Luke,

Send a message/feature request to MSFT using Help/Send Feedback. Be sure
you explain exactly what you mean by ³a full explanation of the error². You
explained that only once in the myriad of emails you have slammed this forum
with and I¹m afraid it got lost. Since most of us never used the Office
Assistant in Word 2004, we didn¹t know what you meant and you didn¹t make it
very easy for us to find the explanation!

Next time when you have an issue, please post ONCE, with ONE subject title
and keep all subsequent posts in that SAME thread. That way maybe we¹ll be
better able to keep track of what you¹re saying.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html>
My Site: <http://www.bethrosengard.com>

 

[Luke_D]

Beth,

Does the following help you to understand my issue?

I know that the Office Assistant has been killed in Word 2007 and Word 2008, but, in Word 2007, the user at least gets an "Explain" button when performing a grammar check.

Word 2008 does not give any explanation.

For example, under a "Formal" grammar check setting, type the following sentence.

I have been advised that it is true.

Word 2008 Grammar check will only state, "Passive voice, consider revising".

Word 2007 would say the same, but also offer via the “Explain” button, "For a livelier and more persuasive sentence, consider rewriting using an active verb instead of a passive verb..."

Word 2004 also had the same feature as Word 2007 via the Office Assistant.

While I am truly sorry if I had not been clearer before, there is no need to be rude, and I have not "slammed this forum with a myriad of emails". There is no need to be melodramatic. I have just written a few posts and reply posts to address the issue.

The only reason why I have re-posted a topic is because a user had advised me that the web portal had made a mess of my previous posts, rendering them unreadable.

I thank you for your time and patience in addressing my issue.

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Hi Luke,

Here¹s what you don¹t understand: Many of us do not use the web interface
to read this forum ‹ we use a newsreader. In a newsreader, each of your
posts with a different subject line appears as a separate entry, like a list
of emails. We have no way of linking your posts together because they don¹t
appear on one page the way you see them online. That¹s why I asked you to
keep the same subject line. Fortunately, MSFT is about to make a change in
the web forum that will make that automatic.

I don¹t believe I was rude at all. As for ³slamming this forum with a
myriad of emails², I count 13 in three days which all say approximately the
same thing. That¹s a lot!

Finally, I didn¹t say that *I* don¹t understand your issue though I guess I
didn¹t make that clear enough. By suggesting that you send feedback to MSFT
via Help>Send Feedback, I was by inference telling you that we don¹t know
why Office 2008 doesn¹t offer a fuller explanation. If you want that
feature back, you¹ll have to ask MSFT for it.

Clear now?

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html>
My Site: <http://www.bethrosengard.com>

 

[Luke_D]

I have received your message, and I have written this message in response.

I have only posted 5 questions, and I have posted 12 reply messages in response to other users. This can be easily verified.

My 5 questions range from Word to Entourage, and they do not "say the same thing".

"The Mactopia Community thrives on the spirit of openness and civility." Why you are so antagonistic is beyond me.

The next time that you decide to go attack a Microsoft customer, please get your facts straight.

As for me, I am converting back to the Windows platform and Office 2007.

I thank the Mactopia Community for its efforts and assistance.

 

[John McGhie]

Yeah, we answered your question. About 27 times.

The answer hasn't changed.

"The feature is not in Word 2008".

Microsoft KNOWs! They PLANNED it that way. That's the way they WANT it.

We have no way to know WHY Microsoft made it this way, but the bottom line
is "that's the way they want it". It's their company, they can make the
product any way they like.

So there's nothing to resolve No action to be taken.

This is a full and complete answer to ALL your 27 different repetitions of
the same nonsense.

I really appreciate the reply and your time, but, with respect, you have not
answered my question.

If you have Office 2004 for Mac or Office 2007 for Windows, you would
understand the issue.

In Office 2004, with the Office Assistant shown via the help menu, perform a
grammar check. You will get a pop-up containing the error in general AND a
full explanation of the error via the Office Assistant.

In Office 2007, perform a grammar check. You will get a pop-up of the error in
general AND a full explanation of the error via the "Explain" button.

These features are not in Word 2008.

I just want to highlight this problem and show that it has not been resolved.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Luke:

The next time that you decide to go attack a Microsoft customer, please get
your facts straight.

I don't know who you aimed that at, but I'll bite.

Is your condition likely to respond to medication soon?

As for me, I am converting back to the Windows platform and Office 2007.

For you (and anyone else who is a little slow) allow me to note the
following:

Nobody here cares which software you use, or which computer you use. Given
your constant harping on in here like a cracked record, YOUR choice in
software may not actually influence a large number of the world's computer
users. On the other hand, if YOU say Office 2008 is "bad", I confidently
expect queues to form outside computer stores the world over trying to buy
it. If you hate it, real people are going to love it

Cheers

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Luke_D]

John,

My response above, if you can read at all, was aimed at the rude remarks of Beth not you.

I had been very kind and appreciative of your help until now.

Deal with your anger, because, right now, you are doing your company a major disservice by demonstrating your temper, horrible reading, and very poor writing skills. It might cost you business, John McGhie of McGhie Information Engineering Ltd. You never know who is reading.

 

[John McGhie]

I know who is reading, Luke.

None of my valued customers are this stupid.

The others, I am trying to get rid of

John,

My response above, if you can read at all, was aimed at the rude remarks of
Beth not you.

I had been very kind and appreciative of your help until now.

Deal with your anger, because, right now, you are doing your company a major
disservice by demonstrating your temper, horrible reading, and very poor
writing skills. It might cost you business, John McGhie of McGhie Information
Engineering Ltd. You never know who is reading.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Sydney, Australia. S33°53'34.20 E151°14'54.50
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Phillip Jones]

I looked at the site, and your all a Nice looking bunch. And come across
to be as a great bunch of people.

I could never become an MVP. Don't have the qualifications, I'm not
always a 100% sure of my answers though they do work for me. And I take
an absolutely awful picture.

Yeah, we answered your question. About 27 times.

The answer hasn't changed.

"The feature is not in Word 2008".

Microsoft KNOWs! They PLANNED it that way. That's the way they WANT it.

We have no way to know WHY Microsoft made it this way, but the bottom line
is "that's the way they want it". It's their company, they can make the
product any way they like.

So there's nothing to resolve No action to be taken.

This is a full and complete answer to ALL your 27 different repetitions of
the same nonsense.

--
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Phillip M. Jones, CET |LIFE MEMBER: VPEA ETA-I, NESDA, ISCET, Sterling
616 Liberty Street |Who's Who. PHONE:276-632-5045, FAX:276-632-0868
Martinsville Va 24112 |[email protected], ICQ11269732, AIM pjonescet
------------------------------------------------------------------------

If it's "fixed", don't "break it"!

mailto[email protected]

<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/90th_Birthday/index.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Fulcher/default.html>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Harris/default.htm>
<http://www.kimbanet.com/~pjones/Jones/default.htm>

<http://www.vpea.org>

 

[JulieMac]

John McGhie & Beth Rosengard ought to have their MVP status revoked!

This forum is no place for attitudes or bullies, and the aforementioned question was a valid one.

If you cannot answer it, get out of the way!

I too have experienced the same problem. Word 2008 is truly a watered down version of Word 2007 for Windows.

 

[John McGhie]

Yes, it was a perfectly valid question.

If you had actually done a little research, you would have noticed that the
same poster asked the exact same question ‹ around 27 times.

I think we responded politely the first five times...

Did you see that? Did you look?

Now, if you were very busy, and someone asked the same question of you, over
and over and over again, in an inane and provocative fashion, how would you
react? Particularly if they were obviously trying to have a go at the
people who freely give of their time to try to help other users in here, how
would you have reacted?

Did you imagine that I work for Microsoft? Nope: I don't (they did offer
me a job once, but they weren't paying enough...)

Did you think that I got paid to do this? Nope, I don't. I have a day job


This is not Microsoft. This is not a business. We are just fellow users.
Just like you. We do this after hours, in our own time, as a hobby.

I pay for the computer, the bandwith, the software, and the time I spend
doing this. And I paid very dearly for the 30 years of experience I
acquired, and that I am trying to share with people in here, without charge,
or expectation of recompense.

I do, however, absolutely insist on my right to be a human being. I
jealously guard my right to have a personality: and to express that
personality any way I wish. And when I find someone as stupid as Luke
having a go at me personally, or my friends, I reserve the absolute right to
call him out. My only regret is that I am a total failure at abusing
people: I just wish I could have delivered the perfect put-down to Luke.
But sadly, it's something I simply don't have enough practice to be good at.

I earned the MVP award as a "thank-you" from Microsoft for answering
questions in here. About ten years ago. And I have to re-earn it every
year. We all do. It's quite hard to get, and it's even harder to keep it


However, I hope you will hang around and put a few answers in. You
obviously have a sense of ownership of this community, and that's the first
thing you need to become an MVP. If you want to.

Oh, if you do have a message for Microsoft, this is not the best place to
put it. Use the Send Feedback selection on the Help menu in any Microsoft
application. That way, you will be talking directly to people who work for
the corporation. In here, they may not see your message.

Cheers

John McGhie Beth Rosengard ought to have their MVP status revoked!

This forum is no place for attitudes or bullies, and the aforementioned
question was a valid one.

If you cannot answer it, get out of the way!

I too have experienced the same problem. Word 2008 is truly a watered down
version of Word 2007 for Windows.

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[CyberTaz]

Further to what John remarked, a bit of research also would reveal that the
OP not only posted the same issue repeatedly but also:

Posted the same issue using different Subject lines,
Posted the same issue to other newsgroups,
Included such labels as "UNANSWERED" and "UNRESOLVED" to the subject line of
those re-postings despite the fact that his prior posts had in fact been
answered - accurately, professionally & politely, and
Completely ignored prior requests that he stop beating the poor dead horse.

For all the same reasons expressed by John, those who visit this group -
MVPs or *not* - deserve to have others observe appropriate behavior...
Whether you wish to label it "netiquette" or just good old-fashioned
self-discipline. Beth, John & myself - among others - merely called this
individual on his impropriety after patiently enduring same for 3 days.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[JulieMac]

I was foolish enough to read the posts on this subject in the hope of finding an answer to the question.

Here is what I've found:

1) John, the user only posted 5 questions, with 12 replies to other users. Of the 5 questions, 2 relate to Entourage. In fact, you wrote: "The web portal made a mess of your question". So, the user had reposted the question, so you could read it.

How have you calculated "27 times"?

I see that you are a technical writer, so, obviously, your job is to make things up and frustrate readers. However, I suggest that you go back to grammar school and seek a math tutor.

I have counted 87 posts throughout this forum asking that your MVP status be revoked!

It does not feel good when people make up numbers, does it?

2) You should have replied the following:
"Dear User,
Thank you for contacting the Mactopia forum.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has removed the feature that you are inquiring about for the 2008 edition.
At this time, your only solution is to right-click the green line for a partial explanation of the error.
I hope this helps. Thanks for your comment!"

-- and I am not even a writer!

3) John, you've admitted that you do this for the compensation of being called an MVP. That is the compensation that you have agreed to. Therefore, if this is too much trouble for you, take a hike!

John, I repeat my suggestion that your MVP status be revoked. I will forward these posts to the representatives at Microsoft who govern the MVP designation. I am sure that they will make the right decision.

The intent of this forum is to be open, friendly, and encouraging. You have given this forum a bad name.

 

[Kieran]

The poor guy posts 5 messages, and you MVPs crucify him.

It is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE for ANY MVP to call any USER "stupid".

John McGhie owes an apology!

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Julie:

I was foolish enough to read the posts on this subject in the hope of finding
an answer to the question.

I assume you have now obtained it?

I see that you are a technical writer, so, obviously, your job is to make
things up and frustrate readers.

This may be obvious to you. I write mainly for people who have been to
school ‹ they tend to have a different perception

I have counted 87 posts throughout this forum asking that your MVP status be
revoked!

It does not feel good when people make up numbers, does it?

Oh, hell, there are a lot more than THAT!! You're not looking back far
enough! In the past ten years there have been HUNDREDS. You can't please
all of the people, all of the time. If you try, you end up pleasing nobody
any of the time. So just posting here means you will upset SOMEONE, no
matter what you say.

This post of yours, for example, has left quite a few people wondering
whether spending time in here trying to help people, for free, is worth
their while. Your post will remain visible in here for several years,
during which you may put off quite a few new people who were thinking of
making their skills and expertise available to people who would benefit from
it (and be grateful for it!)

You are quite correct, however, that nasty ungrateful people do make us feel
bad, and some of us leave. Then people looking for help lose whatever
skills we had: and then of course nobody gets anything answered, except by
the people least likely to know the correct answer.

2) You should have replied the following:
"Dear User,
Thank you for contacting the Mactopia forum.
Unfortunately, Microsoft has removed the feature that you are inquiring about
for the 2008 edition.
At this time, your only solution is to right-click the green line for a
partial explanation of the error.
I hope this helps. Thanks for your comment!"

-- and I am not even a writer!

So I see

It is not my place to answer on BEHALF of Microsoft Corporation. There are
salaried employees who do that, and they do not do it in here.

Secondly, why would *I* thank someone like that for contacting the forum? I
only thank the people who make this place pleasant to be in. Luke was not
able to scale that (admittedly quite low...) bar...

I do not consider the removal of the explanatory text from the application
to be "unfortunate". Quite the reverse: I found the "explanations" to be
patronising, and I am glad that Microsoft took them out.

I think I DID tell him to right-click the green line. At least twice

3) John, you've admitted that you do this for the compensation of being called
an MVP. That is the compensation that you have agreed to. Therefore, if this
is too much trouble for you, take a hike!

Perhaps you might care to point out where I said that? I must be typing in
my sleep!!

For anyone laughing along, that is not, of course, the reason I do this.
And I don't believe I have EVER said anything that would give that
impression.

John, I repeat my suggestion that your MVP status be revoked.

Go for it!! Bring it on

I will forward
these posts to the representatives at Microsoft who govern the MVP
designation. I am sure that they will make the right decision.

I have every confidence that they will. They have known me for ten years.
See you next year

The intent of this forum is to be open, friendly, and encouraging. You have
given this forum a bad name.

Please! Do not allow me to delay you in your increasingly more urgent
search for someone who gives...

Cheers

--
Don't wait for your answer, click here: http://www.word.mvps.org/

Please reply in the group. Please do NOT email me unless I ask you to.

John McGhie, Consultant Technical Writer
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
http://jgmcghie.fastmail.com.au/
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, Australia
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]

 

[Beth Rosengard]

Julie,

Before you blast (again) John, myself or any other MVP, how about doing a
Google search of this newsgroup
(<http://groups.google.com/group/microsoft.public.mac.office.word/topics?hl=
en&gvc=1>) and then on our names. Then start randomly clicking around in
the results and see just how many users we have helped in the last 5-10
years. Also note how many times we have been rude.

What kind of percentage do you get? Worth having us disappear from this
newsgroup? I'm not saying it's okay to be rude, by the way. But, hey, we're
human. It happens sometimes ... very, very rarely!

I was foolish enough to read the posts on this subject in the hope of finding
an answer to the question.

And, clearly, you got one:

Unfortunately, Microsoft has removed the feature that you are inquiring
about for the 2008 edition. At this time, your only solution is to
right-click the green line for a partial explanation of the error.

--
***Please always reply to the newsgroup!***

Beth Rosengard
Mac MVP

Mac Word FAQ: <http://word.mvps.org/Mac/WordMacHome.html>
My Site: <http://www.bethrosengard.com>

 

[JulieMac]

Beth,

You cannot antagonize a user by saying that they have posted "27 questions" when they have only posted 5.

You cannot call a user "stupid".

You cannot say things like "Is your condition likely to respond to medication soon?"

Familiarize yourself with the following link, as these are the rules that MVPs are governed by:

&nbsp;&lt;http://www.microsoft.com/communities/conduct/default.mspx&gt;

Finally, if you wish to make a claim, substantiate it.

Making facts up is childish and immature behavior.