Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007

Didn't find your answer?

My software exports reports to Microsoft Word but only to 2003 and later.

I seem to remember hearing that the newer versions of Word and Excel had a "ribbon" rather than the menus etc that I'm used to. As I can't afford to lose time learning new stuff just at the moment, I want to know if Office 2007's Word and Excel are basically the same as 2002.

Many thanks
Sherman Holter

Replies (6)

Please login or register to join the discussion.

By RogerNeale
11th Sep 2008 13:52

Office 2007 is great but...................

I've been using Word, Outlook, Publisher and Excel 2007 for some time now and, so far, I've only come across one major problem.

The problem is, Excel 2007 no longer supports the option to save files as a database type eg .DBF.
It saves as a .CSV file but that doesn't allow us to do what we need to.

This is particularly important to me and others who work with Microsoft FoxPro databases as we often export data from one accounting system into Excel, clean and sort it and then import it into a new accounting system.

As a result I have had to stop using Excel 2007 and revert to Excel 2003 from my previous version of Office.

Otherwise, although it has taken some time to get used to, I really like the new layout.

Regards

Roger Neale
Business Systems Consultant

Contact me directly on 07714 670 789 if you want to discuss it.

or email me : roger(at)perkeo(dot)demon(dot)co(dot)uk

Thanks (0)
avatar
By cverrier
10th Sep 2008 09:17

Give it a chance!
I've used Office 2007 for the past year or so, and I can say that - once past the inevitable "where on earth did they put..." pain, it does work better for me, and I wouldn't go back.

Microsoft's own studies with early testers tended to show a drop in productivity that then recovered after a week or so to a level slightly higher than before the switch to 2007.

On top of that, I find generally that the documents I produce in Office 2007 just look better because of much improved styles, colour schemes, etc.

Office 2007 data files are about half the size of Office 2003 files. If you do adopt the new format, you're going to get more bang for your hardware buck.

As far as compatibility is concerned - I never send original Word documents/spreadsheets out to clients - I always save them as PDF files (did I mention Office has a 'Save to PDF' option?). It just gives me a little added security.

For anybody interested in Microsoft's throught processes during the design of Office 2007, there's a very good Blog by one of their product managers...

http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/tags/Why+the+New+UI_3F00_/default.aspx

The basic problem they tried to address was illustrated by statistics that showed how many 'feature requests' sent to Microsoft were for features that Office 2003 already had! It was not just about letting you get to the features you use every day, but also about showing you features you may not have known existed.

Contrary to much opinion, Microsoft agonised about every aspect of the new design - they were just trying to cope with the reality of a product that has so MANY menus and buttons, that it was becoming unmanageable in its previous design. (and by the way, I know from personal experience that taking features OUT of a product is NEVER a success! - there are always people whose very lives seem to depend on some obscure function that you didn't think important)

Thanks (0)
avatar
By User deleted
04th Sep 2008 16:52

I like it
I've used Office 07 at work for a few months now and I wouldn't go back.

It took a little bit of getting used to but only a couple of days. The ribbon is essentially horizontal menus rather than vertical ones in my opinion.

You can customise the quick access toolbar for the essential items (although I've only got about 5 things on there because it isn't a problem finding the other things that I need).

I have Office 2000 at home and it is incredibly frustrating because it takes a lot longer to do anything on there.

Excel 2007 has better conditional formatting, the function library is great and cell naming is quicker and easier.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By amarshah69
04th Sep 2008 16:27

Open Office
Why not try Open Office - much easier to use & FREE

Thanks (0)
avatar
By AnonymousUser
04th Sep 2008 15:13

Stay away from Office 2007 unless..

..you test it and see if features you rely on and regularily use are easily accessed. Otherwise, see if you can find a 2003 copy or try open office.

We made the leap and upgarded our complete setup this year - server - desktops etc.

We had a mix of users - from people who use only 2 or 3 functions to semi-experts who use quite a lot.

Without exception there was grief.

People could not find the function or button they wanted.

In some cases microsoft had moved/disabled/rehashed a particular function they had relied upon. In some cases they have redesigned a button or moved it to a different menu.

Our secretaries are still mourning the loss of autotext.

We had to buy a third party program to put the old buttons back into Office 2007 for some people. (Classic Menu from Add-in Tools)

We have to make sure that docs and spreadsheets are saved in 2003 format as not everyone can open what you send them.

Now the good bit - Our more confident users have made the transition and some features that were hidden to less expert users are more visible.

Still a good program but overall we have not found one new feature worth paying for yet.

Thanks (0)
avatar
By Richard Willis
04th Sep 2008 14:23

I wouldn't say so
Hi Sherman

The new version of office does everything that the 'old' ones did, except that they have, in their infinite wisdom, decided to completely change the way in which one accesses the menus.

I have, on my desk, a new state of the art PC which I am yet to use because I could not get Office 2003 pre-loaded. Until you have explored every avenue to source a copy of 2003 (which is inherently much the same as the prior versions) I would not even consider it if you are time poor!

Thanks (0)