MS Word 2007

[K Frame]

Holy crap. I just upgraded from Word 2003 and it's a shock how different things are.

[Manedwolf]

Holy crap. I just upgraded from Word 2003 and it's a shock how different things are.

I didn't like it, when I looked at it. Powerpoint especially looked very Fisher-Price. Same with Word.

I've kept with an older version on my Mac.



Don't like the Ribbon. Reminds me of MS Publisher. I want File Edit View Insert Format...etc, not those bloated jewels. Why does MS have to make its icons so BIG?

Also? Watch what all those changes do to your productivity. I've heard a lot of profanity in the office.

[Dntsycnt]

Open Office FTW!



Sorry...

[K Frame]

"Open Office!"

Office computer. Not an option. Not really an option for the home computer, either, because I need full interoperability with the office computer.


And yeah, so far I'm not too crazy about the "ribbon." I need to see what I can do to customize the ribbons. As far as I can tell so far... not a lot.

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

This is why I stick with tried & true Office 97. Not a lot of gimmickry, fully functional with Word 2007, doesn't want to connect to the internet all the time like the newer Office versions seem to do (according to ZoneAlarm).

[BrokenPaw]

Holy crap. I just updowngraded from Word 2003 and it's a shock how different things are.

Fixed it for you.

The only thing I like about Word 2007 is the fact that when you highlight text and then hover over it, a context-relevant menu fades in.

But that ribbon thing.  Fie upon it, and a pox upon the Gates house for good measure.

-BP

[Manedwolf]

"Open Office!"

Office computer. Not an option. Not really an option for the home computer, either, because I need full interoperability with the office computer.


And yeah, so far I'm not too crazy about the "ribbon." I need to see what I can do to customize the ribbons. As far as I can tell so far... not a lot.

That's what I've heard. MS doesn't seem to understand that refining a user interface means listening to the user and making tweaks to address complaints.

The ribbon is like taking a car, reversing where the gas and brake pedals are, putting the shift backwards and on the ceiling, and calling the wipers "rain removal options" on a big-icons touchscreen.

[Standing Wolf]

The ribbon is like taking a car, reversing where the gas and brake pedals are, putting the shift backwards and on the ceiling, and calling the wipers "rain removal options" on a big-icons touchscreen.

If my page lay-out program didn't require Word, I wouldn't even consider using the unreliable, ugly thing.

[BrokenPaw]

There's a company that sells software that replaces the ribbon with classic menus: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/

It's got a free 15-day trial, and it costs $16 (or for $30 you can get the version that does it to all of the office 2007 apps, not just Word).  I know nothing about how well it works or whether it'll scrag your system.  Caveat emptor.

-BP

[Manedwolf]

There's a company that sells software that replaces the ribbon with classic menus: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/

It's got a free 15-day trial, and it costs $16 (or for $30 you can get the version that does it to all of the office 2007 apps, not just Word).  I know nothing about how well it works or whether it'll scrag your system.  Caveat emptor.

-BP

The fact that someone needed to create that...

[K Frame]

Nice, but no way in hell can I even consider downloading that for the office computer.

That comes under the heading of "that's software we'll fire your ass for installing."

[Racehorse]

I switched to 2007 almost a year ago, and I have to say I love the change. It takes a little getting used to, but I think the ribbon is far superior to the old menu system.

Excel 2007 is quite simply the best spreadsheet ever.

[BrokenPaw]

Nice, but no way in hell can I even consider downloading that for the office computer.
That comes under the heading of "that's software we'll fire your ass for installing."

Install it on a co-worker's machine (preferably one you hate), and then always ask to borrow it because yours "seems to be acting up.  Again."   If they ever get uppity about it, turn them in for having unauthorized software. 

-BP

[MechAg94]

Looks to me like they are trying to dumb down the menu options.  To hell with people who already know the old versions.  Looks like it will be frustrating if I ever have to upgrade to it. 

That was one thing I liked about all the MS Office programs.  All the drop down menus and most all of the tool bars were nearly identical.  Looks to me like that will change.

[Dntsycnt]

Looks like it caught the Vista bug.  Good lord...

When is Google going to come out with an OS?  Something simple and reliable...

[Unisaw]

I actually think that Word 2007 is a big improvement.  It took a few days to get used to the ribbon but it seems much more intuitive to me.  The only pain has been that some people who haven't upgraded have not downloaded the file that converts Word 2007 files back to the prior version.

[Iain]

Been forced to upgrade to vista at work (512mb of ram) and the only thing I like about it is word.

[zahc]

I think it's funny how microsoft keeps getting worse and worse, and especially how it basically doesn't affect me.

[K Frame]

Well, after a day and a half of using it, I have to say it's really growing on me.

[Manedwolf]

Well, after a day and a half of using it, I have to say it's really growing on me.

You didn't comment that Iain needs more RAM! 

[Vodka7]

I never gave it the fews day to grow on me.  I installed Open Office (which probably also comes under the heading of software that will get you fired) and am much happier using it than I was with Word 2007.  I'm not a linux guy and I've tried OO several times in the past without ever liking it, but Word 2007's interface was enough to convince me to switch after I spent two minutes trying to figure out something that used to take me five seconds to do (for the fifth time in a row.)  The interface isn't much more advanced than Word 97's was, but it has all the features I need and more.  Every file I've saved in Word 97-2003 .DOC format has worked perfectly for the people I've sent it to.

I doubt the spreadsheet program it has would stack up against Excel, but its Writer program beats out Word for me.

[Manedwolf]

Open Office for OSX is horrendously ugly and clunky. I looked at it and it went right into the trash. It was like a bad OS9 throwback.

[zahc]

So far I've managed to get through a 4 year physics degree, a summer internship, and a year of grad school's worth of extensive presentations, papers, and spreadsheets with openoffice, without a single problem or complain. Granted, I'm generally running the latest version on linux. It might be worth looking into.

[K Frame]

I dumped Open Office the moment I realized that my company's enterprise software license extended to home use and I could get the full MS Office Suite 2003 for $20.

[Iain]

I dumped Open Office the moment I realized that my company's enterprise software license extended to home use and I could get the full MS Office Suite 2003 for $20.

Similarly we dropped it from consideration and scrapped XP when we realised that as a charity we could get Vista and Office 07 for a $15 administration fee.

There was an interesting discussion on one of the scienceblogs the other day about whether or not OO's spreadsheet could cut it for lab work. Pivot tables and the like, the blogger had discovered some of her students had come across a problem with Excel and wanted to see it OO could deal with it. I'll try and dig it up if anyone is interested.