Microsoft Office 2007–Ready for a New Day
Posted on January 25, 2007 in the category
I spent the better part of today Microsoft’s launch of their new product Office 2007. I was impressed and amazed at some of the difference and improvements this product had over some of their previous office products. Set to be released January 30, the Office Suite 2007 greatest change will be the replacement of its tool bars with a feature Microsoft is calling “ribbons.”
Some other new additions to this new software are a collaboration and communication suite for small businesses known as Groove. The feature that I was most impressed with is their revision to the server platform for Office applications. They are calling this Office Sharepoint Server 2007. Microsoft is replacing Microsoft Front Page with a new item called Microsoft Expression Web.
There have been several changes made to the user interface (UI) of the Microsoft Office Suite. Here is an overview of the changes to the user interface:
• The Office Button-this replaces the file menu and is located at the same place as the file menu. This button gives you access to the basic file functions, such as; open, print and save. A unique color scheme may also be selected.
• The Ribbon-this is where you find all your commands and icons. The ribbon is a panel that groups commands that perform functions that are related to each other. Each office application has a unique set of tabs designed for the functions used within that application. These tabs replace the menu and are designed to make the functions more easily viewable and assessable.
• Contextual Tabs-These tabs become visible only when specific items are selected. For instance, selecting a table brings up a tab with options that are related specifically to tables. You are not able to view these tabs when the specific object related to it is not selected.
• Live Preview-this option is really neat. When you do a mouse-over, temporary formatting will be shown on the selected object. For example, if you wish to change the font on a document, the selected text will appear in the font that you have your mouse on. You can run your mouse down the whole list of fonts to decide which one looks best without having to apply any of the fonts.
• Mini Toolbar-this toolbar appears whenever certain text is selected. The mini toolbar provides quick access to frequently used formatting commands. The toolbar appears when the mouse is over the text and it becomes transparent when the mouse is not.
• Super-tooltips-this option shows text and pictures that explain the function of the buttons.
• Quick Access toolbar-this resides on the title bar and holds the most frequently used functions for all Office programs, such as; save, undo/redo and print.
Like everything in this world that changes, the differences will take time to get used to how they work and where they are located. With that being said, I feel that Microsoft has done a good job of anticipating what their users need. The improvements that have been made to Office 2007 will only succeed in making people more efficient at performing their jobs or running their businesses.
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