Microsoft Office 2007 Preview

excellent
key review info
  • Application: Microsoft Office 2007 Beta 2
  • Reviewed on:
application features
  • Improved design
  • (4 more, see all...)

When talking about Office suites, there is only one reference: how good is the X software, compared to Microsoft Office?

Tradition and experience have set a standard in this field for all Office suites that have been released. But no matter how much you would embellish all the others, Microsoft Office remains the best in the branch. These are not just some volatile affirmations, but a confirmed fact.

Enough talk, let's see some action!

It?s now time to see whether Microsoft will continue to give us the same good quality product. For this purpose I?m going to play a little with Microsoft Office 2007 (beta), and see whether the name is up to the challenge.

When running the featured applications I was presented with a completely new user interface. The menus and toolbars I was used to were gone. But they were replaced with a much more effective device: the ribbon, which organizes the functions using tabs. The ribbon isn?t the same with all applications that come with this suite, and it has different tabs for each. For instance, since Word is a text editor, you only need to work with specific functions (even though over the years it has been improving and transforming, so you can now use it to perform much more advanced operations than just editing text). Thus you will see text relevant tabs that you can use to create, insert or format text. The same applies for Excel, where you will get tabs such as insert worksheets, edit formulas, and so on, as well as other applications, each having its own profile and correspondent actions.

Also, you won?t have to worry about all the keyboard shortcuts that you used to utilize: when pressing the Alt button, for each tab and function that?s available through a shortcut, a correspondent letter or number will show up. In fact, all the items that you can access via click are available this way. Hence, you can work with no mouse whatsoever, without having to navigate your way using the tab key (for features that have similar names letter combinations are available).

There are so many operations you can perform with an office program that if it were to gather them all in the ribbon at the same time, it would stretch to the whole work area. When you edit certain objects (a picture, for instance), you will need special formatting tools that, in the past, were ?hidden? in the advanced or format picture section, which made it difficult to access. But now, contextual tabs appear when you select certain objects, and you will get specific operations for each one (add frame to a picture, for example). Thanks to this feature, all the commands that you need are placed in the ribbon, exactly when you need them, and vanish afterwards.

The old dialog boxes that asked the same ?are you sure...?? question, and sometimes got you confused, are gone, making room for a live preview-like feature: the galleries. They provide lists of results that you can choose from and give you a preview by simply hovering over the list.

Another new (and very useful) feature is the Quick access toolbar. The name pretty much suggests its purpose. This is a small toolbar that?s placed above the ribbon (you can place it under, if this suits you better) and contains small buttons for the save, undo, redo, print and insert block functions. If you perform other operations on a regular basis, you can add them to the toolbar as well.

Microsoft figured out your need to get accustomed to the new interface, and has introduced pop-up information clips that not only tell you the name of the option, but also provide additional information about it and a shortcut key combination (apart from the Alt+ path that you can normally use).

Word

It?s most probable that the first application that you?ll run after installing the package is Word. As I?ve previously said, the interface will be striking in a pleasant way. It?s not just about office work now; it?s also about enjoying it. The ribbon features seven tabs: Home, Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review and View, with all the basic operations gathered into the Home section.

After all these years of getting used to the Office menu, you will need to get accommodated to the new ribbon. But this is not a difficult task, since the functions are placed in a logical order that one would need when working with a text document. Also, each tab is structured so that it offers all you need for that specific area.

The ruler and grids are hidden now, and you can only have them shown when/if you need to, giving Word a simpler view. Working with the galleries is easy and fun. When applying styles you simply have to select the ?target? text and then click on the style that you want. The default font is the newly introduced Calibri, which offers a friendlier look to your text. Microsoft has introduced the Mini toolbar, that?s shown translucently when selecting a text. This way you get all the basic commands that are likely to be performed when text is selected: change font, grow/shrink size, add highlight or change the color, center it, increase/decrease indent or add bullets.

The only trace of the old menu is the File button, placed in the upper left corner. Here you will be able to create, open, save or print your document, and work on the program?s options. Just like the functions in the ribbon, there are some settings (mostly the new ones) that have information clips, which are shown when you hover over them for a little while (these are marked with a small inform icon.)

If you?re working with multiple documents and need to see them all at the same time, you can go to the view tab and select the ?Arrange all? icon. This will minimize all the program?s windows that are open, and place them vertically, one under the other. Also, if your document is a large one, you can activate the thumbnail pane that will be placed on the left part of the window. If this is not up to your demands, you can switch to Document map, and have it present a structural tree view of your file, with links to the most important branches.

Excel

After talking about Word, there?s not much to say about Excel. It has the same new ribbon that makes working with tables and math a lot easier.

It does, however, bring new features that help you when working with the program.

When working with a function, you now get a dropdown list of possible functions to choose from, that?s updated as you type. For each item in the list you get a short description of what it does, so if you?re working with a new function you won?t have to go to the help menu in order to get additional information.

Conditional formatting is now more accessible, providing more criterions highlighting options. You can insert data bars, color scales or icon sets, and if the existing rules are too simple for your demands, you can insert your own, more advanced formula that will be the new formatting criteria.

There?s a formula tab on the ribbon, providing better use of the existing formulas: there are seven categories with dropdown lists that contain all the functions in that category, and information clips for each one.

Access

The database application that Microsoft offers in this suite has a facelift too.

When starting it, you have a Getting started window that will help you get acquainted with the new look. It does the same job as the old File>New option, but with much greater ease from your behalf.

The main database window that was the heart of the program in the past is now reincarnated in the Create tab. You can now add rich text formatting to your data, and also you can attach multiple files to each of your records. In order to help you navigate through your database, there?s a navigation pane placed on the left part of the screen. You can organize your tables, forms, reports, queries and macros better by either categorizing them, or filtering them, so that you get the view that fits you best.

Apart from the navigation pane, you get a tabbed browsing option that comes in handy since it shows tabs of all your open database components, placed right above the work area.

PowerPoint

This program gets the same great look that Office has introduced (or, should I say, will introduce) with the 2007 version of Microsoft Office. The ways the new options and settings are organized and blended with the old ones make creating presentations easier and more comfortable.

There are some improvements, though. You can now add nice text effects, such as character spacing and kerning, strikethrough, double strikethrough and colored underlining, or, you can equalize the character height. You can also apply a soft shadow, or use word art styles for your text.

As for the graphics that you use for your slides, you can now create visual effects such as soft shadows, bevel, reflections or 3D. Not to mention that now you can recolor or change the frame shape for the pictures in your presentations. This will really cut down on your preprocessing work on the graphics in other more specialized programs.

The Smart Art feature will help you transform all those bulleted lists in nice and smooth graphics that will present your work in the spotlight.

Also, there are new themes, styles, layouts and templates you can choose from.

Outlook, InfoPath and Publisher

In the beta version that I?ve worked with, I only found three other components, namely InfoPath, Publisher and Outlook. These don?t have the same redesigned look of all the other components, but some improvement is noticeable in the feature compartment.

Office now features Information rights management (IRM) that enables you to prevent the recipients from forwarding, copying or printing sensible information. On top of that, you can set an expiration date for your message, after which you?ll not be able to read or perform any action to it.

Another useful feature is the E-Mail Postmark, which insures that the messages you receive are not spam, and that your messages will not be marked as spam in the recipient?s mailbox.

Also, Outlook can now work with RSS feeds, making your research work easier (in fact, you won?t need to do any research work anymore, since Outlook does it for you).

Also, you can categorize your e-mails by colors, giving you a better way to organize your information. The attachments that you receive are now a lot easier to view, thanks to the Attachment preview that?s featured in this new version of Outlook.

As for what InfoPath is concerned, creating and working with forms is now easier. You can convert word and excel documents to form templates that InfoPath can handle.

You can also create PDF or XPS copies of your forms, giving you good offline form management. The XSLT, XML and Web services take care of any incompatibilities between the architecture that your company uses and InfoPath.

Last, but not least, Publisher steps in the stage and allows you to create good quality publications. Among its new features you can find, for starters, improved search function. Furthermore, now you have the ability to save your files as PDF or XML, so that others can easily view them. You can choose from 70 color schemes, and if these aren?t enough for you, you are free to create new ones. Just as in InfoPath?s case, the Getting started window makes things easier for you, and allows you to navigate through the categorized templates so that you make the right choice

The Good

Certainly, there are many great things one could say about Office 2007. The new design, along with an improved functionality, as well as the user oriented interface, confirms the fact that there is no true competitor for Microsoft?s Office.

The Bad

Installing the suite took about twenty minutes, and keeping in mind that it was the only application running, it?s quite some time. The help menu is not to be found, but the information clips that guide you when using the new features make up for it.

The Truth

It?s hard for me to point out every new feature that Microsoft has implemented in this beta version of Office 2007. The new look will take some time to get used to, but the way it?s redesigned makes things intuitive and it?s easy to find your way in the new ribbon. After working with the programs that come in the package all I can say is: Whew! The new features and functions overwhelmed me, but, at the same time, left me with an ?I can?t wait to get my hands on the final release? feeling.

Check out the screenshots below to see the programs in action:

Microsoft Word

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Microsoft Excel
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Microsoft Access
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Microsoft PowerPoint
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Microsoft Outlook, InfoPath and Publisher
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user interface 5
features 5
ease of use 5
pricing / value 5


final rating 5
Editor's review
excellent
 
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