Monday, January 19, 2009
Moving from Word 2003 to Word 2007
The transition from Word 2003 to Word 2007 has not bean an easy one for some users. The ribbon interface, which Microsoft introduced in Office 2007, does make many features easier to find and use. But it's radically different than the previous interface and it isn't as customizable as the menu structure in previous versions of Word. While the ribbon may make life easier for novice users, it's made life more difficult for power users, including some technical writers, if the comments on the wordpc-l mailing list are any indication.
If you want to upgrade from Word 2003 to Word 2007, there are some things that you can do to make the transition easier.
First, Christine Kent, an Australian technical writer and frequent contributor to the wordpc-l mailing list, has published a couple of excellent books on Word 2007. The first, Enjoy ... Upgrading Word 2007 is a guide for users of previous versions of Word who are moving to Word 2007. As any experienced user of Word knows, taking the time to set up Word properly makes a huge difference in its usability. This book steps you through everything you'll need to do to set up Word for maximum stability and ease of use. Along the way, you'll learn the main differences between Word 2007 and earlier versions. I had a chance to read an advance copy of this last year, and I was highly impressed. Once you've worked your way through this book, you can buy Enjoy ... Microsoft Word 2007, which is a more detailed guide to Word's features. Both books are attractively laid out, full of useful tips, and well worth the reasonable price of $9.95 (for the download edition, a dead-tree version is also available).
You might also check out Christine Kent's Word 2007 blog, which is full of useful tips and articles.
Microsoft have an online tool that will help you find where features live in Word 2007. It duplicates the Word 2003 interface - point to a feature, and it'll show you its location in Word 2007. You'll need IE with scripting enable to get it to work.
There's another Microsoft tool, which adds a Getting Started tab to the ribbon interface, with links to online articles and tutorial videos. Basically, it's an expansion of the help system to include more online content.
Then there's the Search Commands add-in for Office 2007. The web site says "helps you find commands, options, wizards, and galleries in Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just type what you’re looking for in your own words and click the command you need. Search Commands also includes Guided Help, which acts as a tour guide for specific tasks.This adds another tab which lets you search the interface for commands." I use this one quite a bit.
Finally, as I pointed out last week, customizing the Quick Access toolbar is a great way of putting the your most used commands together in one place, especially commands that aren't in the ribbon.
If you want to upgrade from Word 2003 to Word 2007, there are some things that you can do to make the transition easier.
First, Christine Kent, an Australian technical writer and frequent contributor to the wordpc-l mailing list, has published a couple of excellent books on Word 2007. The first, Enjoy ... Upgrading Word 2007 is a guide for users of previous versions of Word who are moving to Word 2007. As any experienced user of Word knows, taking the time to set up Word properly makes a huge difference in its usability. This book steps you through everything you'll need to do to set up Word for maximum stability and ease of use. Along the way, you'll learn the main differences between Word 2007 and earlier versions. I had a chance to read an advance copy of this last year, and I was highly impressed. Once you've worked your way through this book, you can buy Enjoy ... Microsoft Word 2007, which is a more detailed guide to Word's features. Both books are attractively laid out, full of useful tips, and well worth the reasonable price of $9.95 (for the download edition, a dead-tree version is also available).
You might also check out Christine Kent's Word 2007 blog, which is full of useful tips and articles.
Microsoft have an online tool that will help you find where features live in Word 2007. It duplicates the Word 2003 interface - point to a feature, and it'll show you its location in Word 2007. You'll need IE with scripting enable to get it to work.
There's another Microsoft tool, which adds a Getting Started tab to the ribbon interface, with links to online articles and tutorial videos. Basically, it's an expansion of the help system to include more online content.
Then there's the Search Commands add-in for Office 2007. The web site says "helps you find commands, options, wizards, and galleries in Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just type what you’re looking for in your own words and click the command you need. Search Commands also includes Guided Help, which acts as a tour guide for specific tasks.This adds another tab which lets you search the interface for commands." I use this one quite a bit.
Finally, as I pointed out last week, customizing the Quick Access toolbar is a great way of putting the your most used commands together in one place, especially commands that aren't in the ribbon.
Labels: Microsoft Word, Office 2007
Comments:
Post a Comment
