Office 2007

Anyone here using it? If so, what do you think?

I just installed the standard version last week. It's not too bad. It's taking me a little bit of time getting used to it, but overall I like it. I have pro, but I wanted to workout the admin installs and whatnot for deployment.

I like the new interface and I like the auto preview when changing the formatting, font/size, etc. They actually did something cool for once instead of adding features I won't use.

It is also easy on the eyes. Uses more resources than previous version though... (big surprise)

I don't like that it can't be installed on Windows 2000. The person who ordered it here didn't do enough research and ordered Office 2007 for the whole company. I have about 40 users who will not be able to move to office 2007 until they get upgraded to XP. :( Yay! Even more work for me...

I do like that Outlook 2007 will discover the exchange server settings and automatically configure the account settings.

Oh, as far as I can tell... You can't push it out via Group Policy! :( That makes me kind of angry... I'm still looking into this though. Aparently, they did have the ability, but removed the docs from tech net. I can't find a cached version either.

I also don't like that the default doc types can't be viewed by previous versions without a compatibility toolkit installed. I've set the default save as types back to 97-2003 via group policy until everyone catches up.

If anyone is interested, m$ has release a *free* e-book for a limited time.
First Look

They also have some *free* e-learning courses for a limited time.
E-Learning

I haven't checked out the e-learning courses yet.
I'm hoping they can be downloaded for future use...

I'll play around with that after I get back from the gym and I'll report back.

Please do - interested in buying a copy but it'll take a lot to convince me it's worth spending the bucks on after using OpenOffice for so long.

You can check out the training for free. I have not yet had a chance to check it out. I came home to a lost cat (someone elses) and have been trying to help get pictures and create a flyer along with feed it and give it a litter box.

I'll post back after I check them out. You can at least view the pdf ebook if you don't have a spare hour to check out the e-learning class. :)

Sympathies to ya Phish - at least your strays are feline in nature...since last October I've inherited 2 wayward female humans and a pending grandbaby. Can't seem to sell or trade them off to anyone so I wound up getting a larger house. Welcome to Estrogenland!

I'd gladly welcome two females... not sure about wayward females. I'd have to whip 'em into shape, if you know what I mean. Maybe make a buck or two on the internet from some webcam site? lol Who am I kidding. I can barely "manage" the one I have now. Rather, she manages me...

I'll take the felines over the humans anyday. :)

I like the UI but seem to be having some difficulty porting docs back to previous versions to allow for document sharing.

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Originally Posted by MsMittens

I like the UI but seem to be having some difficulty porting docs back to previous versions to allow for document sharing.

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Are you saving them in .doc or .xls (97-2003) format? We have very few people using it at this point. We have not run into any compatibility problems... yet.

I'm thinking of rolling out the 2007 compat. toolkit to users not on 2007 yet... just in case.

The problem we always had was that senior mgt always wanted Corel and Lotus because thats what they're used to and know. Everyone else wants Office. So, we never got official permission to "standardize". We were just getting Office OEM with new workstations. As you can guess, that created a nightmare trying to manage versions, licenses, patches, updates, and media. The workstations that didn't have Office OEM and didn't really need it just got the viewers. Not to mention compatiblity issues.

Try to save them as .doc. I even changed it so it defaults to Word 97/2000 but it doesn't seem to be. One of the things I find annoying is the lack of a "Save As.." option. Either I just can't find it or it doesn't exist.

There is one in the "office button" in the top left.

Wow.. thanks. Didn't even see that. Definately way different UI.

Well i love the new office. Got the trial pack from Microsofts developer conference and its great.

In fact its so different but still so same to the previous ones.

The ribbon thing is cool and there are no more cumbersome menus to go through which had become a complex thing in office 2003. Also the smart art and 3D effects for the presentaions are really good.

The Save as menu is still present. Just click on the office logo at the top and you'll see it.

For me this release of office is really good packed with a good interface and pretty good features as well.

I don't like it. It seems to have focused on develping everything from a general user point of view and played down the developer side of things.

If I want to work in Excel or Word or Access - in particular use the more advanced features - then I go to the computer running Office 2003. My custom functions and my macros work, unlike in 2007 which mysteriously adds a paragraph in between address lines and I can't work out why (the same macro doesn't do this in 2003).

It took me a while to even find out where the vb button was in Office 2007 - to me it just feels like they've dumbed it down. I'm all for the ribbon replacing hidden menus etc, but I wish they'd given the same sort of prominence to vba and similar more advanced features.

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Originally Posted by Moira

I don't like it. It seems to have focused on develping everything from a general user point of view and played down the developer side of things.

If I want to work in Excel or Word or Access - in particular use the more advanced features - then I go to the computer running Office 2003. My custom functions and my macros work, unlike in 2007 which mysteriously adds a paragraph in between address lines and I can't work out why (the same macro doesn't do this in 2003).

It took me a while to even find out where the vb button was in Office 2007 - to me it just feels like they've dumbed it down. I'm all for the ribbon replacing hidden menus etc, but I wish they'd given the same sort of prominence to vba and similar more advanced features.

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Moira: I don't use the advanced features that you speak of. I'm pretty sure that most of the people at my work wouldn't use it for that either. Most of my users need things dumbed down so that is important to me. It's nice that they put all the tools you use and need all the time "in your face" and don't have to go hunting for them.

Have you checked to see if they have a "classic" view or a way to revert? I have not read anything about changing the view back and I haven't stumbled on one in exploring it. You can add more buttons to the ribbon though. The PC I'm on now has 2k3 on it or I'd post some shots.

I have just played around with it enough to create admin installs and make sure there were no MAJOR comptaiblity problems. I'm also a little pissed that you can't roll out via AD using MSI. I have have a workaround for that though... just wish I didn't have to do it that way. Looks like we'll be running 2007 AND 2003 for a little while seeing that 2007 won't run on 2K. :( Those workstation will be upgraded in a year or so... so it's not that big of a deal..

Maybe they should release two versions?
Office 2007 for dumb users and Office 2007 for Moira. :D

I must admit. Outlook 2007 is growing on me.
If I could keep that and scrap the rest, I'd be happy.

Honestly, I'm just as happy using notepad++ or openoffice. I've actually been using google's mail, calendar, Docs and Spreadsheets lately. It is pretty damn handy and a great tool for a couple of people to share docs/sheets and organize events. I set it up as a test to see if my girl and I would use it. It's been working out great! I just wish it was secure. I don't feel comfortable putting personal data out there knowing it is transfered in clear text. We're just using it to toss about some numbers and keep track of wedding plans and appointments.

Mostly I just use a text editor too ... at work I don't use Office that much and at home I'm more concerned with "useful" than "fancy". I did all the advanced ECDL modules some years back though, and it just seems that the stuff I learned there is less catered for in Office 2007.

Is there a 64 Bit version of Office 2007?

Steve

Not as far as I know.

I've been using it for a couple of weeks now, no problems so far with backword compatibility to be honest (at least with office 2k3, that is ;))

I like the new interface, but it does take a lot more resources indeed! To expected, ofcourse, but still...

What I miss btw is the view in calendar where you can have the days of the week next to eachother per 2 days and then under eachother (I hope you know what I mean... like an analog calendar :P)

All in all I quite like it so far...

I just today used the new Groove that comes with office 2k7. The synchronization features and the formation of collaborative workspace is something i found pretty cool.

My friends and i are working on a project and sharing of files becomes very easy with it which is at times the primary concern. I think that groove is supercool. The updates for files were pretty fast and the sharing becomes very easy and comfortable.

Give it a shot and i think you people will like it too.

Hi,
I hate people moving over to other software just because it is a neye candy and that too (Microsoft).
I would really like to know what are the functional improvements in Office 2007.?
Just curious that's it.
Is it really worth it?
When was the last time I heard of a exploit in MS word?...not long back as I recall.

Exactly. I have it on the PC running Vista but kept Office 2003 on the other PCs. To be honest, I've yet to discover something I actually like better in 2007, but the "developer" side is less catered for and the VBA is less high profile (it isn't even easy to find).

You might say i am overexaggerating things but i find that one note 2007 ans office groove 2007 are simple too good.

I can go as far to say that microsoft has, with the release of these 2 products, has gone on to remove the pain for all the complaints i had had with them over multiple issues, be it on OS or on other fronts.

These 2 products have simplified the way i work. The note making is something i had not tried in the 2003 version and is new for me. The groove is new in this office release only.

Be sure to go through the walkthrough of features in one note and experiment a bit with groove. I found them pretty useful. I would say that donot go by the reputation of microsoft for making lousy products and marketing them well. These are 2 of the coolest things in the office package.

Cheers

The main difficulty I find with the new version of Office is that Access is so different. However, I keep telling myself there are better database programs to learn. Nobody uses Acces in real life - what do people reckon is the best database app, which would be more use than getting used to Access all over again?

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Originally Posted by phishphreek

There is one in the "office button" in the top left.

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weird...

looks like a windows start menu built inside office. kinda like having 2x the windows, 2x the fun!

Fun ..

learn SQL?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Moira

The main difficulty I find with the new version of Office is that Access is so different. However, I keep telling myself there are better database programs to learn. Nobody uses Access in real life - what do people reckon is the best database app, which would be more use than getting used to Access all over again?

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Moira, they most certainly do............ where do you think that all the "user mushrooms" come from? :D

Access is a excellent tool for ad hoc developments, prototyping and data analysis. The main problem is that people try to use it for things it is not really suitable for.

If you want something that is robust, flexible, multisite and multiuser, then look at SQL. However, SQL applications cost extra money and require training......... hard to justify for casual users given that Access is already paid for and licenced.

If you look at all the other office suites you will find that they all contain something similar to Access. It is the lowest level of RDBM application.

:)

Ah that reassures me. I've had people diss everything I know about Access, saying nobody seriously uses it for anything other than tin pot applications. When I was learning datasets in VB, I was told that we'd "practice on an Access database, but IRL nobody would be using Access for a project requiring datasets and VB to connect to it".

Of course, learning Access inevitably requires learning a bit of SQL but not huge amounts. 3 types of query can only be done in SQL and it's often just easier to write the code - a maze of windows translates into one small line of SQL half the time.