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Word 2007 Learning Curve
I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist.
I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#2
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
I'm not using Office 2007 yet, so I'm still an outsider looking in, and from
here I've seen a lot of pain like yours reflected in these NGs. One suggestion I can offer is that any keyboard shortcuts you may have learned (including the Alt+ shortcuts for navigating menus) will still work. You may also find the interactive command reference (http://office.microsoft.com/assistan...HA100744321033 for Word) of some limited utility. -- Suzanne S. Barnhill Microsoft MVP (Word) Words into Type Fairhope, Alabama USA "JMB" wrote in message ... I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist. I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#3
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
When I agreed to write a book about Word 2007, I faced exactly the same
problem you're facing. But, because Word 2007 was the object rather than the means, I had no choice in the matter. At the outset, I was using Word 2003 to write the book, but at some point, critical productivity mass was achieved, and I found that new Word 2007 features made me more productive, and so I wrote the last half of the book using Word 2007. I don't know if there are "classic" interface tools for Excel, but there are several for Word 2007: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/ http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/20/111 I believe that the second option is free. So, for Word, at least, you have at least three choices: 1. Bite the bullet and learn Word 2007, knowing that Word 14 will surely build on Word 2007/12 rather than on Word 2003/11; this is the best option if you need to keep up with future versions of Word. If it's hard to get used to the new interface now in Word 12, it will only be more difficult several years from now with Word 14. 2. Use a classic interface tool, relying on it when you're in a hurry, but otherwise dabbling and gradually learning the ribbon approach. This is a good option if Word 2007 has features that you need, but you don't need to learn Word 2007 in a hurry. There are other learning aids you can use, as well, such as the interactive guide that shows you where to find Word 2007 commands and features: http://office.microsoft.com/assistan...HA100744321033. 3. Revert to Word 2003. This is a good option if Word 2003 provides everything you need and if you won't need to work with documents that rely upon Word 2007-specific features that aren't preserved when using the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. A 4th option--not incompatible with #1 and #2--is to set up Word 2007's Quick Access Toolbar so that it contains your most-used tools from Word 2003 (do the same for Excel 2007). This is the approach I use for my everyday work, and it has alleviated a lot of Word 2007's ergonomic inefficiencies. One approach to this is shown he http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2...more-familiar/ -- Herb Tyson MS MVP Author of the Word 2007 Bible Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com Web: http://www.herbtyson.com "JMB" wrote in message ... I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist. I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#4
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice,
with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. -- JMB "Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote: When I agreed to write a book about Word 2007, I faced exactly the same problem you're facing. But, because Word 2007 was the object rather than the means, I had no choice in the matter. At the outset, I was using Word 2003 to write the book, but at some point, critical productivity mass was achieved, and I found that new Word 2007 features made me more productive, and so I wrote the last half of the book using Word 2007. I don't know if there are "classic" interface tools for Excel, but there are several for Word 2007: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/ http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/20/111 I believe that the second option is free. So, for Word, at least, you have at least three choices: 1. Bite the bullet and learn Word 2007, knowing that Word 14 will surely build on Word 2007/12 rather than on Word 2003/11; this is the best option if you need to keep up with future versions of Word. If it's hard to get used to the new interface now in Word 12, it will only be more difficult several years from now with Word 14. 2. Use a classic interface tool, relying on it when you're in a hurry, but otherwise dabbling and gradually learning the ribbon approach. This is a good option if Word 2007 has features that you need, but you don't need to learn Word 2007 in a hurry. There are other learning aids you can use, as well, such as the interactive guide that shows you where to find Word 2007 commands and features: http://office.microsoft.com/assistan...HA100744321033. 3. Revert to Word 2003. This is a good option if Word 2003 provides everything you need and if you won't need to work with documents that rely upon Word 2007-specific features that aren't preserved when using the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. A 4th option--not incompatible with #1 and #2--is to set up Word 2007's Quick Access Toolbar so that it contains your most-used tools from Word 2003 (do the same for Excel 2007). This is the approach I use for my everyday work, and it has alleviated a lot of Word 2007's ergonomic inefficiencies. One approach to this is shown he http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2...more-familiar/ -- Herb Tyson MS MVP Author of the Word 2007 Bible Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com Web: http://www.herbtyson.com "JMB" wrote in message ... I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist. I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#5
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
Use the QAT as much as possible to collect your most frequently used tools.
One good thing about Office 2007 is that it's really easy to add items to the QAT. Right-click what you want, and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar. The other thing that will make it less of a pain (literally) is to move the QAT to below the ribbon. That way, it will a shorter mouse journey, and easier to access. (Right-click the QAT and choose "Show QAT Below the Ribbon".) The QAT has been my salvation. -- Herb Tyson MS MVP Author of the Word 2007 Bible Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com Web: http://www.herbtyson.com "JMB" wrote in message ... Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice, with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. -- JMB "Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote: When I agreed to write a book about Word 2007, I faced exactly the same problem you're facing. But, because Word 2007 was the object rather than the means, I had no choice in the matter. At the outset, I was using Word 2003 to write the book, but at some point, critical productivity mass was achieved, and I found that new Word 2007 features made me more productive, and so I wrote the last half of the book using Word 2007. I don't know if there are "classic" interface tools for Excel, but there are several for Word 2007: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/ http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/20/111 I believe that the second option is free. So, for Word, at least, you have at least three choices: 1. Bite the bullet and learn Word 2007, knowing that Word 14 will surely build on Word 2007/12 rather than on Word 2003/11; this is the best option if you need to keep up with future versions of Word. If it's hard to get used to the new interface now in Word 12, it will only be more difficult several years from now with Word 14. 2. Use a classic interface tool, relying on it when you're in a hurry, but otherwise dabbling and gradually learning the ribbon approach. This is a good option if Word 2007 has features that you need, but you don't need to learn Word 2007 in a hurry. There are other learning aids you can use, as well, such as the interactive guide that shows you where to find Word 2007 commands and features: http://office.microsoft.com/assistan...HA100744321033. 3. Revert to Word 2003. This is a good option if Word 2003 provides everything you need and if you won't need to work with documents that rely upon Word 2007-specific features that aren't preserved when using the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. A 4th option--not incompatible with #1 and #2--is to set up Word 2007's Quick Access Toolbar so that it contains your most-used tools from Word 2003 (do the same for Excel 2007). This is the approach I use for my everyday work, and it has alleviated a lot of Word 2007's ergonomic inefficiencies. One approach to this is shown he http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2...more-familiar/ -- Herb Tyson MS MVP Author of the Word 2007 Bible Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com Web: http://www.herbtyson.com "JMB" wrote in message ... I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist. I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#6
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
On Wed, 26 Dec 2007 19:00:00 -0800, JMB wrote:
Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice, with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. For the "why", you may want to read the 8-part series by Jensen Harris, the lead of the UI team, starting from the "table of contents" at http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archiv..._/default.aspx. It may help to have some of this background. For the most part, I find that I do things in Word 2007 the same way I did them in earlier versions; only the locations of the commands are different. Yes, it takes some effort to store the new locations in permanent memory. And despite the "new is better" facade, it's clear that some things aren't in logical positions -- but they weren't necessarily in logical places before, just ones that we were used to. (What the heck is a "Tools" menu, anyway? Isn't everything a tool of one kind or another?) -- Regards, Jay Freedman Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all may benefit. |
#8
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
Bob
And how I wish these 'dialog launchers' were activated by clicking anywhere in the group title bar rather than having to aim for the piddling little arrow at its end. After all, the bar is functionless other than for display the group title. Terry "CyberTaz" wrote in message .. . In addition to the excellent suggestions from others, I've found it quite helpful to pay particular attention to the "Dialog Launcher" buttons that appear on the right end of the group name bar of many of the tabs - they look like a little square with a diagonal arrow within it... In most cases the dialogs or Task Panes they evoke are virtually identical to what you're accustomed to using in previous versions. HTH |:) Bob Jones [MVP] Office:Mac On 12/26/07 10:00 PM, in article , "JMB" wrote: Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice, with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. |
#9
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
The others have given you some great tips to start off with: namely use the
old keyboard shortcuts and modify the QAT to be useful for your style of working. I feel your pain as I have already been through it. Personally, I am all in favour of the new Ribbon, but at least three quarters of the tools on the ribbons are redundant for my way of working. This was the same as previous versions of Word, but at least in those cases I was able to remove the redundant tools and add the tools that I find productive (or create a custom toolbar). Now I am stuck with all the junk stealing my screen real estate. At least the QAT is easy to edit and you can collapse the Ribbon when not needed. -- Terry Farrell - MS Word MVP "JMB" wrote in message ... Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice, with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. -- JMB "Herb Tyson [MVP]" wrote: When I agreed to write a book about Word 2007, I faced exactly the same problem you're facing. But, because Word 2007 was the object rather than the means, I had no choice in the matter. At the outset, I was using Word 2003 to write the book, but at some point, critical productivity mass was achieved, and I found that new Word 2007 features made me more productive, and so I wrote the last half of the book using Word 2007. I don't know if there are "classic" interface tools for Excel, but there are several for Word 2007: http://www.addintools.com/english/menuword/ http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/20/111 I believe that the second option is free. So, for Word, at least, you have at least three choices: 1. Bite the bullet and learn Word 2007, knowing that Word 14 will surely build on Word 2007/12 rather than on Word 2003/11; this is the best option if you need to keep up with future versions of Word. If it's hard to get used to the new interface now in Word 12, it will only be more difficult several years from now with Word 14. 2. Use a classic interface tool, relying on it when you're in a hurry, but otherwise dabbling and gradually learning the ribbon approach. This is a good option if Word 2007 has features that you need, but you don't need to learn Word 2007 in a hurry. There are other learning aids you can use, as well, such as the interactive guide that shows you where to find Word 2007 commands and features: http://office.microsoft.com/assistan...HA100744321033. 3. Revert to Word 2003. This is a good option if Word 2003 provides everything you need and if you won't need to work with documents that rely upon Word 2007-specific features that aren't preserved when using the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. A 4th option--not incompatible with #1 and #2--is to set up Word 2007's Quick Access Toolbar so that it contains your most-used tools from Word 2003 (do the same for Excel 2007). This is the approach I use for my everyday work, and it has alleviated a lot of Word 2007's ergonomic inefficiencies. One approach to this is shown he http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2...more-familiar/ -- Herb Tyson MS MVP Author of the Word 2007 Bible Blog: http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com Web: http://www.herbtyson.com "JMB" wrote in message ... I'll make an honest attempt to give this question/feedback a positive twist. I have been using Word/Excel etc. for years now and consider myself somewhat of an expert user. Now I have a new computer with Vista and Office 2007. And I essentially find myself facing this predicament of going up an enormously steep learning curve, i.e. relearning how to wordprocess and spreadsheet almost from scratch all over again. The new and improved of Office 2007 apps may look much more "politically correct" than in previous versions, but so far my experience has been that it can hardly get any less user friendly and more convoluted than this. I'm giving it a very serious try here, but I'm also beginning to think about throwing in the towel. Anybody out there that can offer any useful advice as to how I can actually start using the Office 2007 applications without letting all my previous experience and know-how completely go to waste? -- JMB |
#10
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Word 2007 Learning Curve
Hey Terry -
Do ya think that maybe they're trying to discourage people from using them because they eventually intend to yank the dialogs out?;-) Regards |:) Bob Jones [MVP] Office:Mac On 12/27/07 5:53 AM, in article , "Terry Farrell" wrote: Bob And how I wish these 'dialog launchers' were activated by clicking anywhere in the group title bar rather than having to aim for the piddling little arrow at its end. After all, the bar is functionless other than for display the group title. Terry "CyberTaz" wrote in message .. . In addition to the excellent suggestions from others, I've found it quite helpful to pay particular attention to the "Dialog Launcher" buttons that appear on the right end of the group name bar of many of the tabs - they look like a little square with a diagonal arrow within it... In most cases the dialogs or Task Panes they evoke are virtually identical to what you're accustomed to using in previous versions. HTH |:) Bob Jones [MVP] Office:Mac On 12/26/07 10:00 PM, in article , "JMB" wrote: Herb and Susan, thanks for the useful feedback. Like Herb I have no choice, with my company about to make a massive migration to Vista and Office 2007. And I can't afford to loose much time and productivity because of this. Hence my present preparatory work at home in my spare time. So I'll have to bite the bullet, but this looks like it is going to be a very tough and bitter one. Quite frankly I fail to understand what Microsoft was/is thinking. Preparing a new document or spreadsheet seems to be all about coping with the user interface and appearances now, and in the meantime many people seem to forget what it is really about, i.e. the contents of the message ... The next release has been aptly code named MS Office HAB (Hot Air Balloon). On the other hand I suppose it is also fair to point out that I'm not getting any younger and possibly my flexibility to adjust is no longer what it used to be. |
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