It seems only yesterday when office 2003 had arived, but in the meanwhile Microsoft developers were up and working and office 2007 is about to be out now. Following are some new features, and I urge anyone who is interested and has time along with good internet connection to go to the site as I have just copied (jaws view of the webpage) below. My favorite is RSS in outlook.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA101437241033.aspx Microsoft Office Assistance: Crabby's favorite new features of the 2007 Microsoft Office system The Crabby Office Lady This week I give you a sneak peek at my favorite new features for the newest and upcoming release of Office. For this version, we've spent more time than ever listening to you, our customers, about what YOU want to do with Office. Applies to 2007 Microsoft Office system Perhaps you've heard it as it comes whistling down the pike. Maybe you've tuned your ears to rumors about how different this new version of Office is going to be, how much easier it will be to find what you want to do without having to know what toolbar to view or what menu to search, how we've implemented even more security measures to give you peace of mind... Then again, maybe you don't even know what I'm talking about. Maybe you're an Office 97 user, always have been, always will be. Well, I'm not here to sell you anything (not really, anyway). I just want to call out some of the more fabulous features and changes we've implemented into the upcoming debut of Office: the 2007 Microsoft Office system (big name, big changes). An easier-to-use interface, improved security, and even new suites (meaning more product variations you can buy that enable you to get just exactly the programs you want - no more, no less) are just a few of the things you can look forward to when the 2007 Microsoft Office system is released. Note There is an entire site devoted to telling you all about what the new version of Office offers, from its variety of suites to its pricing packages to its pages specifically for developers, IT professionals, and small business owners. In other words, there's no need for me to copy and paste that information into my column. You can go and look for yourself, and in fact, in the top right of this column is a See Also box full of links that take you directly to just that sort of information. Crabby's favorite new features Today I want to share with you my favorite new feature for each program. And, yes, I have been using the 2007 Office release - almost everyone at Microsoft has been - for some time. We're the guinea pigs: We get to (OK, we're required to) try out each and every piece of software before it hits the streets. So, when I tell you that something is my favorite, I'm not kidding; it's my favorite because it's been tried and tested...by little old me. List of 11 items Microsoft Office Access 2007 (a database program) PDF and XPS support. (Yeah, baby.) With Office Access 2007, you can save a report as a Portable Document Format file (PDF) or in XML Paper Specification (XPS) format for printing, posting, and e-mail distribution. By saving your report as a PDF or XPS file, you can capture report information in a form that retains all of your formatting characteristics yet does not require others to have Access 2007 to print or review your report. Microsoft Office Excel 2007 (a spreadsheet program you can use to analyze, share, and manage information) Create professional-looking charts more easily with a completely redesigned charting engine. Apply rich visual enhancements to your chart, such as 3-D, soft shadowing, and transparency. Create and interact with charts the same way, regardless of the application you are using, because the Office Excel 2007 charting engine is consistent in Microsoft Office Word 2007 and Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. Microsoft Office Groove 2007 (a collaboration software program that enables teams to work together dynamically and effectively - anywhere, anytime, with anyone) Groove is pretty new to the Office family. In fact, I wrote a column about it last March: Crabby gets into the Groove with virtual Office. What's my favorite feature? Start an Office Communicator instant messaging session right from a Groove 2007 workspace. Microsoft Office InfoPath 2007 (an application for creating forms that teams and organizations can use to gather and share information) Gather information using Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 e-mail messages. With Office InfoPath 2007, you can complete forms without leaving the familiar Office Outlook 2007 environment, helping you complete your forms quickly and efficiently. Microsoft Office OneNote 2007 (a flexible program that provides people one place to gather virtually any type of information - written, doodled, or typed) Two-way, automatic task synchronization with 2003 and 2007 versions of Outlook, which lets you keep your busy life well ordered and highly productive. Office Outlook 2007 (e-mail, calendars, and contacts) RSS! You can now fully subscribe to and interact with Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feeds right from Office Outlook 2007, the most natural place to manage this kind of information. No more hunting around for just the right kind of client to get your RSS content. Get your daily dose of Slate.com along with your daily dose of e-mail. Office PowerPoint 2007 (the program used to create the presentations that everyone likes to make fun of. Can even be used as a verb: "I PowerPointed my request for a raise to my boss, and boy, was she ever too stumped to turn me down!") Dramatically modify shapes, text, and graphics with new tools and effects. You can now manipulate and work with your text, tables, charts, and other presentation elements in much richer ways than ever before. Office PowerPoint 2007 makes these tools readily available through the streamlined user interface and contextual tabs, so that in just a few clicks, you can add impact to your work. Fast, easy, and effective. That is how I like my morning coffee...and my PowerPoint. Microsoft Office Project 2007 (a family of planning products that helps you keep track of the various schedules of the people, places, and things you deal with on a daily, weekly, monthly, or forever basis) There are a couple of new features I want to call out since they're related: 1) You can use Top-Down Budgeting to define a budget at a high level (entire program or project) so the project manager can allocate funds and track costs against the budget, and 2) planned and actual costs can be assigned to a task with Cost Resources, which also supports integration of Project with accounting systems. Both these items make dealing with costs and accounting a whole lot simpler. Microsoft Office Publisher 2007 (business publishing and marketing materials desktop print and Web publishing application) Again, the key here is PDF capability. You can now save Office Publisher 2007 files in a fixed file format, such as Portable Document Format file (PDF) or XML Paper Specification (XPS), for easy sharing. PDF settings within Office Publisher 2007 include options for online viewing, desktop printing, and commercial press-ready printing. Now we're all speaking the same language. Micrososft Office Visio 2007 (a diagramming and data visualization program) Connect shapes without drawing connectors. New connector functionality in Office Visio 2007 connects shapes, distributes them evenly, and aligns them for you - with only one click. When you move the connected shapes, they stay connected and the connectors automatically reroute between the shapes. What could be easier (not to mention more fun)? Microsoft Office Word 2007 (do I really need to tell you what Word is?) In a phrase: Building Blocks. This new feature is a way to add frequently used content to your documents. Select from a predefined gallery of cover pages, pull quotes, headers, and footers to make your documents look more professional. You can even create your own Building Blocks to simplify the addition of custom text, like legal disclaimer text or other frequently used materials. list end Crabby's overall happiness: The new look and feel When something changes, not everyone is happy. And it's been my experience that many folks are just plain resistant to change, and it doesn't usually have to do with what the change itself promises to bring. It's just the fact that things may look different, may behave differently, and may even <gasp> encourage the participant to spend some time ramping up and getting used to the new stuff. What I'm dancing around here is that, yes, there are some pretty big changes with the upcoming 2007 release, but I can guarantee you that it will be worth your time and effort to explore what these changes are, and learn to get used to them. In the end, the changes we've made will make you more productive and efficient at your job (and that is the point, isn't it?). The most obvious change will be the new user inferface (UI), available in some of the programs. Note In case you're not familiar with what user interface means, it's just a term that describes how you communicate with your computer and software. Buttons, menus, and toolbars are all part of the user interface. To be frank, as the Office team has implemented more and more features and functionality over time, it's gotten harder for you to try and figure out what you want to do and how exactly to do it. When you have 1,500 (or more) choices of commands, it gets tricky to figure out where they all are. There are so many menus, toolbars, and complicated dialog boxes that sometimes it seems that doing the simplest of tasks can turn out to be a journey into the great abyss of software (when, for example, all you want to do is create a special type of list, not solve the mysteries of the black hole). Now, while I can't show you (or even tell you about) everything that has changed, I can give you a little preview of what some of the new UI looks like to give you an idea of what you can expect. I can tell you that the way you work and choose the features you need at that very moment has been streamlined. This means that we've implemented a new technology that lets you "browse, pick and click" to figure out what you want to do, rather than go from dialog box to dialog box. In other words, the new UI will make it easier for you to get the results you want. Note If my local grocery store could do this - showed me right as I walked in the door, where my favorite brand of hot sauce was located - I would spend a lot less time roaming around the store, being tempted by every tomato, doughnut, and hair care product that stood in my way of going directly to the hot sauce aisle. Example of the new UI in action: Excel 2007 Intuitive tools in the interface With accessible charting tools available from the newly redesigned interface of the Microsoft Office system, you can: List of 3 items Create professional-looking charts in just a few clicks. Format axes, titles, and other chart labels. Add visual enhancements like 3-D, shadows, and glow. list end Charting tools in Excel 2007 Example of the new UI in action: Word 2007 Using Quick Styles With the Quick Styles feature you can change how documents look with a single click. You can modify fonts, colors, margins, table formatting, and other elements by simply choosing a different format. Simply select the text you want to change and then choose the style you want from the Quick Style gallery (which is standing straight and proud right up there on the toolbar - no need to go hunting for it). Your document will change as you hover over different styles with your cursor, and when you click the one you want, the style changes will automaticallly apply. Quick styles in Word 2007 Example of the new UI in action: Outlook 2007 Results-oriented UI Outlook 2007 has a redesigned user interface that makes it easier and more intuitive for you to compose, format, and act on your e-mail. You can now access all of the rich features and capabilities in Outlook in an easy-to-find location, called the Ribbon within your e-mail message. Results-oriented UI in Outlook 2007 View the new Microsoft User Interface video to get an even better idea of what the Ribbon is and what you can expect from the 2007 Office release. Try the 2007 Microsoft Office system Have I piqued your interest? Are you unable to wait to find out more about the new Office until it comes out (the second half of 2006)? You can register to get the latest news and information about the 2007 Microsoft Office release - including notification when the Beta 2 version is available. Visit the 2007 Microsoft Office system preview site where you can register for news and beta information. We're pretty excited about the newest baby on the block - and we think you will be too, after you get your hands on it. For now, head on over to that site where you can get an idea of what's to come. You can also get more in-depth info here: List of 3 items See what the press is saying about the 2007 release Read about what's making news with regard to the newest release of the Microsoft Office system. MSDN Channel 9: Seventeen Minutes with Bill Listen to what Bill Gates had to say about the new 2007 Office release as well as where and how software can make the world a better place. Work Essentials: Tap into the power of the 2007 Microsoft Office system Work Essentials is a free resource that can help the people in your company tap into the power of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Developed with you in mind, Work Essentials solutions can help you discover quick ways to unlock the potential of the 2007 Office release and be prepared for the challenges you face in the course of your workday. list end Again, the 2007 Microsoft Office system will be available to you in the second half of 2006. Tip of the Month M.T. of Washington came up with yet another way to delay sending a message that you wish you could recall. He wrote to me regarding my column Delay your crabbiness: Outlook features for itchy trigger fingers. "Your recent column on recalling Outlook messages prompted me to look at a different solution. I have the problem you were addressing of sometimes sending messages before I've finished thinking about them. Recalling the message doesn't always work in time." "The solution at home with my dial up is easy; I read and answer e-mails off line. Then only after I'm done and positive that I want to send the messages, I click Send/Receive and initiate the dialup connection." "The solution at the office when I'm connected to our Exchange server is only a little more complicated. I set my Send/Receive options to delay sending new messages by a minute. Instead of immediately sending the message, it waits patiently in my Outbox for a minute and gives me a chance to rethink. If I decide not to send the message or to edit it, I can pick it out of the Outlook Outbox - otherwise it sends automatically a minute or two later." Great ideas, M.T. Thanks - your prize package is on its way to you. Readers, read more about how to delay or schedule sending a message. "We're supposed to be perfect our first day on the job and then show constant improvement." - Ed Vargo (major league baseball umpire) About the author Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, uses Office all day long. She gets her column ideas from your wild suggestions and demands, so if you're feeling demanding or just want to toss a comment her way, leave Crabby some feedback. If you have an Office tip you'd like to submit, send that to her personal mailbox at [EMAIL PROTECTED] (While she does read all of your e-mails, she can't offer personal assistance, so don't be offended by her curt auto-reply...) Get the Crabby Office Lady's book Read all the Crabby Office Lady columns Get Crabby's columns via RSS View Crabby's videos See all Office columns To unsubscribe send a message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the subject unsubscribe. 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