Early last year I made the jump from Office 2003 to Office 2007. I had heard and read about how different the new user interface was and had even seen it demonstrated at a conference. Even so, I still get a little concerned when I make the move to a new software version. I don’t think I was completely prepared for how dramatic the changes were.
In order to even install the upgrade, I had to double the memory on my laptop. (There have been many times that I wish it were that easy to upgrade our brains. Why can’t I just double my memory from time to time?) Then, after reading several articles on upgrading hints/tips, I adjusted several other settings to make the best use of the software on my computer. Whew…I was already worn out and had not even started playing around with the software yet!
Fortunately, I had a week long series of Microsoft Office 2007 training classes coming up in the next month. I was glad to have that scheduled so that I would feel the pressure to really digest the new software quickly and not procrastinate and learn it as I went along.. Once the training started, it was good that my upgrade experience was fresh in my memory so I could answer questions from students about upgrading their home computers to match their work computers.
Here are some things that I learned that might help you if you are upgrading to Microsoft Office 2007.
1) Be patient with yourself. The new user interface uses tabs, wide toolbars, and drop-down groups of items (officially called ribbons and galleries). After using the menu for File -> Page Setup, it is difficult when there is no longer a menu at all. Initially, I spent most of my time looking for each item’s new location. It took me about a month of solid use to get used to all the new tabs and buttons.
2) Really take time to examine each tab and button group. Just like when you learn a new language, you have to understand the structure of sentences and grammar, so you have to learn the structure of the new interface. Microsoft did a good job in creating the new interface. For the most part, it does make sense where most items have been placed. I think the new interface is much more user friendly than previous versions.
3) Try out some of the new features, like Smart Art and Live Preview. I am so addicted to having Live Preview! When I do training in Office 2003, I get frustrated when I remember that I don’t have that feature. I also like the ability in Excel to be able to type a long formula and not cover up the column headings! The color schemes are really amazing, too.
5) The one piece of the software suite that was not changed much is Outlook. It had a dramatic overhaul in a previous version, so you will still see the regular menu like you had before in combination with some new ribbons and galleries. Also, you can use the launcher button in many of the groups of buttons on the tabs to get to the dialog box that looks like the 2003 version.
6) If you look at the tabs on 2007, you’ll see the buttons grouped together. In the bottom right corner of each of these groups, there is a button that looks like the right and bottom side of a square. This launcher button will open a dialog box that relates to that group of buttons. So, if you are in Word 2007, on the Home tab in the Font group, click the launcher button. It will open the Font dialog box that you remember from version 2003.
7) If you are struggling initially, most of the old shortcuts will still work. Because my last name has a tilde symbol (~) over the “n”, I use the Alt+I, S, shortcut to get to the symbol dialog box. That still works in the new Office 2007 version. You can always go to the good old Help button and search for the shortcut list for more of these.
Of course, just about the time you’ve mastered Office 2007, Microsoft will release their newest offering Office 2010….here we go again!
