(for whatever reason, my reply was lost ... here it is again)
Beth, that dialog box for Format Data Series is exactly my problem: it
consists of a cluster of nine formatting options, all of which would be more
efficiently handled in a single window with all options shown. With the
opening and closing of each individual formatting option, it now takes more
than twice as many mouse clicks to accomplish the same task ... hardy a step
forward in productivity. Furthermore, after each operation the graph redraws
itself: not bad, except with several thousand data points on each of several
lines, that process alone slows down the reformatting procedure for each and
every modification, even with ample RAM. Formerly, all modifications were
specified before the graph was redrawn. In summary, with Office 2007 I'm
spending more time to perform tedious operations, and I resent it.
Several contributors in this Discussion Group imply that those users
dissatisfied with the new ribbons are either Luddites who can't face change,
or that they only need more time with which to familiarize themselves with
the ribbons. I, for one, don't believe it; I like constructive change.
Instead, the ribbon developers should now realize that they've made a
collosal mistake in not offering menus, and reinstate them. These ribbons
are truly inefficient, and have forced me to reinstall an older version of
Excel so that I can get some work done.
"Beth Melton" wrote:
I guess I'm still not following what you are referring to - exactly what you
want is available. If I right-click a chart element, such as a data series
(by placing my mouse over the element and right-clicking - this works best
when the element isn't already selected), and then click Format Data Series
then I can change multiple formats in the Format Data Series dialog box,
such as Series Options, Marker Options, Marker Fill, Line Color, Line Style,
Marker Line Color, Marker Line Style, Shadow, and 3D Format. If I make a
modification I can see it instantly and I can leave the dialog box open,
select another element and make modifications.
Then, of course, if I create similar charts using the same format, I'll make
the modifications once and save them as a Chart Template (on the Design tab)
and then it's available in the Templates folder of the Change Chart Type
dialog box for other charts.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Co-author of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"joe_btfsplk" wrote in message
...
Thanks: I'd accessed this same menu previously by right-clicking on the
line.
Using this menu, it requires well over 20 mouse clicks to alter line
characteristics, as opposed to half that number with previous versions of
Excel. This isn't identical to previous versions by any means, and I
can't
see how this an improvement. Why Microsoft didn't put all the line
characteristics (series options, marker options, marker colour, marker
line
colour, marker line style, line style, line colour, shadow, 3-D format) in
a
single window is a mystery to me, particularly since they're all
interrelated. Perhaps the developers were trying to maintain a pure
adherence to "Fitt's Law", in which the mouse movements are minimized,
while
forgetting that the original objective was to make life easier for users.
I
can't imagine anything more inefficient than doubling the number of mouse
clicks to attain the same end product. Frankly, I can't see how the
ribbon
menus made it through Microsoft's approval process.
I'll continue using earlier versions of Office until Microsoft comes up
with
a fix. I'll continue telling other users not to upgrade until they do,
because they can always download the trial version and get frustrated for
free.
__________________________________________________ _
"Beth Melton" wrote:
Sorry, Joe, I should have noted to access the dialog box you need to
click a
Dialog Box Launcher (small box in the bottom right corner) on the Shape
Styles Group on the Format tab, or you can use the right-click, select
the
Format element command as you could in previous versions.
If you didn't discover the dialog box launchers, you'll see them in
various
groups and they provide access to the dialog boxes and most of them are
identical to those from previous versions.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Co-author of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"joe_btfsplk" wrote in message
...
It came as a great surprize to hear that there was a "modeless Format
dialog
box" with which multiple changes could be made to Excel 2007 charts. I
was
so encouraged by your comment that I immediately opened up an Excel
2007
spreadsheet & chart to explore the possibilities. Unfortunately, the
new
ribbon commands didn't include any obvious reference to said
functionality,
nor did the "help" function perform its duty in any combination or
subset
of
"modeless Format dialog box". I can only assume that this function
remains
"a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma"; much like the
rationale
for the new ribbons, despite what is stated on
http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/10/09/58 . Obviously, if an experienced
user
can't find a function, there is a problem, and it doesn't lie with the
user.
I had later purchased the third-party "classic" menus provided by
http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice after a few weeks of
floudering
with Excel 2007, and while their menus are a welcome respite to the new
ribbons, they seem to provide about 90% of the previous functionality
of
Excel. Reverting to an earlier version of Excel was more expedient
than
continuing to deal with Excel 2007.
"Every good idea deserves a decent burial", and while I don't expect
those
committed to the ribbons to kill off their invention, I'd truly
appreciate
the reinstatement of the efficient functionality of the menus. If the
user
has to hunt for the occassional odd menu command, that's a small price
to
pay
for overall effectiveness and efficiency.
"Beth Melton" wrote:
Did you find the modeless Format dialog box? It's the one you can use
to
change multiple options, each change you make can be viewed
immediately
(which is great when you're not sure about the specific look you're
after)
and since it's modeless you can leave it open, select another element
and
modify it as well - no need to open and close dialog boxes.
I've found this method to be far more efficient than double-clicking
an
element, make my changes, click OK, find out I didn't like something,
double-click the element again, make more changes, click OK and repeat
the
process for each chart element I want to modify.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
Co-author of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/boo...x#AboutTheBook
Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/
"joe_btfsplk" wrote in message
...
As an example, in Excel the simple reformatting of a line on a graph
used
to
be accomplished by double-clicking on the line, and adjusting all
line
characteristics at once. Now, the double-clicking doesn't work, and
each
individual line characteristic must be changed individually, in a
number
of
different windows.