(I'm not sure why I'm doing this - I resolved to leave this discussion
alone....lol)
The average user doesn't use Ctrl+I for Italic, they click a button. The
average user didn't discover the Customize dialog box and never knew they
could customize their environment. The average user would get toolbars
turned on didn't know how to turn them off. The average user didn't know how
to move a toolbar. Now, as a trainer, I have the mindset of providing more
focus on training which has been, and still is, my viewpoint. But there are
other aspects for me to consider as well, such as those providing the
training (there's some lousy trainers out there) and companies who don't
believe in training, as unfortunate as that might be.
The timesaving factors go a a little deeper than surface navigation. It's
more in the vein of faster document creation. Such as inserting an entire
page of content into a document that is perfectly formatted to the source
document with a couple clicks and later swap the page with another, again
with a few clicks of the mouse, without the need to delete the previously
inserted page. (Remember, most users like to 'click' and they want to
'click' on visual objects, not work from memorization.)
Consider this scenario for the average user. I have a document that needs to
be faxed electronically. My fax cover has a specific structure, it needs to
specific contain data used in the document, and it needs to match the
formatting, such as the fonts, used in the document. In Word 2007, in a few
clicks I can insert a report cover page (without navigating to the beginning
of the document), that satisfies each of my requirements. Then later, I can
remove the report cover, without the need to select and delete, or I can
swap the cover with a Fax cover page, again, without the need to select and
delete. Each cover page will also pick up my previously typed data.
Yes, the above could still be accomplished in previous versions but it would
also require VBA knowledge which means some type of developer would need to
be involved. Now, the average user can accomplish these tasks without the
need to invest in another party - even as a developer I find the new
functionality faster.
You can get an idea of what I'm referring to using these steps:
- Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click New
- In the Office Online Templates section, select the Reports category.
- Create a new document based on the Report (Median theme) template.
- Type a document title in the Content Control provided on the first page.
(You should see the placeholder text "Type the document title")
- In the other Content Controls provided, type a subtitle, company name, and
pick a date. (Each one will have placeholder text.)
- Take a look at page 2 and note the Title has been updated in the Header
and in the first heading, along with the subtitle. (Updated automatically
without using a macro. Additionally, you can change the data in any Content
Control.)
- On the Insert tab, click Cover Page, and in the Reports section (these are
included in the template), click Cover 4 to insert the cover page at the
beginning of the document.
- Note the Title, Subtitle, and Company, have been picked up from the
previously typed data.
- Select another cover page from the Report section, such as Fax Cover 2.
This action replaces Cover 4 in the document, the Company name is
automatically filled in, and additional Content Controls have been provided
for data entry and data selection. (Note that these can be locked for entry
only without protecting the document, deletion of the control can be
prevented, and the controls and document can be spell checked.)
- If you want different look for the document, on the Page Layout tab,
select another Theme and the document will update to the new fonts and
colors.
- Note the Building Blocks in the galleries also update to the new document
theme. (Granted, most are gaudy but you can create custom Themes that use a
specific company standard.)
Average users can create similar templates that function in the same maner
without the need to turn to VBA and spend time getting the right sequence of
commands.
Some background on how this works. The Title, Subtitle, and Company fields
are bound document property fields that also automatically update the file
Properties. Content Controls are XML-based and support data binding so all
of the data entered in the Fax page could potentially be bound to a data
source. From a developer's viewpoint, these are some exciting advancements.
From a user's viewpoint, in the end, creating documents takes less work and
there's the added aspect of visual document creation and little need for
memorization.
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/
"Larry" wrote in message
...
Now you may reply that the average user will get around that little
problem
of a much needed common command not always being instantly accessible, by
adding the command to the "Quick Access Toolbar." But given that the
average user does not even care enough about going beyond the surface of
Word to use Ctrl+I for Italic, let alone to do any customizing at all,
then
he or she is not going to add frequenly used commands to the Quick Access
Toolbar. As a result, with Word 2007, it will take MORE steps for the
average user to access commonly used commands (which used to be ALWAYS
displayed on the now defunct Formatting and Standard toolbars), than it
did
previously.
"Larry" wrote in message
...
Then by your implied logic, and by Microsoft's explicit logic, keyboard
shortcuts should be eliminated.
Larry
P.S. Indeed, not only do most users not work like me, the great majority
of
users do not even use the most basic keyboard commands, such as Ctrl+I
for
italic. The average typist in an office would rather use the mouse to
click on the Italic button in the formatting bar. Further, with Word
2007,
the formatting commands are only displayed if the "Home" tab of the
Ribbon
is displayed. So if our typist has just used some other tab of the
Ribbon,
she would first have to switch back to the "Home" tab in order to access
the
Italic command.
Oh, what a brilliant, user-friendly, intuitive interface!
"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
But can you accept that the majority of users do NOT use Word the way
you
do? The vast majority of them would never think of going to the trouble
to
customize Word this way even if they were told how, and most have no
desire
to use Word this way. I find that most users are not interested in
keyboard
shortcuts at all.
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup
so
all may benefit.
"Larry" wrote in message
...
Also, if memory serves correctly, years ago Beth helped me with
macros
to
prevent the vertical and horizonal scroll bars from ever appearing
unless
I
wanted them (and helped me with a lot of other things as well). It
was
a
bit of a trick. Word just wanted those ugly scroll bars to keep
popping
up.
Only serious customization could get around that. But once we had
it,
it
was never an issue again. I have simple keystrokes to toggle the
scrollbars
when I want them, not when Microsoft wants them. My aim in that case
and
generally has been to keep all unnecessary clutter out of the Word
window.
So I got rid of all toolbar buttons that I don't use, and replaced
the
Standard and Formatting toolbars with one simplified toolbar. I
never
display the Ruler except when I need it. Also, the blue background
screen
is "cooler," easier on the eyes. So the whole look is simple and
pleasing
to the eye. To me, the way Word looks when it opens in its default
state
is
an incredible eyesore.
The other thing for me is to have an integrated environment, where I
do
things with the minimum of keystrokes or mouseclicks. For example, I
developed a single key command (Num1) to toggle the Blue background
off
and
on. I have a single key command (Num2) which not only toggles the
capitalization of a word, but if there's a selection going up to the
start
of a word, it cuts the selection and toggles the capitalization of
the
first
letter of the word immediately following the selection. I have three
custom
menus with many macros I use constantly, every one of those macros
takes
just two keystrokes, Alt+Letter, Letter. I'm still not sure if it's
posible
to replicate something like that in 2007.
Things that take two steps in the older versions (even without my
customizations), take three or more steps in 2007, things that take
one
step
in the older versions (like opening the Window menu via keystroke)
take
two
steps in 2007. This is totally unacceptable. The whole point is
that
things that you do often be done with the minimum of keystrokes.
So my approach is to make Word's look as simple as possible, and
Word's
operation as simple as possible.
Word 2007 is not only the opposite of that, it basically makes it
impossible
to customize around it. It imposes so much more on you (that
incredibly
complicated, hyperactive Ribbon) and makes it impossible to escape
it.
"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
I think it's impossible to persuade you in general, Larry. ;-)
If you want the truth, when I saw the new UI you were one of the
first
people that came to mind. I thought, oh my, when Larry sees this
he'll
have
a heart attack. I'm thankful to see you've taken a look at it and
are
still
around. grin
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
"Larry" wrote in message
...
Ok, Beth, I understand that you feel it's impossible to persuade
me
that
trashing and replacing Word's total interface and method of
operation
was
for the Greater Good.
"Beth Melton" wrote in message
...
Styles were merely an example that came to mind at the time.
You know, Larry, just based on previous discussions I've had
with
you
on
topics of an even more simiplic nature I know there nothing I
can
say
to
you
that will change your mind...