Word was completely redesigned for Word 2007, and no one seems to be very
happy about that. People already complain about backward/forward
compatibility. How many copies of Word do you think MS would sell if it were
written from scratch and were not compatible with any previous version?
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org
"LisaK" wrote in message
...
This has been quite informative. I'm in total agreement with dlowrey.
Not
every business is an adveritisng/marketing/toy company/sales-oriented
company. Many businesses are very staid and serious. The Federal Reserve
or
the Pentagon or the court system, etc. have no time or energy for these
frilly features that it takes so much time to remove/understand/fight
with.
For these kinds of businesses, the time and effort lost can cost much more
than frustration. MS really does need to have some product, or a version
of
these products, that is no frills and to-the-point. That would also help
reduce the bug factor, which truly does exist.
"dlowrey" wrote:
"Yes"
Word is kludge because it trys to be everything to everybody.
Suzie Homemaker wants to make greeting cards for the kids PTA. Word will
glitz it up, no problem. Want to make a calendar with color and silly
embedded graphics, no problem.
Want to write a serious document. It takes longer to set up the document
than it does to write it.
Want to write what you are thinking while you have the thought. Forget
about it.
I have developed some very good templates and macros to support my
specfic
formating and writing requirements. Guess what. Word still requires too
much
fiddling around. I even use Dragon 10 in an effort to keep my thoughts
flowing while I am writing. Even so, I am most product when I write in
the
Dragon Pad (basically notepad) and then copy in the text into Word for
formating.
The esential problem is that it takes a substantial effort to override
all
the gee-whiz stuff that MS put into the latest version (speaking of
formating
and paragraphs. The data handling and mail merge is pretty good). Note
that
with Wordperfect, you can just sit down and write; which is sufficient
for
95% of business use. So why aren't I using WP? Because WP has lost its
focus as a business tool and is also chasing the "Be everything to
Everyone"
bouncing ball.
My suggestion to MS; find an adult business person to oversee the next
iteration of Word. We don't need decorative borders, or pictures, or
smart
shapes, crazy numbering or "do it my way" formatting. We do need a
business
tool. When I use a tool, say a saw for example, I can focus on my work,
not
on the saw. Word needs to be a tool.
-DL
"Word Hater" wrote:
Im a software developer and the hardest part of my job is using MS Word
to
write all my documentation. Im CONSTANTLY battling with indentations,
numbering and tables that have a mind of their own and are so
counter-intuitive it makes me want to eat my computer. I have handed in
documents to my projects managers in the past which they returned to me
complaining about the formatting. I have simply replied to them that I
refuse
to waste my time using such a badly written bit of software and they
can do
the bloody indentations themselves. Youd think after a million versions
MS
would have fixed it. Oh no.
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