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#1
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
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Anyway of getting toolbars back
The new interface (the so-called ribbon) appears designed to frustrate and
completely kill the productivity of experienced Word users. Is there ANY way of getting the old toolbars back (not to mention shortcut key combinations)? Or do I simply have to buy another copy of Office 2003? |
#2
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
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Anyway of getting toolbars back
Time moves on. Word 2007 is so many things. Much more than any of us have
been able to implement, nor ever will. It's really a toolkit, or to use a geek term framework, for knowledge workers -- I won't go into explanations here. If you want to use it as a word processor, then it's amazing. I struggled with 2007 until I changed my thinking about it. The revelation for me was to erase all the old versions of Word from my mind. I think nostalgically about Word for DOS (bundled with the first MS Mouse -- steel ball), those were in the CPM vs. Windows days. And I think nostalgically about Word for Windows versions prior to 2007, too. The key for me was to think of Word 2007 and the ribbon as an entirely new thing. When I started asking myself, "if I were the developer, where would I have put x, or y, or z", the new paradigm made sense very quickly." The new paradigm and the new functionality amaze me, yet I still think it's more a beta than a version 1.0 product. Especially when it comes to file interoperability, and there are a whole lot of bugs to resolve. What worked for me, once I got comfortable with the new paradigm was getting the Microsoft Book "Word 2007 Inside Out". It helped me through the bugs, such as getting Building Blocks to work (deleting a file that holds the index to the building blocks is the solution, and Word 2007 will rebuild the index). I have nothing to do with Microsoft Corporation. In fact, I use to develop a whole load of things using JAVA and use to spit on Microsoft for mucking up a whole lot of things (sorry, Bill). I think the .Net framework is an amazing paradigm for coding, and Word 2007 is equally amazing for knowledge workers, that is if people figure out that's what Word 2007 is all about. "h_james" wrote: The new interface (the so-called ribbon) appears designed to frustrate and completely kill the productivity of experienced Word users. Is there ANY way of getting the old toolbars back (not to mention shortcut key combinations)? Or do I simply have to buy another copy of Office 2003? |
#3
Posted to microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
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Anyway of getting toolbars back
As a Microsoft Certified Professional, and a former Microsoft product
instructor, since turned technical writer, who uses Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Access, and Visio every day (I'll be using run-on sentences in this - I'm not at work) I can say definitively, that Microsoft has made a step backward. I have read research articles that new users find the new interface more approachable and easier to use, and the follow up to say that "regular users" of MS Office products actually enjoy it when they "get used to it." That is nice for casual users, or even semi-regular users who need to write a report frequently for work. However, in a profession where access to the lesser known features of the program is critical to releasing the next safety bulletin for a remote industrial site, I can't afford to spend fifteen minutes on how to embed an OLE object. Money is lost while I deal with a fix to something that was never broken. Why did you do it Microsoft? My assumption is that there was market research, focused on people that did not buy office products or upgrades (didn't office 97 already do what most users actually needed?) The most likely response was that it was "too complicated" or "there's so much that I don't use." Hey, building a rocket is hard too, but you don't see me asking for a big slingshot to go to outer space. Some people need the hard stuff to get a job done. I know, I know. All of the features are still in the product, but they've been "enhanced." If you want to peddle your wares to the masses, dumbing down an interface is a way of doing it, but don't expect loyalty from the geeks that made Microsoft the king of software. The first company that has a commercial office suite ready to enterprise on this blunder will get my cash in a heartbeat, and my recommendation to the IT department budget. Until then, hand me the flash drive with Open Office, I've got some real work to do. |
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