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Date: January 31, 2007 Subject: Microsoft Office 2007
With the recent release of Microsoft Office 2007 many companies are now asking if it is a worthwhile upgrade. This month's ELM Bulletin covers the highlights of Office 2007, why you may want to upgrade and what alternatives you have if you stay with an earlier version of Microsoft Office.
OVERVIEW OF MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 - Microsoft Office 2007 represents the most significant update to Microsoft's office suite since Microsoft Office 97. It includes numerous new features, the most notable of which are support for the XML document format, a significantly enhanced interface and the ability to save documents in Adobe's popular Portable Document Format (by means of a free add-in). For a complete listing of the new features of Microsoft Office 2007 please visit this page on Microsoft's Office 2007 website.
XML Support - Support for the XML document format. What this means to you is that documents created with Microsoft Office 2007 and saved in the XML format can be opened in any program supporting XML. Documents can also be saved in formats other than XML, such as DOC and XLS, ensuring backward compatibility with earlier versions of Microsoft Office.
Enhance User Interface - The enhanced user interface, referred to by Microsoft as The Ribbon, is an extensive rework of previous interfaces and is intended to make creating and working on documents simpler than ever. Commonly used commands are grouped together on a toolbar, or ribbon, that changes its appearance and functionality according to the task you are currently doing. Although significantly different from the taskbars of earlier Microsoft Office versions most reviewers I have read seem quite impressed with the new interface.
Microsoft's summary of the Office 2007 interface is available at this page on Microsoft's website.
Save Documents As PDF Files - Available as a downloadable add-in Microsoft Save As PDF or XPS allows Office 2007 to save documents in Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF). PDF has become the global standard in document transfer between platforms by allowing the recipient to view and print the document exactly as it was created.
Further information on the Save As PDF add-in is available at this page on Microsoft’s website.
Microsoft Office 2007 is available in eight suites, two of which (Enterprise 2007 & Professional Plus 2007) will be available only to enterprise customers and another (Basic 2007) which will ship with new computers. Below is a listing of what is included in each of the suites:
(Microsoft image)
1
Volume License customers who purchase Office
Professional Plus 2007 or Office Enterprise 2007
may request installation media for Office
Outlook 2007 with Business Contact Manager
through their reseller or download the product
by visiting the volume licensing services Web
site.
ALTERNATIVES TO UPGRADING - Given that upgrading to Microsoft Office 2007 could represent a significant investment, especially in larger offices, you might want to keep using your current version of Microsoft Office but may be concerned that you will not be able to access documents created with Office 2007. Two options are available that will allow you to exchange documents with users of Office 2007
Office 2007 Compatibility Pack - For users of Microsoft Office 2000, 2002/XP or 2003 the best way to ensure compatibility with Office 2007 is to download and install Microsoft's free Office 2007 Compatibility Pack. Once installed this 26Mb download enables more recent versions of Microsoft Office to open and modify documents in the Office 2007 XML format. (For users of older Office versions. or other office suites the Compatibility Pack allows conversion of Office 2007 XML documents to Office 97 or Office 2003 formats.) The Compatibility Pack does not upgrade the feature set of other office suites to match those of Office 2007 but gives these versions the ability to access Office 2007 documents and may therefore extend the service life of these office suites for many corporations.
The 2007 Office Compatibility Pack can be downloaded from this Microsoft website.
Backwards Compatibility - In addition to supporting the XML format Microsoft Office 2007, like all other versions of Microsoft Office, is able to save in a wide variety of document formats to ensure backwards compatibility with earlier software. Documents created in Office 2007 can be saved formats supported by earlier Office versions, albeit without support for the newest features.
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE – I have recently upgraded to Microsoft Office 2007 and have found it to be a pleasant experience overall. About 1½ hours was required to install it onto my system and a further 1½ hours was necessary to acquaint myself with its new features and configure it to my liking. Start up time is not significantly longer than with Office 2003. The new interface does make Office 2007 much easier to use than earlier versions but many common functions are no longer where I expect them to be. On the whole I am quite impressed with Office 2007 and intend to continue using it.
CONCLUSIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS - Do you need to upgrade to Office 2007? You may want to but you do not need to. Office 2007 represents a significant upgrade and includes many time saving features but most of our readers will find that Office 2007 does not enable them to do anything that they can't already do with Office 2002 or Office 2003. If Office 2007's enhanced ease of use and support for open document standards are important to you then upgrading to Office 2007 is highly recommended.
If you have Office 2000 or earlier it makes sense to upgrade just to take advantage of the new capabilities of Office 2007, but if you want to keep using your current office suite then the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack will enable you to do this.
Since the cost in upgrading an entire office to Office 2007 could be significant you may choose instead to install the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack and upgrade to Office 2007 as you purchase new computer systems. This will ensure compatibility between different Office versions in use at your office and at your business associates’ offices and save money since, like many other software packages, Office 2007 is less expensive when purchased with a new computer than when purchased on its own.
All-in-all, Office 2007 is a recommended upgrade.
As always, please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions about this or any other issue.
Previous issues of the ELM Bulletin are available from our website.
Please feel free to forward these bulletins to anyone you wish. If you no longer wish to receive these bulletins, or if you received this bulletin by mistake please send me an email with "Please remove me" in the subject line and I will take your name off of the bulletin mailing list. |
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Peter Rhebergen Technical Specialist, Systems and Software Email: peter@elmcomputers.com
ELM Computer Systems Inc. 502 Gordon Baker Road Toronto, Ontario, M2H 3B4
Telephone Local: 416 495 1624 (112) Toll free: 800 268 3211 Fax: 416 495 0044 |
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