Product Description

UPG WORD 2007 VUP . UK

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1906 in Software
• Brand: Microsoft
• Model: 059-05442
• Released on: 2007-01-30
• Platforms: Windows Vista, Windows XP
• Format: CD-ROM
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 1.57" h x 5.51" w x 7.87" l, .60 pounds

Features

• Word 2007. Version Upgrade

Manufacturer's Description
Welcome to Microsoft Word 2007, included in the 2007 release of the Microsoft Office system. Word 2007 is a powerful authoring program that gives you the ability to create and share documents by combining a comprehensive set of writing tools with an easy-to-use interface.

Word 2007 helps information workers create professional-looking content more quickly than ever before. With a host of new tools, you can quickly construct documents from predefined parts and styles, as well as compose and publish blogs directly from within Word. Advanced integration with Microsoft SharePoint Server 2007 and new XML-based file formats make Word 2007 the ideal choice for building integrated document management solutions.

Customer Reviews

A major upgrade but steep learning curve
I'd describe myself as an expert Word user. I've been using it since its DOS days, through Word For Windows and right up to the most recent version. The upgrade to Word 2007 has to be the greatest leap since the one from DOS to Windows. The new features of Word are proving useful, such as the new approach to styles, the grid for positioning objects, and improved publishing and reviewing tools. Instant preview of formatting features is very useful to me, as it dispenses with the annoying try-undo-try method of experimenting in a document. However, I wasn't prepared for the huge changes Microsoft has made to the interface - the menus and toolbars.

The new user interface dispenses with familiar pull-down menus and rows of icons stacked into toolbars, and presents instead an entirely new approach to the presentation of tools, using a single 'ribbon' of controls where toolbars used to be, grouped into named collections, such as Clipboard, Font, and Styles. Above the ribbon is what looks like pull-down menu titles, but these just swap the ribbon's content to suit the chosen activity. This seems like a clunky way of doing things, but the ribbon manages to make far more tools available and visible at a time, meaning an end to trawling through menus and submenus. If the ribbon is in the way, you can collapse/hide it.

Also new to 2007 is the Office button - which is home to many file-related tasks such as opening, saving, printing and publishing. (Oddly it isn't used in the main Outlook 2007 window!)

The down-side of all this novelty is that activities that used to be second nature to me I now have to re-learn using the new methods. For example, document properties are now in the Prepare section of the Office button menu. It has taken me a couple of weeks to get used to working with the new interface, but I like it because, once you get used to it, it is actually a nicer way to interact with Word.

I write a lot of software for Word too, using the built-in VBA programming language. Thankfully, almost all my old code works fine in word 2007. As Word no longer supports toolbars, you'll find your toolbar icons now appear in the Add-Ins ribbon. Unfortunately, as usual, Microsoft has done almost nothing to improve VBA, but at least compatibility is not a problem. I've heard that Word 2007 runs some code slower than previously, though Word generally seems to make the computer work a bit harder. Personally, my code works just as fast as it used to.

Some reviewers have howled about file incompatibility, but they are mistaken. Word 2007 can easily be configured to save old style DOC files. I publish all my work as DOC, but all my pre-published documents are stored in DOCX files, which are much smaller and more stable than DOC ever could be.

Due to a spat between Microsoft and Adobe, Word doesn't support 'Save as PDF' out of the box, but this feature is a free download from Microsoft's website, along with the (also free) 'Save as XPS' feature.

Overall I'm pleased with the upgrade. Microsoft has done a grand job on it, but if you take the plunge and upgrade, allow a week or two to become familiar with the new interface!

Out with the old....
I must say that I DID (read underlined and bold) agree with the comments about it being a terrible system, until that is, I really practiced with it. At first it is very difficult to switch from a previous version of Office to this one, but, with a little practice and a lot of, initial, patience, I feel that the rewards of this system far outweigh the hassles!

I LOVE the new flexibility that has been added to the various parts of the system, and the way the 'Ribbon' (after initially being a bit frustrating due to my using 2003) puts all the tasks you are used to, and more, in easy access tabs. I know that there are those out there who want it to look like the 2003 system as that is the system they are used to (go do a search on the net and you'll find lots of free add-in downloads to do exactly that for you!!). And if you are one of those who likes to move all the icons around, or add your own, then you'll either need to learn how to write in XML, or just add them to the quicktask menu (no different than adding them to a toolbar in 2003!!).
And there is the fact that you can make template packages (Themes) that you can use across the board (Excel, PP, Word, Publisher, et al), the 'Live Preview' function to see what the formatting will look like in your document (it changes the formatting in the document as you hover over the options, not changing it until you click it), et. al.

And don't even get me started on the amazing capabilities of One-Note!! I have a PDA and can now chat away, draw diagrams and scribble notes while away from my computer, then have them import automatically when I cradle it. I have to say that this is one of the most amazing tools I have used for my project work and personal study that I have ever found - It alone makes the price of this worth it to me!

In conclusion, just take your time - leave 2003 installed until you get used to this version (all the programs in the suite will run side-by-side without conflict, bar Outlook) - and get to know the new system! You'll be amazed at the power that has been added ....

.... if you let yourself! ;-)

CJ

More Money, Hardly any New Features and Lots of Changes
Word 2007 feels like lots of changes for little point. Well there is a point - the need to get people to buy a new version that has very little to offer compared with Word 2003 and boost Microsoft's revenues. Look at it as your charity donation. 95% of users will only be frustrated by the changes that slow you down and mean that you have to search for the feature that you know is there but can't find on the "logical" new menus - logical to who? - not me. The basic functionality has hardly changed. Advance users will find that a lot of frustrations have been addressed and things like charts are much improved - but how many people do know who put a chart in their report? If they do pasting from Excel will be 99.9%.
Microsft has a unique reputation for its help - and it is no better in Word 2007. Third party companies can write excellent manuals that explain what to do and what your options are. Word 2007 help is very bad, the index doesn't find what I want - even when I know that there must be a way to do what I want. I can only think that either help is a very low priority or that Microsoft set out to write unhelp help. It is that bad.
At the top of the screen it says "non-commerical use" - a sign of how little Microsoft trusts the person who has paid for the product - it wants you to know all the time that it is watching - and it is.
My recommendation is stay with your current version of Word or to look at Open Office. Unless you have specialist needs both will fully cover your needs.