April 15, 2007

Well, as with the release of Windows Vista, the new version of Microsoft Office is equally challenging for previous Office users.  In fact, people who have never used Office products before will probably have fewer problems than experienced users.

Some of the changes include:

A new file format - All the new Office documents, spreadsheets, presentations, etc. have a new file format, which necessitates saving the files in a format that the older versions of Office can work with.  If you don't exchange documents with other people, this is not a major issue, however, if you do exchange documents, you will either have to choose to save documents in the older format, or the people who receive the files and want to work with them, will have to download a converter program in order to use your files.  The new file formats offer increased security and supposedly better compatibility for use with web design, etc.

The people who will experience the biggest frustrations are power users.  Since there are no longer menus to select from, and no button bars with icons for common tasks, finding items in the "ribbons" can be challenging.   Fortunately, you can customize the quick access toolbar with icons for the tasks you use frequently.

There will be a steep learning curve when you first start using the new Office, so be prepared to either take some training classes, or plan on lots of extra time just to get to where you were before upgrading to the new version.

I am using the new version, but I have the Office XP installed also, so if I'm in a bind for time, sometimes I revert to the old version in order to get things done in a timely fashion.  This also allows me to get things done, then return to the new version to learn how to do the task.

If I had a choice, I'd stick with the older versions.