What You Should Know About Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 has a new look and feel over previous versions of Office. This guide is intended to review the most significant changes you may encounter. For a more complete overview of what's new, it is highly recommended you review Microsoft's online tutorial of Office 2007:

An introduction to the new look of Microsoft 2007:

http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC101482291033

Quick Overview of the Highpoints

The main components you will find new or different with Office 2007 are the following:

• DEFAULT file format is .XML

• Office ribbon (contextual tabs)

• Office button

• Quick access toolbar

• Enter inserts a paragraph break

File Formats and Compatibility

In Office 2007 the DEFAULT files format is .XML. What this means is that by default, older versions of Office cannot open a document created in Office 2007.

There is a way around the file format issue:

• Save Office 2007 documents to earlier formats by selecting in the “Save as type” menu the “97-2003 Document” option, this would eliminate access to certain Office 2007 features.

• Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack – allows Office 2000, XP, and 2003 users to open and save their files to Office 2007 format. Most office computers on Trinity's campus have the compatibility pack installed. Office 2003 users can download the compatibility pack from Microsoft's website:
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en
  The help desk can also provide further assistance.

 Office 2007 Look and Feel

The overriding design goal for the new user interface is to:

1. make it easier for people to find and use the full range of features these applications provide

2. preserve an uncluttered workspace that reduces distraction

Office 2007 has a number of new features, the most notable of which is the entirely new graphical user interface called the Ribbon, replacing the menus and toolbars that have been the cornerstone of Office since its inception.

The Ribbon

The ribbon is a new device that presents commands organized into a set of tabs. The tabs on the Ribbon display the commands that are most relevant for each of the task areas in the applications. These tabs simplify accessing application features because they organize the commands in a way that corresponds directly to the tasks people perform in these applications. The Home tab provides easy access to the most frequently used commands. The following example displays the Page Layout tab available in Word:

The ribbon tabs vary between the different programs in Office 2007 (i.e. the tabs in Word are different from those in Excel), but the general principle is the same throughout all of the applications.

Contextual Tabs

Certain sets of commands are only relevant when objects of a particular type are being edited. For example, the commands for editing a chart are not relevant until a chart appears in a spreadsheet and one is focused on modifying it.

Contextual tabs only appear when they are needed and make it much easier to find and use the commands needed for the operation at hand.

The Office Button

The Microsoft Office 2007 button, located on the top-left side of the window, replaces the File menu and provides access to functionality common across all Office applications, including but not limited to Opening, Saving, and Printing.

The Quick Access Toolbar

The quick access toolbar is designed to provide easy access to the most commonly used functions within a program.

Office automatically adds your most commonly used functions to the Quick Access toolbar, but it is also completely customizable. To add a specific option to the toolbar first find the function in the Office button or the Ribbon, right-click it and select Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

Here is an example Quick Access toolbar with the Save, Undo, Redo and Print functions shown:

Return Inserts a Paragraph Break

One additional formatting feature you should note is selecting the Enter key on the keyboard inserts a Paragraph return in Office programs. There may be instances in which you do not want a new paragraph, but instead wish to move the curser to the next line on the screen. To control the layout of text or to start a new line without starting a new paragraph, insert a manual line break:

1. Click where you want to break a line.

2. Press SHIFT+ENTER.
   Word inserts a manual line break.

Additional information regarding Office 2007 can be found on Microsoft's web site:

• Microsoft Office Home Page
  http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx

• Get an introduction to the new look in familiar programs:
  http://office.microsoft.com/training/training.aspx?AssetID=RC101482291033

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Last modified 05/05/2008