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Kathleen MacDowell wondered: <<Has anyone on the list had to convert
to Vista/Word 2007 yet?>>
Nope. I'm using a Mac, so it'll be 2008 at least before I get to see
the Mac equivalent. Plans are to release it during the first quarter,
but historically, Microsoft's application software* (not just on the
Mac) has been nearly unusable for at least the first major service
release... so it'll be at least mid- to late 2008 before I waste my
time.
* Unlike their operating systems. Sure, they've had their problems,
but their OS division understands that reliability and stability is
at least as important as the pretty windows and icons. Wish the
Office crew got the same message.
And oh yeah... the miserable #$%^! decided that we Mac users weren't
worth the time to port the macro language. That means I'll still have
to keep Word X (ca. 2002?) installed just so I can run my macros.
Idjits. If you want to kill off MacOffice in the business world, you
couldn't possibly have chosen a smarter strategy.
<<If so, how long has it taken to adapt to all the changes? Is there
a way to revert to the XP appearance?>
Stories I hear from those who are making the leap are that it's not
so bad once you get over the initial "why have they screwed with my
familiar interface?" reaction. For some assistance, check out
Microsoft's interactive "Word 2003 to Word 2007 command reference
guide": http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100744321033.aspx?
pid=CH100487431033 (or TinyUrl: http://tinyurl.com/vlc5f).
<<Also, if there's a Word MVP reading this--would you mind suggesting
to the people in charge that product usability can be drastically
affected by wholesale changes in the way things are done.>>
Amen to that. There's nothing wrong with radical change _if_ you give
people the option of continuing to work in the old way. I do
understand that's not always easy or practical, but it should be a
design criterion. It's almost never a good idea to force people to
learn a new interface with each version unless you can demonstrate
tangible benefits. I haven't heard that 2007 is so miraculously
superior that it justifies the radical overhaul, but then again, I
won't have a chance to play with it for at least a year.
<<The changes are staggering, the Help is useless, and ...>>
I'd be interested to hear more about the "useless" help. I've never
been a fan of Microsoft's help software, but that's just me -- I'm a
professional cranky old man. <g> More opinions welcome!
----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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