Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007
	File:MS Office 2007 logo.jpg
	File:Office07Beta1TR.jpg Preview screenshot of Microsoft Word 2007
Developer(s)	Microsoft
Operating system	Microsoft Windows
Type	Office suite
License	Proprietary
Website	www.microsoft.com/office/preview

Template:Future software

Microsoft Office 2007, also known as 2007 Microsoft Office System is Microsoft's next release of its Office system. This version will supersede Microsoft Office 2003. Microsoft Office 2007, which was formerly known as Office "12" in the initial stages of its beta cycle, is to be released in January 2007 for end users and November 2006 for corporate customers (to coincide with the edition launches of Windows Vista), and will feature a comprehensively redesigned graphical user interface, codenamed the "Ribbon". The first beta of Office "12" was released on November 16, 2005, to a limited number of testers. The Beta-1 Technical Refresh was released to testers on March 13, 2006. The Technical Refresh fixed issues in installing with Windows Vista build 5308.

Editions

The 2007 Microsoft Office System will be distributed in seven editions:

Edition	Includes	Availability
Microsoft Office Enterprise 2007	Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, InfoPath, Publisher, OneNote, Groove, Communicator, additional tools ¹	Volume License only
Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2007	Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, InfoPath, Publisher, Communicator, additional tools¹	Volume License only
Microsoft Office Professional 2007	Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Access, Publisher, Outlook with Business Contact Manager	Retail
Microsoft Office Small Business 2007	Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, Publisher, Outlook with Business Contact Manager	Retail
Microsoft Office Standard 2007	Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Word	Retail
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007	Excel, PowerPoint, Word, OneNote	Retail
Microsoft Office Basic 2007	Excel, Outlook, Word	OEM only

Notes:

Additional tools include: Enterprise Content Management, Electronic Forms, and Windows Rights Management Services capabilities

New features

User interface

File:OfficeButton.png

Office Button

The new user interface, "Ribbon", will be featured by the core applications of Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access and the mail editor of Outlook. According to Jensen Harris [1] these programs have been selected for the new user interface (UI) because they are the set of programs that people use the most. "We really wanted to concentrate the new user experience on making the document authoring experience better, so we started with the programs most centered around document creation (e-mails, slide decks, spreadsheets, papers, memos, etc.)," he continues.

The ribbon has not been implemented in Microsoft OneNote 2007 in part because the command structure is not nearly as extensive as in the other applications so users don't have as much trouble finding commands.

Debuting in the Beta 1 refresh is the Office button, standardized across the suite. It replaces the File menu and provides access to functionality common across all Office applications, including but not limited to Opening, Saving, Printing, and Sharing a file. Also, people can choose one of two color schemes for the interface or "skin".

Design goals and approach

"In previous releases of Microsoft Office, people interacted with the applications through a system of menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes. While this system successfully provided access to a wide variety of features, it became increasingly challenging to add capabilities in a way that made it easy for people to take advantage of them. The overriding design goal for the new UI is to deliver a user interface that enables users to be more successful finding and using the advanced features of Microsoft Office. An additional important design goal was to preserve an uncluttered workspace that reduces distraction for users so that they can spend more time and energy focused on their work. With these goals in mind, we developed a results-oriented approach that simplifies how users achieve results when working in Microsoft Office." [2]

Key Features

"While the overall look of the redesigned applications is new, early testing indicates that people quickly feel at home in the new UI and rapidly become accustomed to the new way these applications work. The ease with which people use the new interface is due to the simplicity of the new interface features:" [3]

The Ribbon

Ribbon in Microsoft Word 2007

Ribbon in Microsoft Word 2007

"The traditional menus and toolbars have been replaced by the Ribbon. Presented graphically, the Ribbon displays the commands that are most relevant for each of the task areas in Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or Access. For example, Word's Ribbon is organized into tabs for writing, inserting, page layout, working with references, doing mailings, and reviewing documents. Excel has a similar set of tabs that make sense for spreadsheet work: creating worksheets, inserting objects like charts and graphics, page layout, working with formulas, managing data, and reviewing. The Ribbon simplifies accessing application features because they organize the commands in a way that corresponds directly to the tasks people perform in these applications." [4]

Microsoft Office Word 2007 is the first document editor without pull-down menus since the heydays of menu-less WordPerfect for DOS and Lotus 123.

Contextual Tabs

Picture Tools Contextual Tab

"Certain sets of commands are only relevant when objects of a particular type are being edited. For example, the commands for editing a chart in Excel are not relevant until a chart appears in a spreadsheet and the user is focusing on modifying it. In current versions of Microsoft Office, these commands can be difficult to find or become elusive. In the next release of Excel, clicking on a chart causes a Contextual Tab to appear with commands that are relevant for chart editing right next to the other tabs of the Ribbon in Excel. These 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 while making it easy to switch back to working on your document." [5]

Galleries

"Galleries are at the heart of the redesigned applications. Galleries provide users with a set of clear results to choose from when working on their document, spreadsheet, presentation, or Access database. By presenting a simple set of potential results, rather than a complex dialog box with numerous options, the Galleries simplify the process of producing professional looking work. The traditional dialog box interfaces are still available for those wishing a greater degree of control over the result of the operation." [6]

The use of Galleries to simplify document layout production has appeared previously in Microsoft's low-end office suite Microsoft Works and in other desktop publishing software, such as The Print Shop.

Live Preview

"Live Preview is a new technology that shows the results of applying an editing or formatting change as the user moves the pointer over the results presented in a Gallery. This new, dynamic capability streamlines the process of laying out, editing, and formatting so users can create excellent results with less time and effort. Be sure and look at the Preview to see it in action." [7]

Live Preview is similar to the features of graphics editors, such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel PHOTO-PAINT or The Gimp, to preview the effect of filters, colour adjustments and other image enhancements before the user OKs the dialog box.

"These elements are just a few of the new technologies that combine to create the new Microsoft Office UI. Watch the Preview and register to receive further information including information about the availability of pre-release beta versions of the next release of Microsoft Office products." [8] -- ...removing this "empty" paragraph.

Open XML file formats

Microsoft Office will use XML as the default file format. According to Microsoft, this file format, which is compressed, will be up to 75% smaller than the current file formats. [9]

Native PDF support

Microsoft has officially announced that it will support Portable Document Format in the next version of Office, Office 2007, albeit with certain limitations as of Beta 1. Users can save documents without installing a third-party add-on, but they cannot open existing PDF files. [10] For example, before Office 2007, Adobe Acrobat (but not Acrobat Reader) installed macros in Office to do this.

Other features

Exporting a document as a XPS document.
Create a blog entry^[1] from a document, directly uploaded to the blog. Supported blogging sites include MSN Spaces, Blogger etc.

Related Products

Sharepoint 2007, also known as Sharepoint Services v3.

References

^ Blogging from Word 2007

External links

Microsoft

[11] Main information site of 2007 Microsoft Office system
[12] 2007 Microsoft Office system UI preview
[13] New Office "12" UI showcase
[14] PDC 2005 downloads, including Office "12" presentations
[15] Office "12" & Business Intelligence
[16] Microsoft Releases Technical Beta of Office "12"

Internal bloggers and evangelists

[17] Jensen Harris: in depth Office "12" UI design overview
[18] Brian Jones: Office "12" XML file formats
[19] David Gainer: Excel "12"
[20] Erik Rucker: Access "12"
[21] Chris Pratley: OneNote "12" WebLog
[22] Owen Braun: another OneNote "12" blog
[23] Dieter Zirkler: ProjBlog, including Project "12" news
[24] Lidiane Souza: a new Project "12" blog
[25] Cyndy Wessling: PDF support in Office "12"
[26] Jeff Bell: Publisher "12" and PDF support in Office "12"
[27] Andy Simonds: XPS and digital documents team
[28] Joe Friend: Word "12"
[29] Rob Mauceri: FrontPage "12"
[30] Mike Kelly: Office Assistance team
[31] Marc Olson: integration of Groove into Office "12"
[32] Will Kennedy: Outlook "12"
[33] Michael Affronti: Outlook "12" RSS aggregation and search
[34] Melissa MacBeth: Outlook "12" task and time management
[35] Ryan Gregg: Outlook "12" programmability
[36] Brendan Busch: PowerPoint "12"
[37] Eric Rockey: Visio "12"
[38] Tudor Toma: InfoPath "12"
[39] PJ Hough: Windows SharePoint Services
[40] Office "12" Web Content Management blog
[41] Brian Kennemer: Project Server and Deployment Issues
[42] Larry Duff: Project and Project Server Development

Channel 9 videos

[43] New Office UI
[44] Outlook Express
[45] Sharepoint
[46] Infopath
[47] Sharepoint & Windows Workflow Foundation
[48] Word to PDF File Translation
[49] Business Intelligence in Excel 2007

Other reviews

[50] ZDNet.com.au: review of the Office "12" pre-Beta 1
[51] xBetas @ PDC 05: new UI screenshots
[52] Bink.nu: more UI screenshots
[53] ActiveWin: more screenshots of FrontPage and OneNote
[54] ActiveWin: review of the Office "12" Beta 1 (a lot of details and screenshots)
[55] CNET News on Office beta & native PDF support
[56] SQL BI blog: Excel "12" BI revealed (by Marco Russo)
[57] PC Magazine's review of the Office "12" Technical Beta 1 release (over 25 screenshots)
[58] Paul Thurrott: PDC 2005 coverage
[59] Paul Thurrott: Office "12" pre-beta 1 screenshot galleries
[60] Paul Thurrott: Inside Office 12, Part 1
[61] Paul Thurrott: Inside Office 12, Part 2
[62] Office 12 Watch blog
[63] OfficeZealot's Office 12 zone
[64] Sharepoint 3.0 features blog post
[65] List of Excel "12" articles (maintained by Debra Dalgleish)
[66] Microsoft Project Reporter
[67] SharePoint Reporter
[68] Collaboration SharePoint

[1] Blogging from Word 2007

[1]