Any comments on Word 2007?

Subject: Any comments on Word 2007?
From: Geoff Hart <ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca>
To: TECHWR-L <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>, Liz_Vela -at- bcbstx -dot- com
Date: Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:26:56 -0500

Liz Vela wondered: <<Has anyone upgraded to Word 2007?>>

We poor Mac folks won't have the opportunity until mid- to late 2008, so... nope. With that caveat in mind, here's some of what I've heard from reviewers and others who have had a chance to play with it:

<<If so, do you recommend it? I'm able to choose Office 2007 if I want it, but I'm afraid to convert from Word 2000.>>

It's been getting good reviews, but the first question to ask yourself before upgrading is the following: "What problem am I trying to solve?" If you don't have a pressing problem, you might just want to wait a bit. Microsoft has traditionally taken 3 tries to "get it right", and since Word 2003 represents that third try from the last round of version upgrades, Word 2007 is back at the start of the iteration cycle. Historically, that means you probably don't want to be an early adopter unless you want to be one of the unofficial beta testers. Wait until at least service release 1, and if you're conservative like me, consider waiting for the second full service release.

The second question to ask is: "What are the consequences of upgrading?" One immediate consequence is that you'll have to ensure that you set the default document format to .doc; the new .docx format is not yet widely supported (and won't be supported for Mac users until late 2008), and you can bet on some version 1 bugs in the format too. You'll also have to teach your collaborators how to install the .docx compatibility update for earlier versions of Office (check the Microsoft Office downloads site). Another consequence is that many of your keyboard customizations and custom toolbars will disappear. I don't have 2007 running, but early reports are that Microsoft has badly damaged the customization feature in an attempt to reduce its tech support costs -- but sugarcoats this with the official word that they're only doing this to make your life easier. Yeah, right. If you keep a copy of your old Normal.dot, this will get you around some of the problems, since toolbars created with older versions _supposedly_ can be transferred to 2007 in this way.

Last but not least, prepare for a learning curve. The changes to the new version are supposed to be quite significant, and though many reviewers seem to like them, all have admitted a significant learning curve and significant frustration before they figured out what they were doing.


----------------------------------------------------
-- Geoff Hart
ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca / geoffhart -at- mac -dot- com
www.geoff-hart.com
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References:
Any comments on Word 2007?: From: Liz_Vela

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