What's New in Office 2007
Management Summary
New File Formats
File suffixes end in "x" e.g. ".doc" is now ".docx". New XML format (smaller files).
Can save in "old" Office 97 – 2003 format - click the Office button then select Save As.
Can also check if document will have problems if opened in previous version of Office - from the Office button select Prepare and then Run Compatibility Checker.
New Ribbon Interface
See movie on ribbon interface or see handout on ribbon interface.
In addition there is a Developer tab for handling templates and macros. To turn display of the Developer tab on:
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Click the Office button.
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Choose Word Options (or PowerPoint Options etc. as appropriate)
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Ensure that Popular is selected from the left-hand menu.
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Ensure that Show Developer tab in the Ribbon is selected.
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Click OK.
If you right-click the status bar you can configure its display.
Live Preview
As you move your mouse pointer over choices of Themes, Styles, colours, and Fonts, you can see a "Live Preview" of the effect on your document or presentation.
SmartArt Graphics
Communicate more effectively with business graphics.
Excel charts (and thus all office charts) now use SmartArt graphics.
You can add effects like shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, warp, bevel, and 3-D rotation to shapes, SmartArt graphics, tables, text, and WordArt.
Contextual Spell Checking
Office now knows about "there", "their", and "they're".
Pre-formatted Elements
Add pre-formatted elements such as Cover Sheets, Headers, Footers, Page Numbers in a couple of clicks.
Compare and Combine documents
When you compare and combine documents, you can see both versions of the document - with the deleted, inserted, and moved text clearly marked in a third version of the document.
Once a document is finalised, you can mark as Final and no longer allow changes.
Custom Slide Layouts in PowerPoint
You are no longer confined to the slide layouts provided. You can add your own placeholders.
Presenter view
By using two monitors, you can run your PowerPoint 2007 presentation from one monitor (at a podium, for example) while your audience views it on the second monitor (Projector). Presenter view offers the following tools to make it easier for you to present information:
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You can use thumbnails to select slides out of sequence and create a customized presentation for your audience.
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Preview text shows you what your next click will add to the screen, such as a new slide or the next bullet in a list.
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Speaker's notes are shown in large, clear type so that you can use them as a script for your presentation.
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You can black out the screen during your presentation and then resume where you left off. For example, you might not want to display the slide content during a break or a question and answer period.
Setting Up Presenter View Handout.
Outlook
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Instant search through all folders. Items found are displayed while the search continues.
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Colour categories – e.g. assign a colour to a project. Search and sort by colour.
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To Do Bar – Integrates Calendar, Tasks, Calendar (+ Project and OneNote).
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Attachment Preview.
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Calendar 7 day week view changed. Week and Day view include tasks.
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Improved scheduling – change to location or agenda sends an Informational update rather than having to re-accept the meeting.
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Enhanced flagging mail for follow-up.
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View calendars side-by-side or overlaid.
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Turn out-of-office assistant on and off automatically (i.e. tell Outlook your Holiday start and end dates, and it will automatically apply and stop applying your vacation / holiday message. Also send different messages to people in the University from those outside the University.
Excel larger spreadsheets
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1,048,576 rows by 16,384 columns, specifically 15 times as many rows and 63 times as many columns.
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Unlimited number of types of formatting in a Workbook (was 4,000).
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Number of cell references per cell limited by available memory (was 8,000).
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2G Memory (instead of 1G).
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16 million colours.
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Multiple processors and multi-threaded chipsets supported – should increase speeds in large formula-intensive worksheets.
Excel Easy formula writing
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Resizable formula bar – for long formulae.
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Function AutoComplete.
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Structured references - named ranges and tables.
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Easy access to named ranges - name manager – helps others understand.
Excel enhanced tables
These were called Excel lists.
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Table header rows – turned on or off.
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Calculated columns - contain a single formula which adjusts for each row.
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Automatic AutoFiltering.
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Structured references – use column names in formulae instead of cell refs.
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Total rows – use custom formulae and text.
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Table Styles improved – Alternate row formatting still works when you filter, hide rows, or re-arrange.
Excel improved Sort and Filter
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Sort up to 64 levels (was 3).
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Sort by colour (useful with enhanced Conditional Formatting).
Excel improved PivotTables and PivotCharts
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Undo now works on most actions to create or re-arrange.
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+ / - Drill Down Indicators.
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Sorting and Filtering enhanced.
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Conditional Formatting by cell or intersection of cells.
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Apply predefined or custom styles.
Excel Page Layout View
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Create a worksheet while watching how it will appear when printed.
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Quickly specify options such as page orientation.
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The old Normal and Page Break Preview modes are still available.
Access
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Professionally built database templates.
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Field and Table templates.
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Getting Started page.
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Navigation pane replaces the Database window.
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Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports, and Macros appear in tabs in the Access window – you can easily swap by clicking.
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Developer Reference and Help available from the same Help Window.
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Improved Datasheet View – Create a table just by entering data! Drag a field from another file to add a column and automatically create relationships.
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Streamlined creation of grouping and sorting in reports.
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Columns of controls handled as a block in Form and Report design.
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Datasheet view new Total row to display sum, count, min, max, average, standard deviation, variance.
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Datasheets, Reports, and Continuous Forms now support alternating background colour.
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Improved import spreadsheet.
Access - New Layout View for Forms and Reports.
In Report view, you can browse an accurate rendering of your report without having to print or display it in Print Preview. To focus on certain records, use the filter feature, or use a Find operation to search for matching text. You can use the Copy command to copy text to the Clipboard, or click the active hyperlinks displayed in your report to follow a link in your browser.
Report view adds the ability to browse, but Layout view lets you make design changes while you browse. You can use Layout view to make many common design changes while you view data in a form or report. For example, add a field by dragging a field name from the new Field List pane, or change properties by using the property sheet. Layout view supports the new, stacked, and tabular layouts — groups of controls that you can manipulate as one so that you can easily rearrange fields, columns, rows, or whole layouts. You can also remove a field or add formatting easily in Layout view. Design view remains available for more detailed work, and it has also been enhanced to support layouts.