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5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
 Microsoft Office Word 2007: An Over-Designed Nightmare Jul 11, 2008
There was a time when Microsoft Office Word's most recent incarnation was held as the Gold Standard of word-processing programs by most casual- and many professional-computer users. This "article of faith" was so ubiquitous that the pre-installed downgraded word-processing program, part of what is called Microsoft Works, was held in some contempt by most users and usually deleted right away and replaced with the most recent version of Word. No more.
Office Word 2007 is packed with things no one needs and wastes every user's time trying to figure it out.
Compared to the over written and unnecessarily complex Word 2007, the basic templates in Microsoft Works (version 8.5) are refreshingly appealing, simple to use and entirely adequate for most writing and word processing tasks.
Unlike the older versions of Word and the Works Word Processor, Office Word 2007 opens to seven separate template tabs - Each with its own full range of choices and each with own set of multiple and complex tool bars and options. These view pages include 1) Home, 2) Insert, 3) Page Layout, 4) References, 5) Mailings, 6) Review and 7) View. Without going into detail, suffice it to say that the truly necessary aspects of each were once contained on the two simple toolbars most commonly used in the earlier versions of Word, Editing and Navigation.
Navigating between these seven tabbed templates is like moving from room to room - or from house to house - to complete one meal or one conversation. It is simply a user-unfriendly, ill-conceived design. The multiplicity, design and inclusion of many useless options on the production default page ("Home") alone are distracting, delaying, complicated and yield no better product than the earlier, simpler versions.
Word processing should be straightforward, easily navigated and complete. The basic tools of spell-checking, formatting, cutting, pasting, highlighting, etc. should be positioned so as to make them immediately available while working. With Office Word 2007, Microsoft has abandoned these basic precepts and needs. Every time a different tab/template selection needs to be entered to accomplish a necessary task, the writer is distracted. Any writer - including many of you who are reading this, will agree that adding distraction reduces productivity and efficiency.
Microsoft's Office Word 2007 was appears to have not been designed by writers, but by software engineers rewarded for building bigger and more complex programs.
The same strategic error was made by Microsoft in its current operating system, Windows VISTA. Most users of the Microsoft XP system found it perfectly adequate. VISTA bloated a good operating system until it became a gargantuan program of gigabyte-guzzling proportions while adding little if any functional improvements. Yet another example of size and complexity winning out over necessary functionality. Office Word 2007 is a repetition of the self-same misjudgment.
Time is of the essence to most people when they write. It took me nearly ten minutes to figure out how to change a default that double spaced every line I wrote! The Style templates are simply bizarre and distracting, taking up fully half the toolbar space in the basic "Home" production tab. The more functional and necessary functions are squeezed into mini-size half icons making the necessary navigation all the more difficult.
Yes, there is a way to customize one's own toolbar - but why should we have to spend our own time to re-simplify what Microsoft Word 2007 has literally encrypted and hidden in a maze of overlapping separate templates, options and useless features!
There is talk of VISTA being replaced sooner rather than later and that, as heavily promoted as it was and with the talk of ceasing to provide support or updates for XP in the coming year, it will be piled atop the 'it-seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time' junk heap along with Windows Millennium. I expect Word 2007 to wind up there, too.
In the meanwhile, there are good choices, even if you choose to stay within the Windows 'family' of word processing programs. Most simply (and inexpensively) the aforementioned Microsoft Works 8.5 actually turns out to be a pretty user friendly and functional package that includes a more familiar and easier to use word processing program, an Excel-like spread sheet as well as an Access-like database for keeping and sorting information.
Office Word 2003 and XP software is still out there and is getting pretty inexpensive - And it is far easier to use.
As a former admitted "Microsoft Word snob," I must confess that I have learned something from these experiences. Bigger is not necessarily better. The principle applies to software as well as to cars. Microsoft should not be rewarded for bringing this 'upgrade' to market any more than the developers and promoters of Hummers ought be acknowledged for their ecological contributions to the well being of the planet.
I have also learned that the earlier and simpler versions of Microsoft's word processing programs are far superior in ease of use and essential, efficient functionality than is its newest product, Office Word 2007. I encourage every new computer buyer to give Microsoft Works a try before automatically dumping it in favor of Word and its related programs. You might be in for a very pleasant and economically satisfying experience!
2 of 2 found the following review helpful:
What a mess Jul 11, 2008
If you liked the old DOS era when all applications had different commands and the clerical staff had a stroke when you made them learn a new word processing application, you will absolutely love Word 2007. However, if you liked the modern era of Windows applications whereby they shared familiar drop down menus, you will detest Word 2007. What amazes me are the glowing reviews this mess has received by the "experts." I guess computer geeks are like mathematicians: as long as something is "elegant," that's good enough. Why should one worry about the dumb masses who will use the "elegant" product?
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
 Wordperfect 12 is Better For Most Uses Jun 07, 2008
I use both WP 12 and MS Word 2007. Word is generally a failure for a number of reasons: 1) It forces you to use fonts you don't want and uses annoying spacing settings as defaults-changing the defaults is a pain as sometimes they change back. My preference has always been boring, but nonetheless clear and readable, Times New Roman 12 pt-MS in its desire for "cleartype" has chosen "Calibri" which looks fine on the screen, but not on paper, I guess the Microsoft people thought that generated documents would never be printed. 2) the outlining feature is awkward and useless-again the fonts and spacing are uneconomical and inefficient-compared to WP 12-which is simple and no muss- I am sorely disappointed. On the plus side, MS Word templates are easy to create and use as well as envelopes. However, I have had difficulty with labels. Overall, the primary problem with MS Word 2007, is that the creators have tried way too hard to impose their ideal world on the user. If you are happy with that world-fine, but for others, like myself, who conform to fairly conservative business styles-this world is a nuisance and WP 12 offers a simpler, trouble free, and less expensive alternative.
2 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Micro$oft shoots itself in the foot and us in the pocket May 27, 2008
Why change an interface that half the know universe could use to one that almost no-one can understand? Why remove the customisability of toolbars and functions? Why make the interface such that 4 clicks are needed when only 2 were needed previously? Why hide commonly used functions? Why make it effectively incompatible with previous versions?
It's a secret plan by OpenOffice who have infiltrated Micro$oft to make their products so bad that we'll all migrate to Open Office. It must be, that's the only logical explanation for the way the Office 2007 is such a pain to use!
As a business user, we've had all of our customised functions removed at a stroke. Keyboard shortcuts no longer work, macros no longer work and simple operations that could be accessed direct from the keyboard now need 3-4 mouse clicks. the interface is un-instinctive and occupies too much screen space. There are multiple bugs. Everyone who has used it in the office hates it and two of our major customers refuse to accept documents in the new format containing equations. Oh, yes, the equation editor is incompatible with anything previous and only works in the new docx format - which none of our customers will accept for electronic documents.
Open Office here we come.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Improved! but...... Apr 18, 2008
As a user of WordPerfect for many years, I've always found Word to be deficient. Word 2007 is a true improvement. Although it still does not have some of the superior features of WordPerfect that ease formatting, it is a definite move into the future. For example, if you copy and paste from the Internet, then you can instantly go to that site if you wish. You can create your blog with it and have it immediately uploaded to your site. There is an encryption feature to help secure your work. Inserts and citations are efficient. It has the ability to read numerous word-processing systems. When all is said and done, the document you save is far smaller in size than in the old Word. It may be hard for old Word fans to master, but once they do, they will find it a tremendous improvement. Four stars! Not perfect but far, far better!
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