Microsoft has just revamped its office software suite and released the first beta version. Most of the changes in this new version have pleased the testing group. 
Microsoft states that the next version of the Office suite is the most significant overhaul of the decade, and it is certainly not a “mediocre” product. The new file format based on XML standards and the completely redesigned interface have made this market-dominating office suite more dynamic and user-friendly than ever before. Long-time users can easily recognize the new features in this version (codenamed Office 12, which does not yet have an official name) and may consider them valuable changes. According to Microsoft, the official version will be released soon this year.
New Interface
Even before the technical beta was released, Microsoft dressed Office in a new outfit, eliminating most of the context menus and toolbars in its applications. Instead, users are provided with a tabbed interface called the “ribbon” at the top. This vertical toolbar displays various features related to the selected tab. For instance, when clicking on the Write tab in Word, the ribbon will display options for font style, text formatting, and familiar buttons like Cut, Paste, and Search/Replace, which were previously found in the Edit menu. However, many features are still organized in menus that appear when you click on the dropdown arrows on the ribbon or next to the File button at the left of the tab.
Unlike Windows XP, which allows users to change the interface of the Start menu and Control Panel to that of previous Windows versions, Office 12 does not offer this option. This may be “frustrating” for many users who are accustomed to the old Office interface.
New File Format
However, the most notable feature of Office 12 is that Microsoft has changed the default file format to a new compressed XML format. To distinguish it, Microsoft has added the letter “x” to the extensions of the old file names (for example, .docx instead of .doc, .xlsx instead of .xls…).
The new Office Open XML formats are improved over the previous formats in several ways. Firstly, the new format is more compact: saving a Word 2003 file in .docx format reduces the file size by half compared to the old .doc format. Since the Office XML format is based on both XML and Zip formats, other applications can easily read them, even from different operating systems. These applications have been developed by combining Microsoft’s XML schemas (XML schemas provide detailed programming guidelines to interact with XML documents). Microsoft has introduced draft versions of these schemas and proposed that ECMA International recognize Office XML as an open standard for free use.
Office 12 still allows users to read/save documents in the default format of Office 2000-2003, and this is also the first time it supports saving files in read-only PDF format. Additionally, Microsoft will provide free add-ons for Office 2000-2003 users, enabling them to create, open, edit, and save files in Office XML format. Thus, when users of older Office versions attempt to open an Office XML file, they will be directed to Microsoft’s website to download this add-on.
File Components
Each Office XML file is essentially a compressed set of components within the file (such as text, document formatting, comments, and user modifications), allowing you to easily manipulate these properties by changing the Office XML extension to .zip, then opening the file with any extraction utility to remove or replace components. For example, you can quickly swap a formatting style (by creating a new one or simply copying the format from another Office XML document) without affecting the text content.
Minor Drawbacks
In testing with Word, PC World noted that first-time users might confuse the buttons due to their rearranged positions: in some cases, you need to click multiple times to execute a desired command that could previously be accessed quickly from the toolbar. Fortunately, Microsoft retains default keyboard shortcuts (such as the -S key combination to save files, F12 for Save As) and some new features that guide users in adapting to the new interface.
Another important feature is the ability to preview changes. When you hover over a format – for instance, a font style or text format in the ribbon, the changes will be displayed in the document before you accept that format. This time-saving feature is available across all applications in the new Office suite with various options.
However, since the ribbon takes up a lot of screen space and does not allow for resizing, it’s best to have a larger screen.
Another notable change in the Word interface is the Status bar at the bottom of the window (showing the total number of pages and the current page order) now includes a word count feature and provides a slider for zooming in and out of the document.
Another useful feature added to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is the Document Inspector (found under the File.Finish menu) that can find hidden text that you do not want others to see, such as comments, document creator names, etc. The Document Inspector also allows you to remove one or all of these components.
Improvements in Excel 12 include more effective help for new users, wider spreadsheets (up to 1 million rows and 16,000 columns), and easier-to-use cell designs.
Excel Excels
Excel’s conditional formatting feature allows you to add colors and effects to spreadsheets based on the content of each cell. For instance, you can create a color change similar to a thermometer based on the values of the data cells.
The formula assistance function of Excel 12 is also very convenient: instead of having to enter the exact formula name as in previous versions, with Excel 12, when you start typing a formula, a window will pop up displaying all formulas whose names start with the characters you just typed, along with their definitions and explanations. As you continue typing, Excel will narrow down the number of corresponding formulas.
The Excel Sheet Tab ribbon provides a library of decorative visualizations that you can apply with just two clicks. Similar to Word, the live preview feature allows you to see your choice before officially confirming it.
Finally, the Page Layout view feature makes it easy to see exactly how each page of the spreadsheet will print on paper and where the page breaks will occur. Additionally, when you add a column or row to a spreadsheet, Excel 12 will automatically apply the existing formatting of the document to the newly added areas, something that previous versions of Excel required you to do manually.
Compact PowerPoint
The compact size of Office XML files is most evident in PowerPoint 12. A slide containing a screenshot and graphics that took up about 5MB in PowerPoint 2003 is now only 610KB (approximately 0.6MB) in the new .pptx format.
The Ribbon in PowerPoint 12 lacks some control features compared to previous versions. For instance, by clicking on Effects in the Design ribbon, you can quickly switch a preliminary list of effects to a more logical chart and then quickly embellish this chart in 3D format or with shadow effects using other options on the same ribbon. In previous versions of PowerPoint, users had to navigate through multiple menu levels to use these options.
Improved Outlook
However, the consistency in the interface in Office 12 is not reflected in Outlook. You will not find any ribbon here, just the traditional dropdown menus. So what’s new in this version of Outlook, and what is the function of the To-Do Bar? Similar to the task pane in Word 2003 or Excel 2003, the To-Do Bar appears on the right side of the screen and displays tasks waiting for you to complete and a list of appointments.
Microsoft believes that when you are working collaboratively online, the To-Do Bar will display meetings assigned through applications like Access and OneNote. You can adjust the size of the window, but this still does not make the Outlook interface any tidier.
Only when you mark a task as completed will Outlook remove it from the To-Do Bar. To schedule a task’s completion in the To-Do Bar, you simply drag and drop that task into the current calendar window (defaulting to 30 minutes).
Outlook 12 also allows sharing your work calendar with other users via email; you can even use another user’s appointments and apply them to your own (each user’s appointments are color-coded for easy identification). Additionally, Outlook’s search capabilities seem to have improved significantly compared to previous versions. However, it is unfortunate that Outlook lacks the convenient ribbon that its counterparts in Office 12 have.
User-Friendly Access
For many Office users, Access – Microsoft’s powerful database program – has always been challenging to grasp, especially compared to FileMaker Pro. Therefore, Access 12 has added several new features to make it easier for users.
Templates are clearly displayed on the ribbon, guiding new users through the steps to create a database for specific purposes, such as tracking or managing a contact list. The new version of Access also simplifies quickly formatting database reports: you can edit each field in the database from a single window, which can be considered a major improvement. Additionally, data query tools have been simplified to allow you to extract necessary information without having to learn any formulas.
High Expectations
Like previous versions, Office 12 is a massive toolset, and most users will not be able to utilize all the features provided. Overall, the new design and improved XML file format are strengths of this software suite, even though users do not have the option to revert to the interface of older Office versions.
Nonetheless, with many new features introduced in this Beta trial, Office 12 is proving to be a more powerful and useful office software suite.
PC World USA, 2/2006
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