5 Tips for Making the Transition to Office 2007 and 2010
With the release of a stable new operating system, Windows 7, many organizations are making the leap to the newer versions of Microsoft® Office. There are 5 “must have” tips that will get you over the hurdles of the revolutionary new interface and back to work.
1. Hot Keys – Simply press the Alt key to see how to navigate the ribbon without your mouse. You’ll notice in many cases, the letter is the same that would have been used in 97-2003. For example, Alt, then F will expose the Office Button menu or, in the case of 2010, the File tab and it’s “Backstage View.”
2. Help: Tab Group Button: When you get help in Office 2007/2010 you will normally get it in this order: which tab, and in which group you will find the button you need. It is helpful to know this since there are new terms for any veteran user of 97-2003.
3. Quick Access Toolbar: – Although in 2010 you can make changes to the Ribbon, The Quick Access Toolbar gives you instant access to the buttons you use most. There are several ways to add buttons to this toolbar. One of my favorites is to right click any button and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
4. Dialog Box Launchers: You will be directed by help and instructional text to access a dialog box launcher. Yet, hovering over every button on the ribbon will not reveal anything called exactly that. Dialog box launchers are the small Southeast facing arrows at the bottom of selected groups on the ribbon, such as the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab. Clicking it will, in many cases, bring up dialog boxes more familiar to you from previous versions. These will have the full complement of options.
5. Command Reference Guides: These tools were the antidote to many frustrations in my first year of using the new version. The Command Reference Guides are animated programs that present an image of the older version. You select what you want to do from there, as if you were actually clicking on menus and selections. It then reveals how to do the same function in the newer versions. From the search menu at office.microsoft.com, enter command reference guide. There you will find links to these guides. You may also find them in the help function on both versions.
1. Hot Keys – Simply press the Alt key to see how to navigate the ribbon without your mouse. You’ll notice in many cases, the letter is the same that would have been used in 97-2003. For example, Alt, then F will expose the Office Button menu or, in the case of 2010, the File tab and it’s “Backstage View.”
2. Help: Tab Group Button: When you get help in Office 2007/2010 you will normally get it in this order: which tab, and in which group you will find the button you need. It is helpful to know this since there are new terms for any veteran user of 97-2003.
3. Quick Access Toolbar: – Although in 2010 you can make changes to the Ribbon, The Quick Access Toolbar gives you instant access to the buttons you use most. There are several ways to add buttons to this toolbar. One of my favorites is to right click any button and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
4. Dialog Box Launchers: You will be directed by help and instructional text to access a dialog box launcher. Yet, hovering over every button on the ribbon will not reveal anything called exactly that. Dialog box launchers are the small Southeast facing arrows at the bottom of selected groups on the ribbon, such as the Page Setup group on the Page Layout tab. Clicking it will, in many cases, bring up dialog boxes more familiar to you from previous versions. These will have the full complement of options.
5. Command Reference Guides: These tools were the antidote to many frustrations in my first year of using the new version. The Command Reference Guides are animated programs that present an image of the older version. You select what you want to do from there, as if you were actually clicking on menus and selections. It then reveals how to do the same function in the newer versions. From the search menu at office.microsoft.com, enter command reference guide. There you will find links to these guides. You may also find them in the help function on both versions.
