Others say...

"I HATE WORD 2007!!!"
I understand the need to add new tools; however, why not just add them to the already "user friendly" design Windows users have grown so accustom to. I absolutely HATE Office 2007 and if I could revert back to Office 2003, I would. It is not "user friendly" AT ALL. There doesn't seem to be any particular rhyme or reason for the visual design of the program. I don't need pictures/icons. I CAN READ. So maybe they are beginning to cater to those who can't read.

I have lost confidence in Microsoft because of this decision. I never considered which system and program to purchase in the past. I always gravitated toward Microsoft because all programs worked alike. Now they don't. I will begin considering other options in the future.

I would have given this program ZERO STARS, but I was concerned readers would think I forgot to rate, so just know, unless you absolutely need these new publishing tools they have added, stick with what you know works great! or pick something else.

"A giant leap backwards in user-interface design"
Word 2007, some like it, but a very vocal group, one could say a majority, despise it. (just Google "hate word 2007" and you will see)

Unfortunately, I'm in the latter camp.

Having used MS Word back in DOS days, back then it was competing against the then reigning king of desktop word processing, Word Perfect, and gave it a good fight during the early years of Windows-based word processors, eventually winning the fight and driving Word Perfect into virtual obscurity.

I have watched the program undergo some fantastic development, each one better than the previous. Word 95 was remarkable, Word 97 even better, and it got progressively better as it matured and enjoyed a dominant position in the word processing marketplace. Word 2003 ruled the roost.

However, with Word 2007, Microsoft have pulled the unthinkable, and has literally foisted a new interface upon its loyal users under the guise of being "new and improved".

Boasting "new functionality", the ribbon interface appears like eye candy, and much to my disappointment, it is. Perhaps for a novice user or someone who's never touched a word processor before, it might be a pleasant learning curve to get used to the functions. Unfortunately, a vast majority of the Word 2007 users would be unsuspecting Word "loyalists" hoping to get something better than the previous version.

If you're used to keyboard shortcuts to do familiar tasks, or browsing a traditional drop-down menu to find things, you will find the ribbon as a rude shock. What MS has done is a literal "slap in the face" of the existing user-base, as it has changed access to many functions that users were familiar with (either by keyboard shortcuts, macros, even familiar menu buttons) and grouped them in a very confusing interface which seasoned Word aficionados would cuss and swear about trying to find simple things like "print" or "save-as".

Productivity takes a huge hit as a lot of time is wasted hunting for that "delete table" function or other which used to take seconds before. There is no option in the application to revert to classic menus.

To sum it up, I will use the analogy of MS releasing a new car, the "Word 2007 GT", only this time, the steering wheel is replaced by a big control ribbon taking 3 times the space of the old dashboard. It will have pretty pictures showing "Turn left" and "Turn right", and you have to tap your left foot on the foot button 3 times (they have done away with pedals) to get the "Go forward" image to appear, and then double-tap your right foot on the accelerator button to make it move. Going in reverse will require you to hover your hand over the "Go forward" image until the drop down appears showing a "reverse" symbol, which resembles a MS logo. Stopping is a whole new adventure, just nudge the red "X" on the 2nd menu's nested drop-down for "stopping functionality", and hope the car stops before hitting the one in front.

All in all, MS Word 2007 is a giant leap backwards in functionality, simply because they have alienated a massive number of their existing user base by not providing an option for "classic menus".

Back to my car analogy and MS, we want our cars to be consistent with what we've used before. It should have a steering wheel you turn to point in the intended direction. Pedals in the right places that are consistent with every other car you're likely to drive. Why fix what is not broken, Microsoft? Did your development focus group consist mainly of novices and morons?

I'd give this product a 0/5 rating if I could.

What I like: Live preview (e.g. document updates with the font or style you're hovering over). Too few others to mention.

What I don't like: Wasting time trying to find functionality that was literally a click, or a fast keyboard shortcut away. Ribbon interface taking up too much screen real-estate.

What I want: A service pack that brings back classic menus.

"Word 2007: A bad choice if you share docs with many others"
For anyone who routinely shares Word docs with other business people, Word 2007 may make your life more difficult. Most people have an earlier version of Word, and will be unable to access or read a Word 2007 document unless it is "saved as" a file with earlier Word document format (which is .doc ; for Word 2007, Microsoft created a new file type, .docx ). However, even if you "save as" an earlier Word version, recipient with earlier Word version will have limitations in using the file, and - understand this - Word 2007 creates a second/duplicate file in your folder (one for ea. file type). So, if you have a Word 2007 document called "New Word File" & you "save as" the earlier Word file type so that a business associate may read/access, you'll then see 2 files with the same exact name ("New Word File") in that folder. And if you then need to subsequently make a change in the document (any change at all), you'll have to either make it in both files (twice the work) or somehow remember which file (if either) has been updated, etc. If you're like me, you don't know (& don't want to have to ask) which version of Word your business associate is using. Which means if you want to be sure they'll be able to access & read the Word document you're sending them (& you're using Word 2007), you must save as earlier version of Word.

"BEWARE Word 03 Compatibility Issues"
BEWARE- they don't tell you upfront that Word 2007 isn't easily compatible with Word 2003...especially for those upgrading...a lot of the 2003 features and 2007 features do not work together, thereby many 2007 Word docs will not read in Word 2003 and visa versa. If you go to the MS Office website you can download a "converter" to convert 2003 Office docs to 2007 format, but who wants to have to go through that everytime..makes you wonder what they were thinking in Redmond, WA when they designed this new software? While there are certainly vast improvements in graphic look and capabilities...the Word 2003 non compatabillity is a serious flaw that they overlooked (or maybe they just didn't care how inconvenient and how much trouble it would cause their loyal customers. And you wonder why people hate Microsoft so much...wake up Bill!)

"Software"
It is very user friendly. It has good color and graphics. It is a definite improvement over previous editions.