Microsoft Office Professional 2007 FULL VERSION Reviews

• No productivity boost for me.

  
  By A2BBDPGILE8EN4 on 2007-02-28
  I've been using Office 2007 since early January 07 and am still struggling to locate Excel and Word commands that I use to be able to execute in split seconds while drinking coffee and talking on the phone. While some of the deeper functions are now more up front with this revamped format, the side affect is that the top level command interface is now significantly diluted with all the infrequently used features and functions. What really I miss in Office 2007 is no longer being able to use many of the common key-stroke commands, and being able to modify the Toolbar (now called "The Ribbon") interface from within the application. I really liked being able to customize the toolbars in previous versions of Word and Excel according to my own needs. While previous versions of "Office" had their problems, this latest version, so far, has definitely been a drag on my productivity.
  
  
  
  

• Microsoft has hit new low in ease (difficulty) of use

  
  By A3B20R4ZAH0Y2Y on 2007-12-18
  Twenty minutes ago, a senior engineer with advanced degrees and 18 years experience with Microsoft office came to me and asked, "How do you draw a line in Office 2007?"
  
  This seemed like a strange question, since I knew that this individual had been drawing lines in Office for a decade or more. I went to MIT, and have been using Office since before it was Office, starting with Word in 1986, so I was confident that between the two of us we'd figure it out.
  
  Wrong!
  
  The engineer wanted to draw a line between two objects. He did NOT want this line to snap to one of the connection points on these objects. In other words, he wanted a LINE, not a CONNECTOR in Office 2003 lingo. Connectors are fun little things for drawing org charts, but we wanted a plain old LINE.
  
  We tried every variety of line or arrow we could find. Every one snapped to the connection points. After 10 minutes (at our combined billing rate, more than the cost of Microsoft Office), we resorted to the documentation.
  
  We found the answer! The icon for LINE is not a LINE. It is a blobular shape with a right angle on the bottom and a curvy part on top, called a "Freeform". It turns out that all other line-shaped tools have been promoted to connectors, and Freeform is the only tool you can use to draw a line that is NOT a connector. This is a bit awkward, since a line has two ends, and a freeform has infinite inflection points, so you have to double click at the end of your freeform to indicate that you just want a simple two-point line.
  
  Wow!
  
  I am really not interested in becoming the tech support guy who has to retrain experienced, educated people that "When you want a line, choose the blobular tool called 'freeform' because that's what Bill Gates says you should do." I wonder what Microsoft could have accomplished with their development dollars if they had focused on real enhancements instead of changing lines to blobular freeform thingies. We're loyal Office users, but we won't be buying any new copies this time around. Maybe they'll get it right in Office 2010.
  
  

• A step backward for Microsoft and Office

  
  By A680RUE1FDO8B on 2007-08-29
  I happen to like Microsoft as a company. I go back to the very beginnings of the "microcomputer" revolution and remember all too well the frustrations of dealing with monstrosities like CP/M, which most computer users today aren't familiar with and may be thankful that they are not.
  
  Microsoft brought and then forced standardization on the industry and that is a good thing, a very good thing.
  
  Microsoft's products, however, have ranged from the spectacularly and revolutionary great like Visual Basic to some real dogs. People tend to forget that Microsoft has not - and still does not - dominate every category of softwre.
  
  Office has, by and large, been pretty good. There have been a couple of releases that were terrible.
  
  Office 2000 and 2003, I thought, were excellent.
  
  Office 2007 is, in my opinion, something of a dog.
  
  Unfortunately, my business requires me to be intimately familiar with all the new releases of major products, so I don't have much of a choice except to use Office 2007 on a daily basis.
  
  So far my experience of a few days has been largely negative.
  
  I'm running it under Windows XP SP 2 on a 2.17 Ghz Core 2 Duo computer with 2 GB of fast RAM. Outlook 2007 loads like molasses in a very cold January. The search function in Outlook has been crippled. What used to be a simple search for the literal expression "[Chicago]" is now apparently impossible or I have simply been unable to find directions on how to accomplish. The search function is vastly faster and more flexible, but they seem to have dropped simple capabilities.
  
  In Word, Excel and Access, the new ribbon tool bar is jarring departure from Office's former GUI. Common functions, such as Undo are no longer immediately apparent. Many common functions, in fact, have been relegated to right-click menus or elsewhere.
  
  I have no complaints yet about the stability of the programs, but as I said, I've only been using them a few days.
  
  On the whole, if I didn't have to have total familiarity with Office 2007, I'd strip it off my machine immediately and reinstall Office 2003. Maybe over time, I will come to view the appearance changes as helpful. Right now I don't. Perhaps over time I will stop noticing how slow the programs are in comparison to Office 2000 and 2003 versions. At the moment however, I could read a chapter in a book by the time Outlook opens.
  
  Speaking of reading, Microsoft has once again changed the online Help format (which you can access if you find a terribly small button way on the right hand side of the window.) Help is less helpful than in previous versions mainly because it is too encompassing.
  
  Overall I think Microsoft has taken not necessarily a step backwards with Office 2007, but rather a misstep. If you can avoid using Office 2007, I would suggest you do so and wait for the next release, which I suspect will go back to looking more like Office 2003.
  
  Jerry
  
  

• Performance sucks! Not worth the money!

  
  By AN0BBYINL5ZL7 on 2007-03-13
  I installed Office 2007 Professional right after it came out. Unfortunately the overall performance sucks. Outlook is almost unusable. Most actions take three times as long as they used to take in Outlook 2003. The interface is radically different and takes forever to get used to. I recommend to stick with Office 2003 or to get OpenOffice.
  
  

• Unnecessarily and radically hard to use

  
  By A2DUA4SF6FGBPJ on 2007-07-11
  Microsoft has a problem. Their celebrated Office programs have been around a while, and every so often a new version comes out. But once a program has been around a while and fully meets the requirements of that particular type of program (word processor, etc), there is little room for natural development and evolution. And this is Microsoft's problem. How can they get users to continue buying their software if the basic fundamental aspects of the program have remained largely unchanged for a while? They they need, the Microsoft brains decided, was something radically new.
  
  And thus Office 2007 was born. The interface is indeed radically new - I feel like I am using a new program despite the fact that I have heavily used most of the Office programs since 1996. It is so new that simple tasks like track changes and small cap font turn into an Easter Egg hunt that wastes my time. The ribbon is unnecessarily large and useless. The ribbon is touted to bring to the fore all the commonly needed commands for the user - in actuality, I hardly use any of them, leaving 75% of the ribbon as wasted space. And it wastes LOTS of space - it's huge. As of yet, I have not found a way to customize every part of the ribbon so it displays what I want - perhaps you cannot.
  
  There are a host of other concerns, but one that struck me just before writing this review is that the new .docx file format is compressed with the zip formula that makes the resulting file 75% smaller. Now... why do we need that? In this day of 500 gigabyte hardrives, a 250K file isn't going to make me much happier than a 1000K file. Moreover, with high speed internet, the time savings of emailing such a file are rated in the seconds... again, nothing to write home about. BUT... what happens to a compressed .docx file when a part of it becomes corrupted? With an uncompressed .doc file, any program can view the contents and extract any information you can. Once you cram the data down with a compression formula, a damaged file is gone. Toast. Most likely irrecoverable. And that's the risk we now bear because Microsoft thought us, the user, would like saving a few K of file space on our huge hard drives.
  
  So, my conclusion is that not only are the UI changes in this version of Office unnecessarily radical, other features like the .docx format are pointless, but pose a significant threat of data loss should a part of the file become corrupted.
  
  So for me, I'm uninstalling this and putting Office 2003 back on.
  
  
• Experienced users - Do NOT buy this product....
  By A6WYBGYM7CE4I on 2008-03-17
  I reluctantly have to say that Office 2007 is one of the worst products I've used. I'm forced to provide at least one star, but I wish I could give it ZERO stars, so how about it Amazon. Isn't it time we can give zeros??
  
  I've been using Word for over 20 years and have used Excel, Access, and Powerpoint heavily for the past 10-15 years. I'm an advanced user of the tools and MS Office suites (including Project, Visio, Outlook,, et. al). If you have experience with any previous Office suite, run away now. If you've never used any previous versions of Office, you won't realize how bad this is so try it at your own risk, but I'd still say skip it.
  
  MS's "ribbon" has got to be one of the worst ideas any company has ever forced on its customers. It is not a productivity feature, instead it's an untenable waste of real productivity and time. It is however, a testament to MS's ignorance and that of their "test users" and researchers. While that may sound rough, read the other reviews here; the same negative theme gets repeated and there's a good reason. The tools we've all used for so long are simply gone, the ability to accomplish simple tasks are gone, and the worst thing is there's no quick way to get them back. This product is not evolutionary, it's a genetic dead end and simply unrelated to anything meaningful...
  
  I'm not going to go into every problem as I'm sure there's a limit on how much I can type here and how much you may want to read, but I will tell you that after spending more time than it's worth to accomplish simple tasks like opening templates (or even seeing them), I've decided to uninstall this application and go back to Office 2003 on all our PCs. I tried this software for several months and I can't stand it. MS should find a new product manager for the Office suite because the current one either deliberately wanted to alienate existing customers or didn't consider them. Either reason is cause for dismissal...
  
  The negative reviews here should warn you; there's are serious and fatal problems with Office 2007. If you have any doubt as to what to do, I'll say it clearly; DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT! NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!
  
  
  
  
• Tons of functionality improvements
  By A2NEVXUACYIECB on 2007-06-22
  Office 2007 offers fundamental functionality improvements over previous versions. This is not simply new window dressing on an old Microsoft product. Some of the minor changes in Excel alone are worth the cost of upgrading to me.
  
  For example, how many times have people you work withy highlighted all kinds of things in different colors in spreadsheets like that was supposed to be helpful for you? Now you can filter and sort by the formating of the cells. This turns out to be hugely useful.
  
  Pivot Tables in Excel are so much easier to work with than in any previous version. The interface is simple and intuitive, and sorting, filtering and analyzing tools are more powerful.
  
  Here's an example of an email feature I like. If you flag an email in Outlook as something you want to follow up with later, it becomes a task. Tasks you make don't cloud our your calendar, they have their own pane, and you can prioritize flags and tasks as you set them.
  
  These are just a couple examples of changes I like. there's some many updates in this version of office that if these don't sound that meaningful to you, no doubt something else you find will. Past updates to Excel have had very little new in them from functionality and usability standpoint. That is so not the case here. Some reviewers have mentioned slowness with the product. I did find some of that myself initially, but after an update and getting all setup the way I like it, it's working real smoothly for me. One thing I didn't like was that to get search within Outlook, you had to go and install Microsoft's new Desktop search feature, which then takes over space in your Windows Taskbar. That sucks. MS, Please don't force people to take whole new programs just to get basically functionality working in one. also, I had trouble getting my Google desktop search to work after the MS search was installed. I had to go bac into the settings and update my Google version.
  
  I'm not a Microsoft cheerleader, and I don't work for Microsoft. I don't normally find myself compelled to bother writing a review of their products, but I am impressed in this case, and I think that despite some of the flaws, this upgrade was well worth it. I recommend it to my friends and family, and I recommend it to you.
  
  
  
  
• Lost Production = Lousy Product
  By A2SEK7Q3TLCTW9 on 2007-10-17
  I feel like I really gave this version of office a fair chance. I have tried and tried to adapt to it, but I just can't get over the fact I have lost productivity based on having to relearn software I felt I was pretty good at using. I now do more hunting and clicking for features where I once knew where everything was and now the new interface is one gigantic mess. I feel that Microsoft really blew it this time; I suppose its par for the course with the rest of the lousy products they have released this year. (But that's another review). Clearly we have run out of ideas for evolving a word processor if you have to completely revamp the interface. I read an article once published by Microsoft indicating the reason for the redesign was because there were a lot of features buried in menus and dialog boxes that few people knew about. If people are not using certain features, maybe the majority just don't care and want to use a word processor for something like... oh I don't know, typing a document.
  The new interface for Word and Excel I can deal with, I don't like, but if I had to keep it, I could deal with it. Access on the other hand is a complete disaster. I hate it. It appears to me that somebody got really board and went crazy with the outlook style collapsible sidebars. The interface is so convoluted; it used to be so easy to switch between forms, queries, and table with the tabbed window. I do like the new ability to save to previous versions of Access (finally).
  
  So with that said, I must admit, I really like the new Outlook 2007. It is the only application in the suite that Microsoft actually improved the product and didn't butcher. I like the new side bars with the calendar events and to do lists. One option I wish Microsoft would implement is a way to configure all outlook folders to be the same settings when I change the settings for one folder. For example, I do not like the reading pane or the group by setting, which is the default setting for a new folder. It's a pain to have to go through each folder and set it up like my other folders.
  
  Luckily we can have multiple versions of office installed on the same PC. I have removed Office 2007 and reinstalled Office 2003. BTW, a lesson learned: If you want both Office suites installed, install 2003 first then 2007. If you install 2007 first then 2003, bad things happen. So remove 2007 and install 2003 then 2007. I reinstalled Office 2003 on my PC and installed just Outlook 2007 and Word 2007. I wanted to keep Outlook 2007, but you will need Word as well for the spell checker (shared components) and Outlook also uses word as the email editor.
  All in all, if you like Office 2003 or earlier and you want to remain productive without relearning software that you already know then I would recommend to stay away from this version. Other than Outlook, it really has nothing substantial to offer to make me want to stay with it, only misery, wasted time and headaches.
  1 star for the Office Suite Applications (Word, Excel, Access) , 5 stars for Outlook 2007
  
  
  
  
• The Next Generation of Office Productivity
  By A3F3B6HY9RJI04 on 2007-09-04
  Microsoft Office has always been slow to make itself look different than the previous version. In truth, there is very little difference between the looks (and featuers) of Office 97 and Office 2003 other than Outlook. This is both good and bad. It is good because upgrading is easier because you are already familiar with the user interface. It is bad, because it leaves very little room for innovation which is why I'm rarely ready to rush out and upgrade my versions of Office.
  
  Microsoft has decided this time around to not look like 2003 and I say this is all for the better.
  
  But as an IT professional, I warn ALL of my users that upgrading does come with a learning curve and there is a difference in compatibility you need to be mindful of. I would give anybody considering an upgrade the same advice.
  
  I would like to mention the compatibility issues. The standard "save" option will save your document in a format incompatible with previous versions. This is similar to how Access 2000/2003 does not work with Access 97 databases. Well, they have done this all over again except that you can open and save previous formats quite easily. Just be mindful that when you save a Word or Excel document you need to save it in the prior format if you wish to share it with others. You may need to do this for SEVERAL YEARS because I don't see this office being adopted quickly. However, unlike the Access 2000/97 incompatibility, you can open, work in, AND SAVE Access 2000 databases. I wish they had done this when Access 2000 first came out. Thank you, Microsoft!!!
  
  The interface is now completely different, especially since the toolbars at the top of the screen are named differently. However, I like how your icons change depending on which toolbar you are working in which puts a lot of your features at the top of your screen without sacrificing desktop real estate. I must admit, I have had to hunt for some things before (hmmm... where would sort and pivot table be?) but I've never had to hunt for too long.
  
  Like every release of Outlook, this version has taken on a few changes. And like every prior release, I love them!!! Their current layout allows for viewing your Email, folders, calendar, and to-do list all on the same screen. Navigation is quite easy and visiting your contacts couldn't be easier. My only complaint is the notes... I wish they had done notes like they had done Contacts but they give you a little icon on the bottom of your screen that I often confuse with the "folder list" icon sitting next to it. I hope Microsoft fixes that in a future patch/service pack.
  
  Here is something else I've never said of previous versions... it has actually made my documents look better. A lot better. Formatting of text and columns has never been easier. I use styles quite often and they aren't the "blah" standard ones anymore... the styles have evolved tremendously and my documents look great because of that. Also, there was an ability to alternate shading in Excel but if you had to change orders or copy and paste it would ruin the shading and you had to re-do the shading all over again. Now it keeps it just the way you want it... even on a cut and paste!!!
  
  Despite the learning curve, I love this new version of Office and have no regrets switching over to it. I think this has brought Office to a whole new level that no previous version has ever done before. I can't believe I'm saying/typing this, but my hats off to Microsoft for coming out with a truly superior product.
  
  
• A huge disappointment
  By A277J2ZNZ40CRD on 2007-07-07
  While I personally use WordPerfect Suite 8, the best office suite ever programmed, for reports and writing projects, I keep a version of Microsoft Office to be compatible with my clients, and for Outlook and PowerPoint (both of which are decent programs). I decided with my new computers to move up from Office 2000 to the current version. I wish now I had bought Office 2003. Each component of Office 2007 is slow to load, slow to respond, just plain slow to do anything. The interface in not intuitive and I have to search for the old familiar functions. I am using XP Pro, so that may be an issue regarding startup speed, and yes, the computer hardware in a few years will improve to the point even this dog will appear fast.
  
  Being a user of WordPerfect since 1985 and WordPerfect Office since its beginning I have encountered "improved" suites for both Word and WordPerfect office that actually were less functional and more buggy than the predecessor. The new programmers, using the latest and greatest programming language and methods, think that they have produced the be all and end all version, with latest jazzy snazzy interface. (This applies to WordPerfect office as well, which is why I use the Win95 era Version 8 rather than the latest.) But often they produce abominations, such as Office 2007.
  
  So buyer beware, it is indeed a dog, at least when using XP Pro, and an ugly dog at that (considering the interface). If I hadn't already spent the money, I would give OpenOffice another try. The "user experience" surely cannot be worse, and may even be better ... and it is certainly not overpriced.
  
  Last, I really have to wonder ... do the people that develop and oversee these software projects actually use their own product ... I mean rigorously use the software. If so, how could they let such products ship? Or does Microsoft simply not care, since they virtually own the market.
  
  If this is useful to anyone I will be surprised, but at least I feel better. Now to a cup of coffee while I wait for Excel to load.
  
  
• IT SUCKS
  By AI5OR1HSYXCCL on 2007-05-21
  Sorry if the title is a little strong but I have been using word processing and spreadsheet software since the 70s and this is a great leap backwards.
  
  I do not know what caused MS to abandon the simple pull down menus and control and alt functions that let word approach 60% of the efficiency of word perfect.
  
  The new programs are cumbersome, mouse intensive and trash for the serious user . If you need a new computer you are better off with a used computer with the prior generations of this software. It is not just my opinion but that of my grad students.
  
  It is incredible that Microsoft had the arrogance to put this product in the marketplace. A great boon to Apple and if MS removes support for XP as scheduled it is time to BUY Apple stock.
  
  
  My guess is that market demand will require support for the older versions for many more years.
  
  Hopefully with more European influence MS will fully support universal document formats so that users will have a real choice.
  
  We use both Word 97 and WP in the office. Most of our new people are unable to believe that there is anything other than Word, but after using wP for a while come to prefer that for its easier and more predictable results and far easier to use command structure. Given their choice WP wins for internal documents even though they need to use Word for many external documents.
  
  
• BUYER BEWARE THIS SOFTWARE IS SLOW!
  By A3K81DT34Y9BPI on 2007-07-29
  I have used Microsoft dating back to first DOS program. I own two companies with about 50 plus computers between them. So I am the guinea pig on all new software.
  
  I have an extremely fast computer, with 4 gig of ram, terabyte of 4 fast hard drives on XP pro. I have built many computers. I only share this with you so you will see I am no novice.
  
  I cannot stress enough how slow my system is now when Outlook is on. Do a Google search with "Outlook 2007 slow" and you will see what I mean. I also agree with others about the so called ribbon approach. This all reminds me of when BMW introduce their infamous idrive. Al their tech people thought it was revolutionary.
  
  What really happened was catastrophic to BMW. I was present when a customer came in the show room demanded their old BMW back or they would sue.
  
  You need to wait until they get this fixed and I recommend you make sure it is fixed. I cannot believe they released such a dog program.
  
  
  
• The end of Microsoft Bloatware?
  By A2LLTV9E3S8S5D on 2007-01-31
  I hate this new version! For years I've been able feel smug and superior by criticizing just how bloated and clumsy to use Office became in the late 1990s. For me, it was a textbook case in how not to make a user interface, particularly the many steps it took to change a style. "Heck," I'd tell people, "even InDesign with its incredible 26 palettes and dozens of pull-down menus is easier to use."
  
  Now I can gloat no more. By all accounts, Microsoft has cleaned up the interface wonderfully, with PC Magazine reporting, "Once you get past the few minutes needed to navigate the new Ribbon interface, you'll wonder why Microsoft waited so long to get so many things right."
  
  Now my only gripe is that I have to wait until fall for the Mac version.
  
  --Mike Perry, author of Untangling Tolkien
  
  
• Lost Productivity
  By A146KONUDGQF0P on 2008-03-15
  If you are familiar with prior Office versions and you are a busy person, do not go to Office 2007. You will loose hours and hours of productivity trying to find menu items that you knew right where to find in prior versions. Microsoft decided that they know what a user wants when it comes to using their products. So instead of giving you the choice of using the older Office menus, Microsoft does not give you a choice so that they can force you into the new menu system. Read the rest of the reviews and ask yourself, does Microsoft really care what the users want when they could have easily provided users a choice of menu systems?
  
  
• Ok, but extremely annoying
  By A2F5ZH6IKAXBK on 2007-04-23
  I have been using Microsoft Office for years. This is the first time I have been frustrated while using this product. This is not a bad product, but just not user friendly. For people who have been used to the Microsoft Office products over the years, this new version is going to cause a good deal of frustration. The look and feel of the 2007 version is so completely different that simple tasks we are used to doing become complicated. I find myself constantly using the help button just to figure out how to do the most basic functions.
  My personal opinion is that this product would have been much better if they had not changed it so completely that a person who has used Microsoft Office for years feels like they are using a product they have never seen before. I understand a company wanting to improve a product, but to make it so complicated and so different from past is not helpful. I find it takes me twice as long to accomplish things I could do quickly and easily in the past.
  Also, keep in mind if you want people who do not have Office 2007 and still have 97 to be able to open anything you have saved you must make sure you save it as a 97 version. People with older versions of Office are unable to open anything saved in the 2007 format.
  All in all I am sure the software will prove to be better, but for now I am finding this product to be more frustrating and wishing I still had my 97 version.
  
  
  
• I'd rather have food poisoning.
  By A20UTBMNQ9T4YH on 2007-04-24
  They changed pretty much everything. For starters they completely removed all of the normal menus such as File, Tool, and Edit. Which means you can't use the keyboard for quick and easy menu access. Well maybe you can, but you would have to memorize all of the commands instead of having the nice little visual cues which made previous versions of Office (and almost all other PC programs) so much easier to use. You basically have to use the mouse for everything. And in my experience there is no faster way to repetitive stress injury than over-mousing.
  
  The Ribbon is just awful. First of all it's huge. It takes up about FOUR TIMES the space of my customized toolbar. They place nearly every button imaginable on it. And as far as I can tell you can't change it around or simplify it. Every function is displayed all the time whether you need it or not. Which makes finding anything a real pain in the neck. You can make the ribbon retract which at first glance seems nice. But in reality it turns what used to be simple 1-click operations into 3-click operations (extend ribbon, spend several minutes searching for button, click button, retract ribbon). Good grief! What a pain.
  
  This software didn't last 24 hours on my system before I restored my old version of Office. This new interface is about the most awful thing I've ever seen on a computer. I know of certain free open source office suites that I prefer to this monstrosity. That being said I still prefer any and all previous versions of MS Office to the free one. In fact I would rather be using my old Wordperfect from 1995 than this *thing* that MS is trying to shove down our throats. If only I hadn't thrown that disc away six years ago...
  
  Before you "invest" your money in this software I strongly recommend you download the free trial version. Then buy an earlier version.
  
  
• Office 2007? Run away and run fast!
  By A1IMZRUOB6TYMM on 2007-07-23
  Some things are best left alone. Microsoft seems to have updated the Office program into a whole new program. I spend huge amounts of time trying to do things that I could easily and quickly do with 2003 (for instance AutoText in Word - where is it now?) Microsoft chose not to do a logical progression of the individual programs and seems to instead to have scrapped what worked really well and started completely from scratch. Excel and Word seemed to have fared the worst, although Outlook crashes with surprising regularity. The program is not intuitive at all and I am really unhappy with Microsoft for forcing me to use the program they way they think I should want to use it and not even giving me the option of using it the way I need to. It is really difficult to customize and even more difficult to figure out how to do things that 2003 did. Even simple actions require multiple mouse clicks, the "ribbon" is huge and cannot be customized, it is difficult to find actions, and some functions are just no longer available. If you never used 2003, you might like it, but for an advanced user, 2007 is horrible. My new laptop came with Vista (no improvement over XP, just more changes for change sake) and Office 2007 was installed. I have been using 2007 daily for 2 months so it is not like I have not tried and am rushing to judgement. I hate it more every day and am soon going to put 2003 back on. I would not recommend Office 2007 to anyone who is good at using Office 2003.
  
  
• Completely unusable
  By ANP5ZZGG9U7KZ on 2007-11-27
  Microsoft has taken a huge step backwards in usability of this product. I have used many versions of Office over the years, and rate this one as the worst. Why? It is very hard to use. The poor usability of this product makes even Office 2000 a much better choice for anyone who actually has to do work.
  
  The senseless and massive usability changes are bound to waste the time of tens of millions of Office users, but the problem is worse than that. As others have stated, the features in this program are hard to find. In addition the help is poorly done in this version; instead of correctly arranged help files that guide you quickly to the information you need, the help is sprinkled with videos you must patiently watch, some of which are located online and will not play.
  
  The horrible "ribbon" is a huge waste of time and space. Gone are many customization features that actually made Office a useful tool.
  
  It is obvious why Microsoft has made so many terrible choices: as someone else here stated, Microsoft believes that they must reinvent this product at any cost, to convince people to buy something that they likely already own in an older version. This is similar to the useless XML features they introduced in earlier versions, or the useless "office server" concept. News flash, Microsoft: a word processor does not need to be tightly bound to other programs, function as an XML server, or make your coffee. IT HAS TO PROCESS TEXT IN AN EASY-TO-USE AND STABLE MANNER.
  
  My wife received a copy of Office 2007 and gave up in disgust after trying in vain to use it for a week. I tried it as well, with the same results. Your best bet is to find an old copy of Office or even the free and capable OpenOffice, which reads and writes Office files (or WordPerfect, which has its own set of flaws).
  
  
• Dumbed down and harder to use
  By A2MYTY15IFSP3G on 2007-07-29
  The new ribbon design is supposed to make it easier to learn and use. It may be for some new users but for experienced users, it isn't. This version takes away some critical nuts & bolts customization features and many tasks now take longer to perform. This is not due to the learning curve, it is the inherent nature of the way the ribbon works. Once you are familiar with the program, nothing is faster than the old menu structure. If Microsoft added an option to allow users to choose between menus and ribbons, it would be the best of both worlds, satisfying the needs of both new and experienced users. The new version does not run macros as fast however. My recommedation for existing users: keep Office 2003 for as long as you can and consider going to Open Office when Microsoft no longer supports 2003 (unless they restore the functionality in a newer release of 2007).
  
  
• Horrible, just horrible
  By AOY9SZTMNQWAW on 2007-10-27
  I have been using Office for around 10years now. I was very excited to get the newest version; Excel's added size was my biggest seller. However, after buying this version, I hate it, absolutely hate it. The menus are all gone, now it's a Ribbon. I build custom Excel and Access programs, with custom menus. You can no longer change the menus, all custom items are added to the Add Ins tab. Finding simple age old functions is next to impossible. I've had to use the Help feature so much just to figure out how to do the simplest things and where they are now located. I do miss the Office Assistant as well. Many will say it was a waste of space, but I personally enjoyed it. All the new file types are not backwards compatible. I can't create any file and then take it to my work computer and open it with 2003. All my old files (pre 2007) act funny when opened with 2007. For example, Excel creates shadow like images of my data and starts putting it all over the spreadsheet. But if you do an Alt + Tab it clears for about 5 min and then starts all over again. I've had nothing but trouble with this software. This is by far worse than Office 97 ever was and I hated it. Access is missing features I was very used to in 2003. Certain things can only be done in VB now. Word's Mail Merge took me 3 hours to finally get it to import my list for labels. Using 2003, it was done in 3 min. If you want a good office suite, buy 2003, stay away from this garbage. I've since uninstalled 2007 completely and went back to 2003.
  
  
• Doesn't Deserve Praise
  By A2IWBYH2P3EW0F on 2008-06-13
  I bought and installed this product because I had a new computer and I required the tools to access and manage various work documents. I figured it would be a moderately useful upgrade on previous office products. However I was mistaken.
  
  This version of Microsoft Office takes the concept of "bloatware" to new heights ... it seems the folk at Microsoft have been distracted by their own interface trinkets and have forgotten to address even basic useability issues. The result is a program that is sluggish, counter-intuitive and presents a whole new learning curve, even for those who are/were familiar with previous versions of Office.
  
  If you have a lot of time on your hands to learn a "new" way of doing things that different without being better (frequently worse) - and you have no desire to work efficiently with your computer, then perhaps there would be nothing to complain about with this new version. Otherwise, I really can't recommend it.
  
  
• Less efficient
  By A2XWJWO14R9KK3 on 2007-07-04
  If you were not very used to Office or hadn't used it at all, Office 2007 will be easier to learn initially. That said, if you were good at using the old software, you will find this new layout very inefficient and frustrating. It is icon-laden and trying to be user friendly way too hard, so much so that it kills what was previously good about it.
  
  Outlook is still good, but Word & Excel have pretty much been reduced to useless. Stick with the old version if you can.
  
  
• I want my menus back!
  By A23L1JJOTUA2OT on 2007-10-27
  For people who have used Microsoft Office for the past 10 years, Office 2007 is hellish to use. On their Office Web-Site, Microsoft has put an animation that users may use to locate items of basic functionality in Office 2007. Click the menu item in an Office 2003 menu (menu - hmmm now that's interesting) - and an animation will show you where to find it in 2007. The fact that this is even necessary should tell you somthing. I don't want to spend hours learning a product I have used for the past 10 years - I have work to do.
  
  This product was not released to the public but rather inflicted on the public. I cannot in any shape, form or fashion recommend Office 2007 or Vista. These products are total assaults on productivity.
  
  
• Office 2007 can bite my shiny metal...
  By A32XM5KCEJICYL on 2007-11-02
  I normally only review music and movies, but this software is so bad I just had to warn others.
  
  I recently got a new machine with Office 2007 on it, and as much as I loved 2003, I figure I'd give 2007 my best shot. Well folks, after a month of using it, I'm putting 2003 back on with the 2007 compatibility upgrade, and kicking this to the curb.
  
  Office 2007 is a MAJOR step backwords in terms of ease and usability, and a big steaming pile of junk. Gone is the Toolbar, now replaced by the inane "Ribbon". I can click back and forth all day long without finding the menu option I want. Customize it? Yeah, right.
  
  Tasks that used to be so simple, such as Edit -> Paste Special... I give up, where is it? I even struggled to find "Save As", and had to go to Google to find out.
  
  Excel doesn't fare much better -- I still haven't found out how to pull up the Drawing toolbar and cursor like in 2003, and frankly, I don't care anymore.
  
  Whenever the inevitable Office 2010 or 2015 comes out, hopefully Microsoft will learn from their mistakes, and go back to the old menu system. I know I have.
  
  
• Office 2007 - Microsofts arrogance at its best.
  By A2QJ2G45M31IXN on 2008-01-22
  Office 2007 is nearly unusable. All the useful commands are spread out over mutiple ribbons making every task a challenge. There is no customizablity at all. You are stuck using the ribbons exactly as Microsoft created them. It is plain that they are so arrogant that they think they know what you need more then you do. They have also filled the software with frilly useless features that have no place in the professional world. They make it nearly impossible to create macros and if you do succeded at making one you can't place on any of the ribbons. This is without a dought the worst version the company has ever produced. It is quite clear the negative effect of no competion. Don't upgrade until you have absolutely no choice. The headache is not worth it. For every improvement in this program there are 10 negatives.
  
  
• Office 2007 - versus the older version you already own
  By A5MXNEKQSVHEG on 2007-04-12
  You will probably be more productive and less bug ridden if you stick with what you have.
  Don't expect to turn this version on and be able to use it. Many changes are literally imposed on you, like the ribbons instead of the familiar icon bars. Missing menus and the auto-double space setting every time you hit return.
  There are new features which can be helpful to some, but Microsoft probably thinks you can afford a week for retraining.
  
  The arrogance of Microsoft not even to offer the menus everyone is used to as a classic or traditional option is incredible.
  You upgrade for hundreds of dollars to get totally stuck and run out to buy a manual.
  
  
  
• Office 2007 Productivity Reducer
  By A2IH5EEJQ7DYEM on 2007-08-06
  Since Amazon does not offer a zero star, I had to give it a 1 star. MS Office 2007 has a new user interface and no new functionality. The interface is drastically different from the old one and as a result productivity suffers. I now spend a lot of time online trying to find out how I used to do things. I don't understand why MS did this. This upgrade is not an upgrade, is is a repackaging of office 2003 with a new layer of complexity ontop of the software. I would return the product if it were possible. I have already uninstalled it and have switched back to 2003. Also, documents created in office 2007 are not backwards compatible with documents created in office 2003; make sure you save your files accordingly.
  
  
• Worst Software Package that I've ever bought.
  By AFDW8IZYH9K7T on 2007-10-06
  I upgraded my office 2003 with the new Office 2007 just a couple of months ago. I've been a Microsoft fan for a long time but needless to say, I've never been as disappointed with any software upgrade as I was with this one. Everything takes at least 3 times as long, it takes forever to get used to, and simple commands such as "word count" take forever to find. I've been happy with Microsoft software updates up to this date, but I'm amazed that a company such as this would alienate its customer base this way!!..If you're thinking about buying this package...I strongly recommend you to find something else!!!
  
  
• It's Office, again...
  By A1NH820E5UDAZ0 on 2007-02-22
  I got this for free by attending a Microsoft Seminar, I had ran the first Beta and I enjoyed it, the interface was pretty nice back then. On the actual release it's even a bit nicer. But, the bottom line is, do I really need Office 2007? I use Word, and while it looks much different due to Ribbon, it essentially works the same. I never was what one would consider a power user when it came to Office. I think Office 2007 would be great for anyone new, the interface really seems a lot more simple to grasp.
  
  Outlook is much improved, although I'm still not a huge fan of it. It's supposed to sync amazingly well with my Smartphone that runs Windows Mobile 5 (imagine that) I can't comment on this, but if the integration with the calendar and contacts are solid I could see this being a huge plus for people. I was never able to fully get my phone to work with Outlook in Office XP.
  
  I have yet to try Access, but I don't think anyone can do anything to make a database program easier to use, Access is a bore for me, it's very powerful. I'm sure Microsoft added more power, but it's uhh Access.
  
  Excel, numbers and lots of them! Ok, so the Ribbon interface makes it a bit easier to navigate, but since the first release I've never took the time to learn Excel, so basically I can't comment on any useful new stuff as my Exc el understanding is about as simple as you can get.
  
  I can't comment on PowerPoint, as I chose not to install it. I've tried every other version of PP, and frankly I find them impossibly hard to use (I've been on computers since the TRS-80 days...) I don't think any interface can make PP a logical program for me. People who need PP know how to use it, and like it. I'm sure PP 2007 is a big improvement, but I'm still taking the stance that it's more trouble than it's worth to create a good presentation in PP (MACROMEDIA FLASH MACROMEDIA FLASH MACROMEDIA FLASH!)
  
  Publisher has a bagillion templates, nothing I would consider to be professional level, but there is plenty for the average Joe to work with. You can create plenty of layouts with ease in Publisher, and while I've never used it more than for a minute or 2 at a time, I could see myself using Publisher 2007 to come up with some fliers for my business.
  
  My final thoughts, the interface changes are welcomed, and were definitely needed. Overall Office 2007 seems to be a solid product, and will be a winner in most peoples eyes. But the price... is outrageous! At $250 it would still be plenty expensive, especially when more then likely most of the people who use Office are like me. And use it for simple Word documents and a few Spreadsheets here and there.
  
  If you're one of those who needs to be on the cutting edge of technology, you probably already own Office 2007. If you're a typical non power user, stick with 2003 (or even XP) unless you have tons of cash to burn. While I love the interface, it's just too pricey to be a reasonable buy.
  
  
  
  
• Stay away from this disaster
  By A39KFTH8S609TZ on 2007-10-28
  Sorry Microsoft, but your "ribbon" user interface is the most retarded upgrade feature ever. It renders all your Office applications useless. I have no interest spending hours to learn a completely different UI and to recustomize the toolbar all over again (I'm not even sure if it's even possible to customize the "ribbon"). The ribbon is ugly and WAY, WAY, WAY, WAY too big.
  
  My advice: try to avoid upgrading for as long as possible.
  
  

• The Unofficial Guide to Microsoft Office 2007 (Unofficial Guides)
• The Neat Company NeatScan To Office Scans to Excel Outlook Word and PowerPoint (White)
• PC World
• Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2007 (Special Edition Using)
• Microsoft® Office Excel® 2007 Step by Step (Step By Step (Microsoft))

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional FULL VERSION with SP2
• Microsoft Office Professional 2007 UPGRADE
• Microsoft Office Standard 2007 FULL VERSION
• Special Edition Using Microsoft Office 2007 (Special Edition Using)
• Office 2007 All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))