Word 2007 review

Elsa Wenzel CNET

Published: 07 Feb 2007

Microsoft Word 2007's document types, interface and some features — very nearly every aspect of this word processor — have changed. With this update, Microsoft Word 2007 becomes a more image-conscious application. New picture-editing tools help you smarten up documents and play with fancy fonts. Bloggers and researchers may also benefit. It's easier to get a handle on document security, but those who only need basic typing features may not want to relearn the interface or deal with the new file formats.

Our installation of various Office suites on Windows XP computers took between 10 and 20 minutes, which was quicker than prior editions of Office. You'll have to be online to access services later, such as Help and How-To as well as Clip Art and document templates. Our review of Microsoft Office 2007 details the installation process and the ingredients of each edition.

Interface

Once you have Word 2007 running, you will notice a completely redesigned toolbar, now known as the Ribbon, with many familiar commands in new places. Instead of the old grey drop-down menus atop the page, Microsoft's new and very colourful Ribbon clumps common features into tabs: Home, Insert, Page Layout, References, Mailings, Review and View. Some tabs don't show up until you might need them; for example, you must select a picture to bring up its formatting tab. At first, you'll need to wander around to find what's moved from prior versions of Word. Clicking the Office 2007 logo in the upper-left corner drops down a menu of staple functions —such as opening, saving, and printing files — that were under Word 2003's File menu. We had the hardest time locating commands from Word 2003's Editing and Tools menus. To insert a comment in Word 2007, for instance, you must look under the Review tab instead of the Insert tab. Prepare to relearn Word. Alas, there is no 'classic' view to help you make the transition to the 2007 version.

Although it's a challenge to upgrade, those learning Word for the first time may find its features easier to stumble upon than they would have with Word 2003. For instance, the new interface better presents page view options that used to be a hassle to get to. From the View tab, now you can simply check a box to see a ruler or gridlines, or click the Arrange All button to stack various open Word documents atop each other. Although we sometimes mixed up the placement of commands within the Review and References tabs, those features were still easier to find than in Word 2003.

Microsoft placed a lot of emphasis on the 'wow' factor of Office's galleries of graphics, which share the Aero look of Windows Vista and are found throughout the Office applications. Pull-down menus of fonts, colour themes and images let you preview changes on the page before making them. And thankfully, Microsoft killed Clippy, the cartoonish helper. A less-intrusive quick formatting toolbar now shows up near your cursor. Keyboard shortcuts remain the same; pressing the Alt key displays the corresponding quick key for each Ribbon command. A running word count is always present in the lower-left corner, and the new slider bar for zooming in and out is a terrific no-brainer improvement, particularly for the visually impaired.

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