Fri
May
26
2006

Office 2007 Beta 2

As most people are now aware, the public Beta of Office 2007 is open for business.
I’ve been on the beta team since October last year, and I must say that the new release is polishing up very nicely. The new UI is still the major talking point, and it is not easy to get used to. It can take weeks to adjust from the menus and toolbars paradigm that we have been using since forever.
But the case for changing the UI is compelling, and I think MS are on the right track, although I can see a flourishing market for customised versions of the ribbon.
There are genuine improvements and changes to the whole Office suite. Many more casual users will not find the improvements compelling but I already miss a stack of the features when I have to go back to Office 2003 apps.

So, if it interests you, go and check it all out at the special site
But note: there are major changes to the file format for Word, Excel, Powerpoint. OneNote and Access. Most can save in earlier versions, and you can get software to allow Office 2003 apps to read and open 2007 files.
You have been warned!

On a related note, the next step is to load up Vista Beta 2 along with Office 2007 Beta 2.

Posted by Neil, 26 May 06
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Comment

  1. But you missed the silliest change… it’s now “2007 Office” not “Office 2007”.

    — Simon · May 26, 06:03 PM · #

  2. Well, you have you let the marketing guys play. ;-)

    — NeilA · May 26, 06:04 PM · #

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