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Rating:  - Not a Value Add
After giving MS Office 2007 a 6-week good faith effort, I had it removed and Office XP 2003 re-installed. I have never objected to having to look things up in online help, but in this case the trouble far exceeded the benefit..and it never let up. In the field of applied behavior analysis is a concept called "stimulus control" that describes how stimuli in the environment (such as the size and relative position of traffic lights, brake pedals, menubars, icons, etc.) come to shape our behavior, often in very useful ways. Microsoft needlessly changed stimuli throughout their software, rendering ineffective many of their customers' previously fluent behavioral repertoires (e.g., keyboard shortcuts, right-clicks, mouse-overs).
Rating:  - Not as bad as they say!
Having used MS Office for quite some time, I know that it changes with every version. In fact, that is part of the reason people update their software. In my case, I got kind of tired with my version of Office XP Profesional (Office 2002). I have to admit that I was worried about how many negative reviews this product recieved and I actually installed it seperately to keep XP in place (just in case).
I'm not sure what everyone's problem is. I loaded it up and was happily doing my psychology homework in a matter of minutes. I haven't had any problems with it. It took about thirty seconds to learn where a lot of the new functions are and it has been pretty user-friendly to me so far. I'm not sure I like the layout as well as some of the previous versions, but I'm pretty happy with the upgrade.
I would say that in their quest to make the product more "user friendly", they did the same thing that Windows XP and Vista did, that of course would be making everything pictures and icons; which for us experienced users, only adds extra steps. Still, I would say the majority of the programs included in the Office 2007 suite are intuitive and once you get used to the layout, you can get pretty fast with it. In some places, it is pretty darn convenient!
To summarize, I'm not saying Office 2007 is the answer to all my hopes and dreams and the new interface does take a little getting used to, but the learning curve isn't THAT steep. Spend a couple minutes just trying to find things, use the little question-mark help feature and after a couple of days you should be back to blissful productivity...
Rating: - Worst purchase EVER
This is a horrible upgrade from 2003. NOTHING looks familiar. You have to re-train yourself to use this. While I only paid $113 for this on eBay, this is the worst purchase I've ever made. Do not, Do Not, DO NOT upgrade from 2003... you will be sorry. Try to find a screen shot on google for Word or Excel 2007, THEN decide if you want to purchase it.
This version doesn't even give you the option to revert to the old "look". No more File, Edit, View, Format, Tools etc at the top. You will stumble around blindly trying to figure this thing out.
I'm spending another $150 to repurchase 2003.
2007 is WORTHLESS!!!
Rating: - Office 2007 - Take the Leap
I have been using Office 2007 at work for about 4 months. I was using Office 2003 and they gave me a new computer with Office 2007 installed. They gave me no training on how to use the new version and it was quite a struggle to figure out how to use it. My job is demanding and I had no time to play with it and figure the in/outs of the program. To be honest I did not like it. It wasted too much time trying to complete what was a familiar task in the previous version. Based on this experience I would probably rated it 1 ½ stars. I believe my company should have provided at least some basic training.
I had read the reviews of Office 2007 and knew the interface was completely different. If I had brought the software for my home system I would have taken the time to learn the ins & outs and I am sure my experience would have been different. I have read many user reviews of this product in Amazon that complain how hard it's to use and that Microsoft completely changed the interface. This is true if you were expecting Office 2007 just to be a minor upgrade to Office 2003. Microsoft in all their wisdom decided to completely revise and update Office. I think that is the root of many users complaints they want the old version back. I don't know if there is a compelling reason to upgrade for most people and maybe they should stay with Office 2003.
Last night I downloaded the Office 2003 Trial to my home system and have spent many hours customizing and working with it. Some of the things I found out:
1. It's customizable and I am able to put all the commands I typically use in a Toolbar.
2. If I look at it as Office 2007 and not an upgrade to 2003 it makes a lot of sense.
3. The Ribbons really work when you get the hang of them.
4. I find it easier to work with the ribbons then the drop down menus.
5. The right mouse button gives you a lot more options
I am sure that Microsoft can and will make improvements to Office 2007. It's not perfect and has it's faults. But after having time to customize it and play with it, I truly like it. This review is based mostly on Microsoft Word and some use of Excel. I will update the review as I get time and experience with the other modules. I give it a 4-star rating at this time.
Rating: - Dissatisfied
I never received the product. I order this product twice from two separate indepedant dealer associated with Amazon and it is now 5 weeks later and I still don't have the software to use. I am very unahppy.
Bob Z
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