Five Best Features in the Office 2010 Beta
Microsoft has recently launched the Microsoft Office 2010 ‘Beta Version.’ I have five reasons for you, to go through the Beta version and try the MS Office 2010. The beta version has incorporated the advanced versions of PowerPoint, Publisher, Word, SharePoint Workspace, Outlook, OneNote, Excel, Communicator, Access and InfoPath. If you wish to download, then you can do it using the website of MS Office Beta.
Just like Windows Vista versus Windows XP, a number of users did not make the switch from MS Office 2003 to MS Office 2007. The Windows Vista backlash had a partial effect, which made the buyers to think twice before making a switch. The five reasons that I mentioned earlier are:
1. Ribbons - You have a unique ribbon interface which takes some time to get used to. If you are currently using the 2003 Office version and got used to the standard menu options present at the top of the screen, then you need to start preparing yourself to the learning curve once you switch to 2010 Office version.
Once you become familiar with the operation of ribbons, you will find it difficult to go back to the normal operation since it is very efficient and impulsive. In MS Office 2007, ribbons existed only for specific applications.
2. Backstage View - In MS Office 2007, almost all the functions that were most frequently accessed from the ’File’ menu bar like ‘Print’ and ‘Save’ is replaced by an Office button which is round. Here, it is replaced by a button which resembles a ribbon tab on top.
By pressing on the tab’s left, you will view a new screen by name ‘Backstage View.’ This interface will show a list of tasks on the left panel. But, almost the entire screen is filled with the available options for the desired task.
3. Paste Preview – The user feedback collected by Microsoft indicated that the image or text pasted did not satisfy the user since he wanted it otherwise and therefore, he will remove and paste it again. The feature ‘Paste Preview’ will provide you a small preview of the appearance of the paste option that you did, which helps you in correcting it and setting it right at the first shot itself. You can also merge the formatting, paste the text plainly, that is without formatting or keep the source formatting.
4. Excel Sparklines – Excel has a range of graphs and charts available to depict the trends and the data visually. The MS Excel 2010 has a new feature called ‘Sparklines’, which permits you to place a trend line or a small graph in one cell. This feature is indeed simple and amazing since you can just add a visual element instead of inserting a chart or graph that fills the worksheet completely.
5. Social Networking Integration – Microsoft identifies the trend of social networking through inserting the feature ‘Outlook Social Connector’ to the application of Outlook 2010. This feature allows you to view status updates, emails, shared photos and files and many more, in one view. You can also see your mutual friends and related information which helps in maintaining and extending the social network.
Currently, no add-ins for the social network is available, but Microsoft has promised to release them in a few months. Since Facebook is one of the best social networking sites and it shares a wonderful relationship with Microsoft, it can be assumed that Facebook can be the first of the add-in for the social network.
Now that you know all the five reasons, you might have planned to download the Office 2010 website and experience those special features.
Related posts: