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When Office 2007 first came out, what everyone noticed first was the new interface, namely, the ribbon. This ribbon replaced the menus and toolbars—yes, the self-same menus and toolbars that you constantly griped about and yet were suddenly so enamored of (you cannot imagine how much whiny feedback I received about the change):
(And so on and so forth until my eyes rolled up into my head, my mouth went slack, and I wondered if it was too late to become a ballerina after all.)
So yeah, friends, here we go again in Office 2010 with—oy!—frolicking in the ribbon. You know, that hot cocktail party topic that's too hot for water cooler chitchat (not that offices have water coolers anymore).
And now that Office 2010 has come out...the ribbon is still there. Get used to it my chickadees because you will come to love it (and it's here to stay). But don't get crabby with me because although many of you may realize that learning to use this ribbon involves a steep learning curve in low gear, we created a few roadmaps to make it easier on you.
And me being me, let's all come clean, shall we? However much I tout the value and adorableness of the ribbon, love (for it or anything else) does not always come quickly; love does not always come at first use—I mean sight. Sometimes it takes more than a few cursory, awkward glances, a night in a motel and then a shove down the aisle toward the altar. And so, the good people who have your best interests at heart (that'd be me and my compatriots who work hard to explain what the creators of the programs have actually created them the way they did) whipped up these interactive guides to show you where your favorite menu and toolbar commands are located in Office 2010; a roadmap, if you will (and oh, you will). You just click the command or button that you want to find and the guide will show you its location in the 2010 version of the program.
So don't be afraid, and remember: if nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies...or changes to certain Armed Services policies (sorry couldn't resist).
Now go get those roadmaps!
Okay, so, there are ten interactive guides to download for each of these programs (free, of course): Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, OneNote, Publisher, Access, Project, InfoPath and Visio. You can download the interactive guides or get a printable list of Office 2010 commands and buttons in the form of reference workbooks. I can lead you to the page, my peeps, but you have to take some initiative from there...you dig?
(Re "You dig": I recently watched The Good, the Bad and the Ugly and someone really cool says that line and so it was in my subconscious and needed a time and place to use it.)
So please: before you pop off a comment or e-mail to let me know that the ribbon makes you feel like we just blindfolded you in Seattle, drove you to Saskatchewan, and instructed you to create a viable village using just your wits and a yurt template try the guides and such I mentioned, okay?
Have a good one; I'm writing my yearly New Year's resolutions blog post/column; anyone have any ideas for me???
Crabby's Find of the Day: Last week the 17-year policy known as "Don't Ask Don't Tell" was repealed, now allowing gay people to serve openly in the military.
— Crabby
Comments: (16) Collapse
All I ask is the ability to put a page number where I want it on the footer without having to click a ribbon half a dozen times (OK, four). While I'm at it whatever happened to that great little button on PowerPoint that let you gradually increase the line spacing just by tapping it a few times?
Terry, Maybe I'm missing someting you're saying, but to insert a page number, on the Insert tab, in teh Hader & Footer group, press page number. Yes, you DO have to decide where you want your number to go; Word can't guess it for you. And you also have to choose the style of number you want.
Regarding the line spacing...I was never aware of a liittle button to adjust line spacing; font size yes, line spacing no.
Why did Windows 7 drop some good fonts like Copper Plate Gothic ? Can I grab these fonts of my old Vista disk and drop them in the Windows 7 Font Folder ?
P.S. ; I love the ribbon. It is very efficent and has many features that quite intuitive. In fact the whole setup is an amazing exercise in intuitive design. Not once did I need a roadmap or have to turn to help for navigation. Good Job !!
I am visiting this site first time & it has awesome information. I have come to know a lot of information after visiting this site. Keep this sort of posting in future as well.
@ Robert : I'm going to check on that (not a Windows expert).
Oh, & P.S. back atcha ;-) THX also for your ribbon comments; even if I weren't an "insider").
It's been a week on 2010, up from 2003. I'm open minded but I'm not wrong: Ribbon takes more clicks for sure. It is NOT changeble as advertised. Almost all tabs are locked in Excel. The ribbon does take up a lot more space vertically, (this is a fact) and that's annoying because screens are getting wider but not higher. You can't turn labels on or off on individual icons. Just whole tabs. Why not? There's a ton of dead space within the ribbon too. That's a fact. And yes there are many icons stuck on there I just flat out don't need but am forced to have there when I could have everything consolidated onto one ribbon, not have to flip from one tab to another. How do you remember what icon is on what tab. It's supposed to be lumped by function sort of but it's really done well in this regard. If MS would let me, I could have all my icons I need on one single ribbon (screen) without other tabs. They'd all be there for ME. Cause I'm ME! Get it? (And as an aside, who's the brillant person who decided it's be easier to read semi-black text on a grey background? Sure I can change, but to black, sort of, or a really poor blue). And on the file tab, in Excel for example, why is it that the files are on the left and folder on are on the right when in every other situation Microsoft has that the opposite? Dumb. And why can't I customize the open file dialoge box like in 2003 when I click "open" so that I can get the folders I want immediately, just like the old Excel, instead of having to click three more times, every time, and then reach all the way over to the right to get to that little folder icon? I could go on and on. I have a whole list I have not even touched. So you sound like a somewhat indignant, marketing oriented, somewhat arrogant MS employee who's paid big bucks, just like Aaron Eckhard in Thank You For Not Smoking. You seem to comment back at positive comments and not to negative, but I'm new here so could be very wrong on that. It's sort of like calling into a right-wing talk radio show and they only take the calls they agree with.
@ HUGH: First: Not true! I do respond to negative comments. It's just that sometimes I ask people to e-mail me because what they have to say is important and my response/solution/help is longer than appropriate for a blog comment. And so you don't see the answers here, in this forum (and most people do not leave their contact info, as if I can just gather it magically). But you've helped me realize that I NEED to post some of the conversation I have in email with specific blog readers. So thanks for helping me recognize that.
Listen, Hugh--I know, from your comment, that this is important to you. I also know that you JUST posted the comment because I happen to be online right NOW writing tomorrow's post (even though I'm officially "on vacation"). Every time I get a comment from the blog, I get an email; as I was perusing my Crabby account emails, yours popped up. And here we are/
I hope you see this reply: E-mail me at MSFTCrabby@hotmail.com and we'll chat. I'm not kidding. I appreciate your well thought-out comment and well-written comment, and I'd like to help (if I can). I'm not really supposed to offer 1-on-1 help because if I did, that would be my full-time job and I wouldn't even be helping 10% of the people who ask for my help regarding specific problems.
But your issue is almost a philosophical one, you know?
So write to me when you see this and I WILL respond. Again, I'm "on vacation" (though working tonight) and tomorrow is New Year's Eve (so neither of us SHOULD be on our computers anyway) so I will probably NOT get to your issues tonight; but I WILL get back to you. My readers are my everything; without you, I'd be...I'd be...a professional ballerina? An accountant? Laurie Anderson? Meryl Streep?? Hmmm.
WRITE TO ME: MSFTCrabby@hotmail.com (or I can’t help). One aspect of my wisdom gained from the years (almost a decade of being as "Crabby") is that if ONE person is having a frustrating problem or issue, there are probably THOUSANDS who are going through the same thing. And although I can't reach all of them through this blog, maybe a web search can. I do the best i can; all of us who write blogs here do. It's our job AND our passion. (Hey...isn't that an NPR commercial??? ).
Anywhoo...Happy New Year and thanks for giving Office 2010 a shot. We'll work it; I'll do my best--I promise.
- Crabby
Hrmm that was weird, my comment got eaten. Anyway I wanted to say that it's nice to know that someone else also mentioned this as I had trouble finding this same info elsewhere. This was this first place that told me this answer. Thanks.
Hi Crabby & all~ I was thinking about how the steep learning curve in low gear is just so hard to get excited about for most people! I think we need in every mall in America, not just the Mall of America, a kiosk dedicated to this task and it should be FREE! Yes, I know, I've just put myself in a questionably socialistic, God only knows, political hotbox, but I think a kiosk would be a lot of fun. You can simply get with the nice person manning it, sit down, blurt out your troubles concerning the Microsoft product and the nice person ques up a happy tutorial and the nice Microsoft person guides you into your new computer skill accomplishment (like a work out/gym trainer!!). Now wouldn't that be ideal? ;0)
I am earnestly trying to find out what the f12 and the next key ins prt sc keys are????? on my new p.c.
my email is bleedom@gmail.com. I have new p.c. with Windows 7. I don't understand the f keys.
Julie: that is a great idea, if a bit impractical. You know the line of anxious children, impatient parents, and irritated elves that form a line snaking around the mall, just to take a photo with "Santa?" Imagine if one of the MS elves would start his/her OWN company for frustrated MS users. Yes, the elf would get rich but the line that would form would make Santa's look like nothing...
MS Answers (answers.microsoft.com/.../default.aspx) is the closest thing we have to what you describe; and the elves are our MVPs who answer your questions AND it's free (of course).
BUT I can sometimes provide help if you have a one-question-one-answer problem. You know where to find me; you're one of my Facebook peep!!
@ Barbara (and I sent you htis as an email, to):
First, Windows is the operating system and has nothing to do with Office--not really. Think of it this way: Windows is the car's engine, and things like Outlook, PowerPoint, Word, etc. are the various features you can choose to have (seat heaters, leather seats, automatic transmission, etc.)
Different computer manufacturers have different keyboards (as you already ascertained) and the best thing to do is find the documentation that came with the computer, or go the computer manufacturer's web site and find the Help or Support area.
The PrtSc button takes a picture of exactly what is on your screen, puts it on the Clipboard (a virtual copying machine) so that you can paste it into a program that will accept images (Word, Paint, etc.)
The function keys (the F keys you refer to) are used to perform specific tasks. They are labeled as F1, F2, F3, and so on, up to F12. The functionality of these keys differs from program to program.
If you want specific help about the F keys for a specific program, I highly recommend Microsoft Answers (answers.microsoft.com/.../default.aspx) . It's a site patrolled by our MVPs (Most Valued Professionals; people who are not Microsoft employees but who are experts in specific programs. There are alos really smart users who are there, too; I've never NOT gotten an answer to a quesiton I've posed there (Crabby has issues she can't solve, too).
1. Go there, find the Windows 7 forum (answers.microsoft.com/.../default.aspx) and search for "what are function keys?"
2. Browse the various questions people have posted and see if you glean any info from that. If not you can ask a question:
3. Go back to the main Windows 7 forum page ((answers.microsoft.com/.../default.aspx) ), and press the "Ask a Question" button.
(Note: Although you can peruse the site without having any sort of Hotmail, MSN, or Live account, you can't ask a question until you sign in with one. The steps are there that tell you how to get one; it's quick and painless.)
Ask your question, and be as specific as you can; computer manufacturer is helpful, too. if you want, select the box that says you can get email notification when someone answers your question.
One thing: F1 will almost ALWAYS bring up the Help feature in any Microsoft program.
I hope this helps, and Happy New Year. Now get up out of your computer chair and go do something fun and then come back to tackle the issue. Everyone needs a break
~ Crabby
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