Updating layout in Word 2013 while maintaining compatibility

re: Updating layout in the new Word while maintaining compatibility

MaSala — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 14:48:11 GMT

Theresa,

It is great to see that the Office Manager continue to put more effort into UX. I remember Tim Briggs blogging about Office 2007 5-6 years ago, when, for the first time in MS Office history, usability/UX experts really had authority.

Layout-wise, there is one thing that I especially ask myself: When is the switch to the metric system coming? Layout in the Imperial system is a pain, and it is an even bigger pain for the (majority of) people using metric versions of Office, where the measures are counter-intuitive and, even wors, incorrectly transformed (e.g., the standard 1/4" indent is displayed as .63 cm, but it should be .635 cm).

I understand that Word has crazy downward compatibility demands. But this is such an obvious and serious issue that it must be being worked on, right?

Greetings from the UX lab,

Martin, Germany

re: Updating layout in the new Word while maintaining compatibility

menage — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 01:56:23 GMT

Why is it that everytime I open a new "Word" (office 2010 version) blank document that the format it defaults too shows the cursor "flushed" right at the top of the page. There doesn't appear to be any "margin" setting built into new word documents. Even if I select the various "Page Layout" settings such as "normal', "narrow", "moderate", etc., the margins still remain unchanged. When I type until the bottom of the page, the program does not allow for space between the edge of the page and the text. I have to manually add several blank spaces in order for the text to go onto the next page. Can someone perhaps advise on how I can fix this problem? Thanks

re: Updating layout in the new Word while maintaining compatibility

sebgr — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 00:05:03 GMT

With the new footnote feature a wish come true...

I cannot emphasise strongly enough what arknu has written: Please continue the good work! A better picture handling would be great in future. For example, if i anchor a picture to a paragraph, that it jumps to the next page when the paragraph does. Investments in the new formula editor would also be nice in future. For example the layout of things like e^(-t/RC) could be better.

re: Updating layout in the new Word while maintaining compatibility

Joe Steinhardt — Fri, 24 Aug 2012 14:18:05 GMT

Great improvements!

But PLEASE can someone tell me why you can't insert comments into footnotes? Perhaps this was for backwards compatibility, that with these new improvements, you don't need to worry about?

Not being able to put comments is a huge pain for me in the work I do (www.shabash.net/.../automatic_text_editing.html).

re: Updating layout in the new Word while maintaining compatibility

Asbjørn — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 20:15:18 GMT

Great post - and a great feature! This is the kind of changes we need. Doing even the most simple of layouts in Word has been a major pain - insert a photo on page 5, and next thing you know it's on page 75. Word 2013 looks to be much better here so far... Please continue the good work - Word is way behind in regards to layout...