Vol. 13:14

Leroy McLean, Contributor

I am not the greatest typist or an expert in accounting, however using these programmes will surely make me feel like one. I don't use all the given features, but it is very reassuring to know that they are there. Those are just some thoughts that pass through most of our minds whenever there is a new application or operating system.

Back in January 2007 I witnessed the release of Microsoft Office 2007, the most powerful productivity suite that is widely used throughout the world.

Here I am trying to convince myself of the main reasons to upgrade from Office 2003, since this version is good enough for me. We often are faced with this same dilemma and sometimes refuse to move from the current version. Today, I want to share some valid reasons to migrate from older versions of Office to Office 2007.

A redesigned, more intuitive user interface speeds access to tasks through such features as a tabbed ribbon that organises commands around specific scenarios or objects, Galleries that let you pick and click the results you want, and a new Live Preview feature you can use to see how a formatting or editing change will look before itÕs made.

Create powerful, professional-looking documents more quickly and easily with the rich collection of graphics and creative effects in SmartArt graphics. The Document Inspector feature in Microsoft Office Word 2007, Office Excel 2007 and Office PowerPoint 2007 helps you find and remove unwanted comments, personally identifiable information, hidden text, and other information from a document.

Prioritise your time and tasks more effectively in Office Outlook 2007. The new To-Do Bar creates a consolidated view of day-to-day priorities, including email messages flagged for follow-up, upcoming appointments, tasks from Office OneNote 2007, Office Project 2007 and Windows SharePoint Services Web sites.

Locate information quickly with Instant Search, which lets you do keyword searches through Office Outlook 2007, including attachments. You can also query for criteria such as date, from, Color Categories, mail importance and more. Optical character recognition in Office OneNote 2007 lets you search handwritten notes, text in pictures, or spoken words in audio and video recordings.

Office 2007 comes as a complete package which consists of several individual programmes, such as

Microsoft Office Access 2007

Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007

Microsoft Office Excel 2007

Microsoft Office OneNote 2007

Microsoft Office Outlook 2007

Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Microsoft Office Project Standard 2007

Microsoft Office Publisher 2007

Microsoft Office SharePoint Designer 2007

Microsoft Office Visio 2007

Microsoft Office Word 2007

I cannot begin to touch the surface as it relates to improvements for all these programmes. What I will try to do in future articles is provide overview, tips and tricks in using them. You can also try Office 2007 for free, get a copy from www.microsoft.com/office.

Send your comments or suggestions to thestartech@yahoo.com . You can also write to StarTech c/o The Gleaner Company, 7 North Street, Kingston.