What do you know about Word?

Get to know the ribbon

admin — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 16:02:33 +0000

When Microsoft unveiled the new ribbon interface to Office 2007, it was quite a shock to users, and was the end to the familiar toolbars used in the previous versions. We were pretty surprised ourselves, as we often used custom toolbars to help users with lists of type styles and any programmed buttons we needed to display for those automations people like.

So it was good to find that Microsoft have come forward with ways of educating its user-base. Here are a few online resources that let people get to know the ribbon.

New to the ribbon: This link takes you to the main page of the introduction. It covers where you’ll find the features on the new format, offers help on those all important key commands and there’s also a ‘Play ribbon hero’ game to try out.

Where’s my feature?: This link is to a page that offers you the opportunity to compare Office 2003 toolbar features with the new ribbon in Office 2007. Interestingly, there are a few features we couldn’t find using this. Still, it’s very useful.

Wonders of Office 2007

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:48:07 +0000

We have just about every version of Office going back to Office 95. Including the Mac versions. We don’t get asked for Office 95 very often and I think the last one was for Thames Water some years ago, but have them we do. You see, our philosophy is based around developing in the right version, so we know that you or your client get the templates they deserve. Doing the work in just one version is not clever, especially if that version is a Mac one.

When we first received Office 2007, we were a little taken aback at the new interface, the complete change to where things were, and the changes to our old favourite features. As time goes by, and we get the chance to really push the new versions, we find some new or improved features. Word has quite a redesign, and there are a few features that we still can’t find, although most of these seem to be folded into other features. Not sure we agree with some of them, but we can’t tell Microsoft what to do can we? Equally, PowerPoint gets a make-over, finally, and offers multiple masters in a better way. [Despite being a touch incompatible with previous versions, but that's for another time.] You can now setup proper charting templates, so the user can now create a new chart with a design of your choice, instead of the designs Microsoft have decided on.

We have warmed to Office 2007 here, and are more than aware of the issues it has with previous versions. We can help if this is a problem for your project, and you are welcome to give us a call if we can be of any help.

AppStore banners at the presentation

admin — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 16:25:59 +0000

We would like to think that one of the icons on these Apple banners is ours. We could open it in PhotoShop and scan each and every one, but that would be a little sad. Still, it’s nice to know that we are up there somewhere and our many users appreciate the hard work that goes into developing an app. This picture was taken at Apple’s WWDC event that kicks off today. Lots of anticipation in the Apple world, including the likelihood of a new version of the iPhone.

Upping the game for The Health Foundation

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:42:16 +0000

We first worked with The Health Foundation around 2004. We were approached by Together Design in early February to estimate for the wide range of templates covering stationery, presentation and reporting templates. The project needed to deliver a set of ‘easy to use’ templates that would be used not only by the organisation themselves, but also the external contributors and content partners they worked with. There is something problematic about the term ‘easy to use’, as this has to assume a certain level of ability for the end user. The term often requires us to adopt lesser features of the software, even though it is often capable of much more, but this can be confusing for some people. Another project that was commissioned in Office 2007, we ended up developing a number of additional templates and macros that helped speed things up or simplify certain tasks.

Reporting for CFE

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 13:06:46 +0000

We have recently been helping Playne Design update the stationery and reporting templates for their client CFE. The work involved a number of templates in Word, from letterheads to tender reports. There are some interesting interactive issues to deal with when developing report or tender templates, and the occasional modification of the designs are sometimes needed to make it better for the end user. Graphic design is, more than anything, aimed at producing something that puts ink on paper, not the particular interactive process that you get in Word or PowerPoint. Templates are as much about using the software as it is in applying a well-designed identity.

The templates were developed entirely in Office 2007, which presents a few compatibility issues for users of older versions, as well as a large number of benefits to the user. The benefits mostly outweigh the negatives. Colours are now manageable across the documents you create, and Office 2007 allows for much more control over a great number of features. All good for managing that corporate identity.