Exchange Server Pro » Office http://exchangeserverpro.com Microsoft Exchange Server News - Tips - Tutorials Fri, 03 Feb 2012 12:36:01 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 5 reasons why Microsoft Office 2007 is better than OpenOffice http://exchangeserverpro.com/5-reasons-microsoft-office-2007-is-better-than-openoffice http://exchangeserverpro.com/5-reasons-microsoft-office-2007-is-better-than-openoffice#comments Tue, 18 Dec 2007 11:36:15 +0000 Paul Cunningham http://www.capslockassassin.com/2007/12/18/5-reasons-microsoft-office-2007-is-better-than-openoffice/ I compared Microsoft Office 2007 to OpenOffice to find out which is the better office suite. The five points I used to compare the two are:

  1. The interface
  2. The quality of the help files and assistance when you get stuck
  3. The speed with which common tasks can be performed
  4. The richness of the templates provided
  5. Innovative features

1. Interface

Microsoft Office 2007

Office 2007 introduced the innovative “ribbon” interface to replace the previous “squinting at rows of buttons” interface. This interface is a massive improvement to ease of use for the end user. Buttons and menus are more visible than before, particularly the common functions which are emphasised with larger buttons than less common functions.

office_msoffice001.png

The ribbon also dynamically expands and contracts as the application window is resized, keeping as many useful functions visible as possible rather than just dropping the ones furthest to the right. The ribbon also scales very well to large screens, which are very common these days.

OpenOffice

The OpenOffice interface is bland in comparison, seemingly stuck in the dated “rows of buttons” style. Common functions are not presented more prominently than less common functions, and at the high resolution users run on today’s large screens it makes finding the correct button a very difficult (and squinty) exercise.

office_openoffice001.png

2. Help

From time to time I will get stuck on something new, or just forget how something is done. A good help file is essential for those who need quick, clear answers that help them get the job done.

Microsoft Office 2007

Office 2007 provides a rich, online-integrated help system that searches both the local help information as well as the Office Online website to find the answers and instructions you are looking for. The help doesn’t just come in the form of text instructions – there are also images and even video demos to show you exactly how things are done.

office_msoffice002.png

OpenOffice

OpenOffice comes with a basic, text-based help system. While you can search it easily enough, the results are very limited when compared to the richness of the Office 2007 help system. There are no images or video demos, and no integration with up to date online help data.

office_openoffice002.png

3. Speed

The simple task of creating and formatting a table is used as the basis for this comparison.

Microsoft Office 2007

This is a great example of where the ribbon interface really shines. Creating a table in Office 2007 is as simple as clicking on Insert, then selecting the Table button. A neat grid pops up to let you draw out the number of rows and columns you want your table to start off with.

office_msoffice004.png

Immediately after that the ribbon switches to the selection of styles available to format your table, with the table updating with a live preview as you hover the mouse over each style.

office_msoffice003.png

OpenOffice

The speed with which this task was performed in Office 2007 only highlights the clunkiness of the dated interface used by OpenOffice. Creating a table means navigating through a tedious interface where you have to set the number for each of the rows and columns.

office_openoffice003.png

Formatting the table is equally tedious. There is no live preview to let you quickly see how your table data is going to look. The selection of styles is much smaller than with Office 2007, and there are fewer attractive modern styles available.

office_openoffice004.png

4. Templates

Microsoft Office 2007

Office 2007 ships with dozens of functional, stylish document templates for each of the applications in the suite. This number increases into the hundreds when you also include those that are available through the integration with Office Online.

office_msoffice005.png

OpenOffice

In comparison to Microsoft Office 2007, OpenOffice has a terrible selection of only a few ugly templates included.

office_openoffice005.png

5. Innovation

Microsoft Office 2007

It has already been shown that the innovative new ribbon interface makes Office 2007 much easier to use than older style interfaces. However that is not the only innovative feature that improves end user productivity.

Office 2007 introduces Smart Art, a great new way of enabling the end user to present data in visually attractive lists, flowcharts and other diagrams. There are a huge number of available Smart Art types, and each one can be further modified with one of the many available styles or by manually modifying attributes such as colour and size. One of the great ways that Smart Art improves your productivity is by automatically resizing fonts and other elements as you add data so that you don’t need to manually adjust things to make everything fit in the desired space.

office_msoffice006.png

office_msoffice007.png

OpenOffice

I looked for innovation in OpenOffice and I simply could not find it. Some might find the $0 sticker price innovative and attractive, but the trade-off is you receive a clunkier interface, poor help system, slower workflows for common tasks, and much smaller selection of styles and templates for creating attractive documents.

Related posts:

This article 5 reasons why Microsoft Office 2007 is better than OpenOffice is © 2007 ExchangeServerPro.com

Get more Exchange Server tips at ExchangeServerPro.com

]]> http://exchangeserverpro.com/5-reasons-microsoft-office-2007-is-better-than-openoffice/feed 22 Microsoft resources for end-user Sharepoint training http://exchangeserverpro.com/microsoft-resources-for-end-user-sharepoint-training http://exchangeserverpro.com/microsoft-resources-for-end-user-sharepoint-training#comments Sun, 09 Sep 2007 21:56:32 +0000 Paul Cunningham http://www.capslockassassin.com/2007/09/10/microsoft-resources-for-end-user-sharepoint-training/ Microsoft has released some training materials to help with end-user training for Microsoft Office Sharepoint Server 2007.  These slick, professional looking PowerPoint decks can help end-users understand MOSS 2007 terminology and assist them with how to perform routine tasks within the portal.

The Sharepoint Team Blog has linked directly to the files here.

Related posts:

This article Microsoft resources for end-user Sharepoint training is © 2007 ExchangeServerPro.com

Get more Exchange Server tips at ExchangeServerPro.com

]]> http://exchangeserverpro.com/microsoft-resources-for-end-user-sharepoint-training/feed 0 Recovering A Document That Was Never Saved http://exchangeserverpro.com/recovering-a-document-that-was-never-saved http://exchangeserverpro.com/recovering-a-document-that-was-never-saved#comments Wed, 09 May 2007 09:52:35 +0000 Paul Cunningham http://www.capslockassassin.com/2007/05/09/recovering-a-document-that-was-never-saved/ This didn’t happen to me, but I like the story and wanted to share it.

Be an IT Hero! How I brought back a document that was never saved

Related posts:

This article Recovering A Document That Was Never Saved is © 2007 ExchangeServerPro.com

Get more Exchange Server tips at ExchangeServerPro.com

]]> http://exchangeserverpro.com/recovering-a-document-that-was-never-saved/feed 0