Excel/Office 2007 - Who uses it?

[Domski]

I think it could be a combination of user error and crap design but I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!

 

[Oorang]

This is not directed at any one person, just a general observation:
Some part of me is reminded of all those people who swore word processing was perfected by Corel... Changing interface doesn't really stop you from using the product it just forces you to relearn the product a little. You can shake your fist at the heavens all you want but you can't unring a bell. Might as well learn it or you go from the "expert" to that guy who's really good with a technology that no one cares about in a dead hurry.
People who elect for careers as "experts" commit themselves to a lifetime of learning. Do you think Doctors just quit learning after med school? Pharmacists? Lawyers? Nope. They have to prove that they are continuing their education and keep their credientials up to date. IT and other "expert" fields are no different.

Failure to adapt to change results in obsoletion.

Directed at a person...
Karl Peterson was right. But if he would have let it go he'd be an expert at the new product by now.
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[DreamAlchemist]

I didn't see an option for me. I use 2007 but I hate it and the freaking UI Ribbon that I am forced to use and cannot customize to my needs and get rid of the trash I don't use or need like I was able to in 03 and older. I also miss my menu bar for those things I didn't have on my toolbar.

 

[texasalynn]

I'm not too crazy about 2007. Got it at home first to start learning how to get around. The job I'm at now has 2003 on the local PC, but our TS has 2007. The most annoying is that Pivot tables no longer has the report options, which I used a lot.

 

[Greg Truby]

Help sucks in 2007 IMO, or I am just not using it correctly?

I think it could be a combination of user error and crap design but I'm glad I'm not the only one!!!

Dang, that reminds me -- I meant to ask the Excel Development team if they intentionally hooked the random number generation algorithm to XL2007's help system? Or was it an accident?

 

[xld]

I definitely agree with this. Help sucks in 2007 IMO, or I am just not using it correctly?

How can one use help incorrectly? So it must just be me.

No it isn't just you, no-one thinks 2007 help is even adequate.

 

[xld]

This is not directed at any one person, just a general observation:
Some part of me is reminded of all those people who swore word processing was perfected by Corel... Changing interface doesn't really stop you from using the product it just forces you to relearn the product a little. You can shake your fist at the heavens all you want but you can't unring a bell. Might as well learn it or you go from the "expert" to that guy who's really good with a technology that no one cares about in a dead hurry.
People who elect for careers as "experts" commit themselves to a lifetime of learning. Do you think Doctors just quit learning after med school? Pharmacists? Lawyers? Nope. They have to prove that they are continuing their education and keep their credientials up to date. IT and other "expert" fields are no different.

Failure to adapt to change results in obsoletion.

Directed at a person...
Karl Peterson was right. But if he would have let it go he'd be an expert at the new product by now.
<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

That is a poor analogy IMO. Of course we all want the product to progress onward, and we want to be there with it, but it has to progress in a meaningful direction.

When I first saw 2007 some years back I was very receptive and looking forward to it. Since then I have been continually frustrated by it. Many things have been re-written, and quite honestly a bad job has been done with it.

Whilst I am not a ribbon hater per se like some, but the more I use it the more I wonder why. The so-called objectives of making it more accessible and not burying items has just plain failed, what is Orange Button>Excel Options if it isn't a poor man's Tools>Options? It might make the most basic functionality more accessible, but Excel is more than just a basic program.

To me, there are so many areas that Excel could have been, can be, improved, but instead we get a new UI and a new charting engine. So, MS have gone for style over substance IMO. To me MS have been slow to understand technology directions (Internet, XML), and when they come aboard they can show just as little understanding and over-engineer. With their ubiquity, they seem to feel that they can just impose on the community.

As for Karl, he has become an expert at a new product, it is just not .Net. He is far more into Linux and such now, and that is something that MS should be wary of. Apple is taking big chunks of market share, Linux is growing, so if any of the Office alternatives make a big step ... there are danger signs out there for MS.

 

[Oorang]

Lord Bob
I think all of those remarks are fair and accurate, and don't get me wrong about Karl. Karl is awesome and I have learned tons and tons from him and his site. So much so, I wish he had a section about .Net that was as deep as his VB6 site. But he doesn't and so the community has had to march on without him... And they did. And now for most modern development it's a world without Karl.

And how much impact has that dramatic example had on Microsoft? Exactly.

I'm not saying Office12 is perfect in every way, wanting in nothing. I'm just observing that MS isn't well known for listening to their user community. They will continue in the direction they are heading with or without my support. And in the mean time I need a paycheck

And to your point about Apple taking market share, all I can say is you are right. Office 2003 is missing a lot of things it could be doing... Of course the only way to fix that would be to change the product ;D

Oh and as for Open Source. I love and support Open Source... But it's free... See previous comments about needing a paycheck.

 

[Yard]

My view of 2007 in a nutshell (I hope):

Using it 100% at work for about 9 months now.

It crashes more than earlier versions.

Things look much prettier.

Some things seem improved, but in reality have not been effectively planned or tested, e.g. Conditional Formatting dialog, Tables.

The Ribbon is just like another menu - don't tell me anyone with sufficient intelligence to write some simple formulas can't learn where a button is within a few hours of using it.

It's still a very useful package and I enjoy using it, but the consensus seems to be: make it work properly before making it look pretty.

 

[RoryA]

I haven't used the main XL2007 help much, but whoever did that to the VBA help should be taken out and beaten, IMO.