Office O7

I have a moral conundrum. When teaching someone how to use the new features in Office 2007, is it OK to show them how to install a “classic” user interface to regain the old menu structure? A product such as Ribbon Customizer allows a user to do just that with a free version of their Office 2007 plug-in (advanced features can be had for an additional $29).

There are numerous new tools now available in Office 2007, and the new Ribbon structure to the menus makes this functionality more accessible. The company marketing RibbonCustomizer admits that “If one defers learning the Ribbon, one will eventually be simply behind.” I choose to look at it much the same way I view nicotine patches… not great in their own right, but a useful tool for someone looking to change their habits.

Microsoft has an interactive web site that shows you where a feature in Microsoft Excel 2003 can be found in Microsoft Excel 2007.  Just click on a toolbar button or menu item and the site shows you where that feature can be found in the new version.

Here’s how to control your recent documents list in Word, PowerPoint and Excel.

Turn off gridlines in your Excel applications

Gridlines in your Excel worksheets can be quite distracting. Mary Ann Richardson explains how to make gridlines invisible in Excel 2002, 2003, and 2007.

Add autonumbering to your Excel spreadsheet | Microsoft Office | TechRepublic.com

Unlike Access, Excel does not have an autonumbering feature that increments a number each time you add a new row. With Excel 2003 and 2007, you can use the Row function to add your own autonumbering to a data list.

Automatically add new data to an Excel chart | Microsoft Office | TechRepublic.com

Once you go through all the work of creating and formatting a chart, you don’t want to have to start over again when new data comes in. Fortunately, you don’t have to with Excel. You can simply copy and paste the new data to your chart.

More ways to use Excel to save yourself time and effort.

Enter text without changing the underlying cells in Excel 2007

Excel cells are limited to 256 characters. However, the cell’s size and ability to display its contents change with the size of its surrounding columns. Excel 2007’s text boxes overcome these potential limitations

I know I’ve had this issue before. Check out the solution in Office 07!

Here’s a link to the official Microsoft Excel 2007 training materials. They cover everything from the basics to creating PivotTables.

Each tutorial has information regarding the time it will take to complete, learning objectives, user ratings and they all have video components.