Why can't we live in a magical world where the document you email on this end can be opened on the other end, regardless of whether the recipient runs MS Word or OpenOffice or any other standards based word processor? Want to know a secret? We could. ODF, the Open Document Format is an XML based file format designed to do just that. Microsoft claims they can't guarantee ODF can handle the full and rich feature set available in MS Word, and have balked several times at making Word fully compatible with the open format. In fact, Mike Champion, of Microsoft's XML team says "there is not an official standard for one that represents all the features supported in the MS Office binary formats and can be efficiently loaded and processed without major redesign of MS Office." In line with that logic, Microsoft has proposed yet another document standard which would be incompatible with ODF, ECMA 376.

Developers at the Open Document Foundation have managed to prove Microsoft wrong. They've released a plugin for MS Word versions 97-2007 which allows Word to open and save in the ".acme" format, an ODF compatible format which can retain all the information contained in any ".doc" file, without losing formatting and, more importantly, without a "major redesign of MS Office." They've essentially destroyed Microsoft's argument as to why they can't fully support ODF, and in the process given us the basis for a universally compatible document format with actual working support across platforms.

You can download the "Acme 376 Compatibility Kit" from the Open Document Foundation and, if you're not cross-eyed from the long and tedious explanation of why we don't live in a universally compatible world, you can read more on this nerdy but uniquely important battle in several places around the web.

How many clicks does it take to make a Word document? Maybe we should ask Mr. Owl. You know, from the Tootsie-Pop commercial. Let's see one, two, three, four... Well, since Mr. Owl isn't around, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (our fine four fendered friend) isn't so talkative and good with the math, I figured I would take a stab at it. If you have seen even screenshots of the Microsoft 2007 Office system will tell you that it is a bit different. Newbies, you may want to cover your ears at this point, but it's true. Office 2007 is totally rearranged, but this isn't a bad thing. It is weird that the toolbar (now called the ribbon) is fixed in place and much larger now, but the extra screen real-estate it gobbles up is well worth it. The strange new interface does save a lot of time. I actually hated the new layout right at first, mostly because it is so radically different than anything I had seen before. I don't usually resist change so hard like that, but suffice it to say that Office 2007 won me over and turned me into a hardcore fan of it's slick and time-saving features.

Microsoft actually went to lengths with this thing and just about eliminated the need for menus, while speeding up the document editing process. Today I will focus on Word, since most people use it more than the other applications. Most of the Office 2007 applications use nearly the same structure as Word for what Microsoft has dubbed the "Ribbon" interface, which has all but replaced dialog boxes. Once you get the idea in Word, you'll pretty much have it down for most of Office 2007. This brings up another good point, in that Microsoft was trying to eliminate the learning curve for new office users. Contrary to Microsoft's track record of bad releases, I think they really hit the nail on the head at least in the "no learning curve" department. In fact, I think it will take power users and IT pros longer to learn it than it will for newbies. Oh newbies, you can uncover your ears. Enough with the blah blah blah commentary, here is why you will love Word 2007:

TASK ONE: Changing document options

(can't view the video, click here)
As you can see, it takes only two clicks to change any of these options, where it used to take many more in Word 2000-2003. You can change margins, orientation, paper size, and add columns in a second or two. this used to take a lot longer, especially if you had to wait for the menu to load. how many clicks? Two per option, not to mention no waiting for any dialogs to load. The other advantage of 2007's ribbon is that it segregates all your editing functions into modes, so you can work more the way a human does, instead of the way the computer allows you to work. All editing is on the same tab (or panel) and all insertion is done on the same panel, as well as all reference, viewing, reviewing, and on it goes. Microsoft broke the mold here and dispensed with the "way it has been done" for ages to bring you something new, fresh and actually useful. yup, this means there are no more File, Edit, View, and Help menus. Everything is just there, right in front of you, no waiting. It plays a little more like a web app, using tabs and logically grouped icon sets, instead of hidden menus and archaic dialogs.

Tasks 2 and 3 after the jump....