What's New In Microsoft Office 2010

Like the ribbon, the new Backstage view is common to all applications, and with it Microsoft make the distinction between those commands and features that work in the document (e.g. Live Preview, Mini-Toolbar, etc) and those that work on the document (e.g. printing, saving etc).

There is much new and enhanced functionality in Office 2010, so here is the briefest of overviews of what each application has to offer:

Microsoft Access 2010

The conditional formatting we find indispensable in Excel has made the move to Access 2010, making it easier to communicate our analysis more clearly by using professional-looking data bar charts.

The databases you create in Access can now be published to the web. This means that you and your colleagues can open data, forms and reports using a web browser.

Also, new Data Macros provide the ability to attach logic to your data. The Macro Designer gives you the tools to write that logic.

Microsoft Excel 2010

The rich, dynamic charts and new chart types that Excel 2007 brought us have been enhanced in Excel 2010 by the debut of Sparklines. Sparklines summarise data quickly in a compact chart for display in small spaces like a cell.

Project Gemini is an add-in feature that drastically speeds up Excel's manipulation of large data sets. The add-in exists as a free, separate download, but is well worth the time taken to install it.

The Slicer tool delivers enhanced visual filtering functionality to let you quickly and intuitively drill-down through large amounts of data.

InfoPath 2010

InfoPath is all about creating and using forms that capture data. InfoPath 2010 helps you collect better data, faster thereby streamlining your business process. Now all browser-form content is Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 AA-compliant and accessible to people with disabilities.

InfoPath's use of digital signatures helps to ensure business process information integrity by preserving forms content.

Using relative URLs, InfoPath allows you to package a custom solution on one machine for redeployment on any other server.

OneNote 2010

The search facility in OneNote has had an overhaul and now prioritises search results in a much better way. Properties such as author, date, tag name, section and notebook names can all be used to find your search results. Additionally, search results appear as you type in real time, saving you valuable time.

With Quick Filing you can save time by eliminating the need to regroup information after the fact. Simply pick a notebook to send your notes to as you insert them from multiple sources, including documents, Web pages and e-mail messages. The notes you add automatically link directly to the referring source, whether it be Word 2010, PowerPoint 2010 or Internet Explorer.

Outlook 2010

There are some big improvements to Conversation View to help you spend less time managing emails, including a Clean Up tool for conversations that removes redundant parts of conversations. This leaves only unique responses behind, making it easier to track messages and reduces inbox clutter.

Also new are MailTips which alert you when you are about to send an email to any of the following:

* a large distribution list (does everyone on that list really need to see your message?).

* someone who is out of the office. Now you don't have to wait until you receive the dreaded out of office reply to discover that the recipient is away from the office.

* external email addresses. To help prevent you from leaking confidential company information, you will be alerted when you're about to send an email to an address external to your company.

MailTips have a wide variety of options with which to configure Outlook 2010 to meet your precise needs.

Also new are Quick Steps, which give you a way to create and save custom actions. They help you manage and respond to information rapidly by creating and defining common tasks to execute with a single click. For example, you might create Quick Steps to delete and reply, move to specific folder, create a new e-mail to your team etc.

PowerPoint 2010

Some of the big enhancements to PowerPoint 2010 are the new video editing features:

* Video triggers. You can now schedule an animation to start running at a certain point in your video.

* Video trim. Trimming your videos works a little like cropping an image (think of how you might do this in Photoshop) and allows you to discard areas of the video that you consider to be redundant.

* Video controls. Now you can pause, rewind, fast-forward and stop audio and video content without leaving slide show mode during your presentation.

* Video tools. The new video tools enable you to add sophisticated effects like fades.

These features are available on the video tools contextual tab whenever a video is selected in your presentation.

Another big addition to PowerPoint is the facility to broadcast your presentation to a remote audience. Broadcast Slide Show in PowerPoint 2010 lets remote viewers see your presentation in their browser window — whether or not they have PowerPoint installed on their computer.

Publisher 2010

Publisher 2010 welcomes the introduction of the ribbon (missing from Publisher 2007). Like other applications, Publisher can now handle OpenType typography and provides Paste Previews.

The new Print user interface displays page boundaries, page numbers, sheet rulers and other key print information in a new, adjustable print view.

SharePoint Workspace 2010

In the 2010 version, you can access your SharePoint and Groove workspaces directly from Windows folders. When sites are synchronised to your PC they are automatically indexed locally by Windows Search, allowing you to quickly and easily find content. Synchronisation has been enhanced to only send changes - not the whole document. This saves your bandwidth and speeds up the process.

Microsoft Word 2010

The Microsoft Team has been using the concept of "collaboration" to drive many of Office 2010's features. One of the most useful collaborative features is found in Word 2010's support for co-authoring. Colleagues can work simultaneously on their section of a particular document and edits are highlighted so you can easily see what’s been changed. Their name and icon show you what section they’re editing, enabling you to see when your co-authors are in the document. You can even initiate a conversation with them without leaving the application. This kind of "presence information" and collaborative functionality is available in several other Office programs, too.

Image editing capabilities have been increased for 2010 in the following ways:

• there is a new Screenshot tool that inserts screenshots into your document.

• picture editing tools have been greatly enhanced.

• Artistic Effects provide a very polished finish to inserted images.

The new and improved search functionality expands your searches to include tables, graphics, charts and footnotes to quickly find what you need.

By Paul Park
admin@off14.com
http://www.off14.com