Archive for October, 2006

Apart from the new Ribbon User Interface, there are a few more ‘menu concepts’ that new users of Word 2007 (and Office 2007 in general) need to get their heads around.  The one that is most obvious is the “Prepare Menu”.  You will find the prepare menu when you click on the Office 2007 orb, in the top left hand corner of the screen (basically what was the “File” menu in older versions of Word)

What is the Prepare Menu?

The prepare menu is a collection of functionality which a user might use to prepare their work for publication, storage or distribution, once they have finished the content of the document.  This might include adding some meta data to the document (for use in a EDRMS or document management system), adding a digital signature (to ensure the integrity of the document), or even checking that the document is compatible with older versions of Word.

Lets have a in depth look at what each of the options in the Prepare menu do.

Properties

By clicking on the properties option, you can add meta data to describe your document.  As you can see from the screenshot, the meta data you can add to your Word 2007 document includes:

• Author – The name of the person who created the document
• Title – The title of the document
• Subject – the subject or topic of the document
• Keywords - a few words which describe the document
• Category – the category that the document falls into
• Status – the status of the document (Draft, Final, For Review etc)
• Comments – can be any comment which adds value to the document, or used for an abstract.

In the Document Properties Pane, if you click on the down arrow beside Document Properties you can launch the “Advanced Properties” box.  From this box you can add even more meta data to your document, with another 27 or so different options, ranging from the Client the document is for, to who Typed the document in the first place.

Inspect Document

The Inspect Document function checks to make sure there is nothing hidden in your document that a reader might find later down the track.  This is especially important if you have used track changes, hidden some text (when you should have deleted it), or used some meta data internally to classify the document that you do not want the reader to know about.

Clicking on the Inspect Document function displays a box which allows you to select the type of document inspection you want.  If you are dealing with a small document (say below 100 pages) there is no problem inspecting using all five options.  As your document grows however, the inspection will take longer, so you might only want to inspect for comments, revisions, versions and annotations.

Encrypt Document

By selecting Encrypt Document from the Prepare menu in Word 2007, you can add a password to protect your document.  Just type your password in once, then re-type it to make sure it is correct, and your Word 2007 document is encrypted.

Restrict Permission

This prepare menu option allows you to grant specific rights to viewers of the document.  For example, if you only want people to be able to read a document, but not print it or save it, you can grant those privileges using the Restrict Permission option.

This functionality is based on Rights Management Services for Windows Server 2003.  However, if you do not have RMS (or another information rights management infrastructure in your organisation), you can still restrict the permissions on your document using a free trial from Microsoft.  Information on the trial appears when you try to restrict permission on your document for the first time.

Add a Digital Signature

In Word 2007, you can sign your document.  Adding a digital signature is just like signing a document with your own written signature (except it is digital).  To add a digital signature in Word 2007, click on the office orb, select prepare, and then click add a digital signature.

You can create your own digital signature, or purchase one from a third party.  Signatures from third parties hold more credibility because they can be independently verified.

Note that digital signatures are invisible, and you do not actually see a traditional written signature anywhere on the document.

Mark as Final

Mark as final, marks the document as final, sets the document to read-only, and saves it for you.

Run Compatibility Checker

By running the compatibility checker in Word 2007 you can check to see if your document will load in previous versions of Microsoft Word.  This is very important if you work with customers or suppliers who may be running older versions of Word.

Conclusion

So there you have it, a deep dive into the document preparation features that you can find in the Prepare menu in Word 2007.  Hope that helps!

TNP

[tags]Word 2007, Prepare, Rights Management, Tips, Help[/tags]

In the corporate world, there is a tendency to want to brand every slide with your company logo.  Even worse, use the company colours and washed out ‘people shaking hands’ image that the CEO demands is on every slide.  How can you make sure that the logo or image appear on every slide?  By putting them into the Slide Master.

Think of the Slide Master as the ‘head honcho’ slide.  All the other slides in your presentation look up the the Slide Master, and copy (inherit) whatever the Slide Master look like.  Generally, if you place the company logo on the bottom right of the Slide Master, every slide in your presentation will have the company logo on the bottom right of the slide.

That is all well and good, but how do you get to the slide master view, especially since the user interface has changed in PowerPoint 2007?

1) Click the ‘View’ Ribbon Tab, then in the Presentation views group, select ‘Slide Master’

or

2) In the bottom right hand corner of the screen (just to the left of the zoom slider) hold shift and click ‘Normal Layout’.  This will switch to the master slide view.  To change back to the normal layout, just click normal layout, normally.  See the image below which explains it far better.

(PS – the pen work in the above image was created using a very bad mouse and the most powerful program in Windows – MSPAINT!  If anyone has a spare tablet (or tablet PC for that matter) that they want to permanently lend me, please let me know!)

[tags]PowerPoint2007, Slide Master, Help[/tags]

Need to break up you document to make it more… presentable?  Breaks have been a part of Word for a long time, but where are they and what do they do in Word 2007?

“Page Layout” -> “Page Setup” Group -> “Breaks”.  Still can’t find them, the screenshot below will help.

What is a Page Break?

A page break will force everything after the break onto a new page.  Word 2007 describes it as “marking the point at which one page ends and the next page begins.”

What is a Column Break?

A column break will force everything after the break into the next column. 

What is a Text Wrapping Break?

Specifically for webpages and blog entries, a text wrapping break separates text around objects, such as caption text from body text.

What is a Next Page Section Break?

A next page section break firstly marks a section break in the document (which are very important when working with headers, footers, and other page formatting features), and also starts a new page, just like a page break.

What is a Continuous Page Section Break?

Same as the Next Page Section Break, except it does not begin a new page.

What is an Even Page Section Break?

An even page break is just like a next page section break, except that it will start a new section on the next even-numbered page.

What is an Odd Page Section Break?

Again, just like a next page section break, or an even page section break, except that it will start a new section on the next odd-numbered page

Why use an Odd or Even Page Section Break?

Good question!  Odd and even page breaks come in very handy when you are printing a booklet, and you want the next section to begin on the left hand page (even) or the right hand page (odd) when the booklet is open.  For example, if you are writing a book, and you want all your chapters to begin on the right hand page when someone is reading it, you can use an odd page section break to begin your new chapter.

[tags]Breaks, Help, Layout[/tags]

Don’t worry!  Printing in Word 2007 is just as easy as in Word 2003… in fact it is even easier.

Where do I find the button to Print in Word 2007?

First – click on the Office Orb (the circle with the office logo in the top left hand corner of the screen… where you would have found file in Word 2003).

Second – move your mouse down to the ‘Print’ option.

Third – make your choice between ‘Print’, ‘Quick Print’, and ‘Print Preview’

What is the difference between Print, Quick Print, and Print Preview?

Good question!  Print is just like how print used to be in Word 2003.  Clicking on Print will display the print dialog box, where you can select things like the printer, the number of copies, and what pages you want to print.  Once you have selected all your options, you can click OK, and Word will send the document to the printer.

Quick Print will print one copy of the document with the default printing settings – so if you have more than one printer set up on your computer, it will print to the one you have marked as default.

Print Preview will display how the document would look if you were to print it on paper.  Print preview is a great way to check if your document will look as professional as you want it to look!

[tags]Printing, Office 2007, Help[/tags]

The new Ribbon user interface makes it easy to do things like superscript text in Word 2007.  You no longer need to go searching through the Font dialog box to find the checkbox to do it.

On the ‘Home’ tab of the Ribbon, in the ‘Font’ group, you will find an ‘x’ with a ’2′ in superscript beside it.  Select the text you want to superscript, then click this button!  Easy as that!

If you still can’t find it, here is a picture of where you can find superscript in the Ribbon.

[tags]Superscript, Word 2007, Help[/tags]

There are a few screencasts starting to appear on the Microsoft Office 2007 Developer Center.

For those of you who don’t know what screencasts are, they are basically videos showing you exactly how to do something in an application.

This screencast details exactly how to extend the Office 2007 UI by building a custom ribbon!  Great if you want to customise the ribbon in Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007, or Outlook 2007 with some menu options specific to your business, or your business systems.

[tags]Screencast, Ribbon, Office 2007[/tags]

A colleague of mine came running over to my desk the other day in quite a pickle!  He said “The New Paperclip… how on Earth do I name a range in Excel 2007?”

“Simple my friend” I replied.  Little did he know that I have no idea where it was, but I put my faith into the beauty that is the Ribbon to figure it out.

For the uninitiated, Naming a range is a great tool you can use in Excel.  It allows you to give a descriptive name to a range (like ‘Expenses’) instead of using the normal notation like (A10:A25).  Very handy if you work with quite a few formulas in a sheet.

So back to solving the problem.  Firstly, why would you name a range in Excel?  The answer is to make it easier to work with formulas.  So straight away I went looking for the Formulas tab in the Ribbon.  And there it was, a whole section on Named cells, which included the Name Manager (which enables you to control all the name references you have added to your workbook), Name a Range, and a few other Name functions.

Problem solved, in about 3 seconds flat.  The Ribbon is definitely going to make people more productive, just as long as they start thinking in a “Results Orientated” way.  Not too much of a shift if you ask me!

[tags]Excel 2007, Named Range[/tags]

Groove 2007 is a fantastic tool to use to get closer to your customers, suppliers or colleagues.  I know that as more people understand exactly what you can achieve with Groove, it will take off like a wild fire.

One example of functionality which has definite business value is the ability to manage meetings.  Let me take you through a quick tutorial on how to use the meeting tool in Microsoft Office Groove 2007

1) Add the meeting tool to your workspace

In the common tasks section on the right hand side of your screen, there is an option to ‘Add Tools’.  Click on this, and then select the ’Meetings’ tool from the list of tools presented.  Click ‘OK’

What you are presented with is a new tab in your Groove Workspace, called ‘Meetings’.  You can see what it looks like in the screen shot below.

From this view you can manage all the meetings you have with your collaboration partner (whether they be a customer, supplier, strategic partner or colleague)

2) Create a new meeting

To create a new meeting in Groove 2007, click on ‘New Meeting’ in the top left hand corner of the meeting tool.  Once you click new meeting, the ‘Meeting Wizard’ dialogue appears.

Simply fill in the specific details of the meeting, including the subject, start and finish times, the location, and the details of the meeting.  You can also attach files to the meeting by clicking on the paperclip in the bottom left hand corner of the wizard.  Click ok when you are finished.  Once you have created your meeting, you can then go back to the meeting tool and mange your meetings from there. 

3) Manage the meeting

From the meetings tool you can select your attendees for your meeting.  Attendees are only restricted to members of the workspace.  From the attendees tab, you can select who should attend the meeting, whether or not they are the chairperson or the minutes taker, and any notes you want to pass on to them.

From the meetings tool you can also manage the meeting agenda.  Select the agenda tab, then click ‘New Topic’.  From this dialog box you can add the subject for your agenda topic, the presenter, the duration and the details of the topic.  Again like the meeting itself, you can add files or other attachments using the paperclip in the bottom left hand corner of the box.

During your meeting, you can take minutes for each of your agenda items by clicking on the minutes tab.  Simply type the notes for each agenda item as you go.

Finally to manage the action items which come out of the meeting, click the actions tab, and add new action items as appropriate.

Conclusion

The best thing about the meetings tool in Groove 2007 is that everyone has the same record of the meeting and its outcomes, straight after the meeting (no need to wait for the secretary to send out the minutes after she/he types them up).  If you invite someone new into the workspace, they can see the history of all previous meetings as well.

One great example of removing the human latency out of collaboration!  Now that is business value!!!

[tags]Groove 2007, Business Value, Meetings, Collaboration[/tags]

The first thing you will want to do (after setting up your Groove account) is to create a workspace, so you can start collaborating.

There are a few options to choose from when creating your workspace, depending on what you plan to collaborate about.

The Standard Groove 2007 Workspace

The Standard Groove 2007 Workspace includes a Files tool and a Discussion tool.  You can add more options later, but this is basically your bare bones collaboration space.

To create a standard workspace, click on “Create new Workspace” from the Groove Launchbar, type in the name of your workspace, ensure the “Standard” radio button is selected, and then click ok.

The File Sharing Groove 2007 Workspace

Using the File Sharing workspace, you can synchronize a windows folder across different computers.  The best part is that you can access the synchronized folder from any Windows Application.

To create a file sharing workspace, click on “Create new Workspace” from the Groove Launchbar, type in the name of your workspace, ensure the “File Sharing” radio button is selected, then click ok.

Groove 2007 Workspace Templates

If you have a specialized project or task you want to collaborate on, there are many different templates available for free which you can use.  To browse the available templates, click on “Create new Workspace” from the Groove Launchbar, and then select “Browse Templates”

This will take you to a webpage which lists a number of different templates grouped by the type of business you are in (Enterprise, Government or Small Business), or the specific function you are after.  The one I am most excited about is the “Annual Marketing Programs” template, which allows you go keep track of all the marketing programs you have on the go across a distributed marketing team!!!

The other option here is to create your own custom workspace, which could include any of the following tools:

• Calendar – for marking dates
• Chess Game – for building team morale
• Discussion – for conversations
• Files – for storing stuff
• Forms – for collecting and viewing data
• InfoPath Forms – for collecting and viewing data
• Issue Tracking – for the status of issues and incidents
• Meetings – for the management of agendas, action items etc.
• Notepad – for editing text
• Pictures – for sharing graphics, photos etc
• SharePoint Files – for synchronizing with a SharePoint library
• Sketchpad – for drawing stuff

Which option should I choose?

If you are just starting out, I would create a standard workspace.  This way you get used to the basic functionality of Groove 2007, and understand how it works without the complexity of added features.  Once you have the basics nailed, go straight for the workspace templates and start collaborating!

[tags]Groove 2007, Workspace, Collaboration[/tags]

Glad you asked!  Groove is one of those tools (like OneNote), that at first you think… why would I use that, but once you start, you realise that your life would suck without it!

What is Groove 2007?

Groove in the broadest sense is a piece of software which allows you to collaborate with people.  But not just people in your workplace, but your business partners, customers, or anyone you want!  The best part is that you do not need the IT department to create a site for you, or open up ports in the firewall, or actually be online to use it!  That’s right, you can be offline (away from the network) and still access a local copy of your collaborative workspace.  Once you log back on, Groove will sync the workspace with all of your colleagues.

But why would I want to use it?

Ever dealt with customers via email (if you answered yes, then go purchase Groove 2007 licenses now, and read the rest of this whilst you wait for them to arrive!).  Do documents get lost in the email, or do you find it hard to keep track of what you have shared with each customer?  Why not build a secure workspace, invite your customer to participate, and then collaborate!  You both have a secure place to share documents, chat about ideas, and send and receive messages.  I like to call it unstructured structured collaboration (if you get my drift).

Personally I use Groove all the time… so I will focus my next few posts on how you can take advantage of this great product to bring your friends close, and your customers closer!

[tags]Groove 2007, Tutorial[/tags]