Office 2007: What's Changed in Word?

When Microsoft Word was first released in the early 1990's, it didn't include the numerous tools and options that more recent versions have. In response to a need for re-organization, there have been several changes made to the newest version that help increase productivity and decrease the amount of time it takes for a user to customize their document. Some of the major changes are as follows:

• New Look, including the Microsoft Office Button, Ribbon, and dynamic toolbars.
• Dynamic menus that change with the program the user is in and the task they are performing.
• Default File Format is .docx, which is an XML format that is editable with Notepad, etc if handled correctly. However, Word 2003 requires an extra add-on to open these files. You can change the format that Word 2007 saves files to by default in the Word Options menu located in the Microsoft Office Button dropdown. Please note that the CAE lab computers will already have the default file format set to the 2003 version.
• The Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar that provide commonly used formatting and editing options and can be customized to meet the needs of advanced users.
• Keyboard Shortcuts haven't changed.
• Quick Styles and Themes help to create professional-looking documents much more quickly than previous versions of Word.
• SmartArt diagrams and charts link items across Word, Excel, and Powerpoint to ensure a consistent look.
• Compose and Publish Blogs directly from Word.
• Equation Builder is useful - and editable - for project proposals and reports.
• Live Word Count is always in view.
• Updated Spell Check and Citation Manager including contextual spell check, which can differentiate between "its" and "it's".
• Tri-Pane Review Panel allows a user to view two documents simultaneously to more effectively compare the changes made.
• New Add-ins, including the ability to save directly as a .pdf file (users can share documents as a .pdf without an add-in).
• Better Program Recovery helps to recover work in progress if PowerPoint has to shut down unexpectedly.

A complete listing of the old and new locations of each command is available for download directly from Microsoft here.

Need to open a file with Office 2003 that is saved in one of the new formats? Download Microsoft's Compatibility Pack.