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Xpediting Office

A few weeks ago we brought you a similar TechTalk on OfficeXP. But that just skimmed the surface. Here's the low-down on what the next version of Microsoft's best-selling desktop suite contains.

With this soon-to-be-launched version, it looks like Microsoft will now allow us users to decide what we need and what can be discarded. We managed to get our (grubby) hands on a complete copy of the Office XP With FrontPage Corporate Preview. This adds lots of new conveniences as also add some inconveniences. But the most significant change, to be welcomed by most users is that those irritating automation features carried over from previous versions can now be disabled. Let's take a quick gander on what's the happening stuff.

Features that can be disabled include the automatic formatting that inserted headlines where you didn't want them or insisted on changing anything with an "@" sign in it. Bugs like the Web site publishing feature that would uploads a whole site instead of a single, changed page too have been resolved. And best of all, Clippy, the animated-paper clip help system is off by default.

OfficeXP has Web integration as its common theme. Microsoft assumes that the Net is an everyday presence in our lives. Every application in the suite is Web-enabled. However, while most are valuable to users, some seem to be designed just to increase traffic to Microsoft's Web properties.

The tested package included Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, Outlook and FrontPage. Microsoft plans other packages that will add Publisher and the (former Office Web Server) Share point Team Services product for Web-based collaboration tool. Missing from all versions is that lite image editor, PhotoEdit, that was bundled with Office 2000.

Overall, the suite now has a new soft, more pastel-coloured interface. There are Task Panes on the right-hand side of each application window. These offer lists of recently used files, plus disk and Web searches, relevant links (to Microsoft Web properties), and access to formatting features. Someone forgot about including Spelling and Find because its oft-used feature's still pop-up.

New Smart Tag icons offer help and options when you seem to start doing complex tasks. They also activate when Office applies an automated formatting change like superscripting ordinals. You can also click the tag (press Shift-Alt-F10) to choose possible actions for the text or graphic under the cursor. As also to disable automated changes.

Microsoft is soft-pedaling the suite's handwriting and speech recognition features. These high-tech additions are still a little buggy. Targeted at users who can't use the keyboard for medical reasons, these are a boon or a bane for the rest of us. The Lerhout & Hauspie engine used for speech recognition had trouble with my Indian accent. And then decided to "take over" whenever I activated the microphone. And randomly generate text from background noise. Hand-writing is really cool. You no longer need to use a keyboard. You can switch to a pen and tablet.

The best of these new features is the built-in text scan and conversion. This directly acquires text from an attached scanner and includes it into a document.

The big downside, especially for those users who prefer to use but not pay, is the online validation system. The suite requires you to validate the supplied key while connected to the Internet or by call Microsoft Customer Support (US only). If a duplicate is found, you copy is disabled. A non-validated copy lets you use it (or any component) for a total of 50-times before it self-disables itself. Disabled copies can only be used to print or view OfficeXP compatible document formats.

There don't seem to be any workarounds for the moment; even for Indian users. Woe betide you if the Microsoft Passport site is overloaded because you get summarily rejected. This system has already been implemented in Office 2000 copies available since November 2000.

Word
This time round, there is little evidence of change to the Word file format and basic feature set. The Reveal Formatting Task Pane lets you clear formatting for selected text. You can now, WordPerfect-style also see where formatting effects begin and end. Multiple blocks of text can also be selected by holding down Ctrl when dragging with the mouse. An optional feature displays dotted lines under names and contact details.

Its become easier to insert contact information from Outlook, send e-mail or get more information about a highlighted item; just click the icon. The built-in crash-recovery lets you decide whether to open the last saved copy of a file or just version saved during the crash.

Excel
The feature set has been enhanced without losing compatibility. Now Web Queries can be built by dragging a table from the browser into a worksheet. The Watch Window shows the result of Web queries or calculations on any cell. Debugging is aided by an Evaluator that steps through formulas. Best of all Excel now recognizes that numbers formatted as text be sorted with numbers in numerical format.

Outlook
No longer cluttered, the interface now features separate Internet and Microsoft Exchange views. It also includes support for Hotmail accounts. However, news groups still aren't supported. The useable add-in fax option is missing from the full version but is retained if you upgrade to XP from 2000 or earlier. Word remains the default e-mail editor but responds really fast. ASCII email received is automatically reformatted to remove line breaks, However you can undo this formatting with a mouse-click. Appointments can now be colour-coded to match user-defined rules. Outlook also includes conveniences long available in Outlook Express like the preview pane displaying active links; auto-complete e-mail addresses and choosing from multiple accounts when sending.

PowerPoint
The Task Pane displays thumbnails of slide design, out sourced schemes, and animation effects. There's also an animation builder that creates effects from cascading option menus. Presentation can now include multiple "master" slides. Charts and diagrams can be created and edited in place. PowerPointXP isn't perfect, but its still the presentation software leader.

FrontPage
Mostly unchanged, except for interface refinements and page-design features. The program now builds picture galleries automatically. The tabbed interface lets you navigate multiple pages (previously available but hidden by default). Some features like components that automatically display MSNBC news or Expedia travel information seem designed to increase traffic to MSN's Web sites.

Access
AccessXP is fully compatible with previous version. The only difference is that XP lets you choose an extensible new format that permits you to add features without requiring file conversion. Access now supports Excel pivot tables. The new features are unobtrusively slotted into the existing interface.

G Menon
[email protected]

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