[Word] Another, better 2003 menu addin for 2007

[John D. Hubbard]

Simon,
 
These are some interesting points, But the fact remains that Microsoft has thrown a monkey wrench into the works by introducing a
new UI. As an employer, we are faced with training costs and a UI productivity hit whether we move to 2007 or stay with 2003.  The
new hires coming out of college have learned 2007, so we have to train them on 2003 if we stick with it. Our current staff will need
retraining if we move to 2007. Either way, we have been hurt. If we stay with 2003, we have another problem. Our Office 2003 trainer
is retiring this year. He is 65 and knows Word and Excel inside out. 
 
I suspect the replacement trainer will not know as much about 2003, but there is a real chance we won't hire a replacement. I have
no idea what sort of resource hit this will be.The current trainer spends most of his time answering individual "How do I ..."
questions. There are formal training sessions scheduled. They are limited to 1/2 day modules, and most of our people cannot get away
long enough to attend. Yes, they would "probably" learn enough to earn the time back through more proficient use of the software,
but the big sticking point is in the "probably." Very few of our managers are willing to allow training time. How do you think they
feel about a move to Office 2007?
 
In short the move to Office 2007 is most likely "When?" not "If?" and we will take a productivity hit that we cannot afford because
we have cut our staff to (IMHO) not quite as many as are needed to do the job. I like to compare the new UI to changing the keyboard
from QWERTY. There are plenty of reasons to change, but the general office staff will not be happy and will resist it strongly.
 
John 
 
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From: word-bounces at dcomp.com [mailto:word-bounces at dcomp.com] On Behalf Of Simon Jones
Sent: Saturday, March 21, 2009 10:39 AM
To: DailyWordTips
Subject: RE: [Word] Another, better 2003 menu addin for 2007



Ron,

 

"In my case it's going to take a while, probably years to regain my current keyboard shortcut "fluency"."

Virtually all the keyboard shortcuts from the previous version of Word work unchanged in Word 2007. There are only two or three
which don't. 

 

"They made a huge change to "my" user interface"

It isn't "your" user interface. It is a new version of Microsoft's application. As an individual, you don't have to upgrade if you
don't want to. (The "compatibility pack" adds support for the new file format to older versions which you'd need if you want to
collaborate easily with people who use Office 2007.) If you work for a company and they decided to upgrade, your beef is with your
employer, not Microsoft. They perhaps should have consulted you and persuaded you before rolling out Office 2007 or offered you more
support or training. (There's a vast amount of support and training available direct from Microsoft's Office web site.)

 

"The sad part is that retaining the "old" UI as a fall back option would have been so simple and cheap for them to implement."

Unfortunately, it would also mean that a lot of people would instantly switch back to the old UI so they would not gain the benefit
of the new UI and its adoption would be held back.

 

"The best example is the use of shortcut key combinations like CTL-C, CTL-X, CLT-S, CTL-O etc.  They date all the way back to DOS,
actually to pre-DOS operating systems, (even before the invention of that nasty old mouse thingie!)"
Ctrl+C for Copy, Ctrl+X for Cut, Ctrl+V for paste are not that old. Before Windows 95, those functions were performed by
Ctrl+Delete, Ctrl+Insert, Ctrl+Shift+Insert and so on. Before Windows standardised many of the keyboard shortcuts, each different
program usually had very different shortcuts peculiar to themselves. They were all a nightmare to learn. 

Regards,

Simon Jones

MillStream Designs Ltd

Independent IT Consultants

 

 

From: word-bounces at dcomp.com [mailto:word-bounces at dcomp.com] On Behalf Of Ron Solecki
Sent: 21 March 2009 01:06
To: DailyWordTips
Subject: Re: [Word] Another, better 2003 menu addin for 2007

 

In my case it's going to take a while, probably years to regain my current keyboard shortcut "fluency".  That is what PO's me so
much.  They made made a huge change to "my" user interface and force me to waste a lot of time retraining myself.  My time, not
theirs!  Sure it may, emphasis MAY, be a better UI for "new guys", but I'm not one of them.  I am an "old dog", who can, still does,
and will learn "new tricks".  But this is one I really didn't WANT to.  The sad part is that retaining the "old" UI as a fall back
option would have been so simple and cheap for them to implement.  And it would have been in keeping with previous long keeping
"standards", where they have retained old UI's as alternatives for established users.  The best example is the use of shortcut key
combinations like CTL-C, CTL-X, CLT-S, CTL-O etc.  They date all the way back to DOS, actually to pre-DOS operating systems, (even
before the invention of that nasty old mouse thingie!)

On Fri, Mar 20, 2009 at 7:48 PM, Liz <ackerliz at shaw.ca> wrote:

Thanks, Ron...I often wonder how long it will take before I know where everything is in Word 2007 :)


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