MICROSOFT OFFICE 2007 NEWS – April 3, 2007
As many of you have heard, this year Microsoft has released a new version of its Office suite called (cleverly enough) "Office 2007."
The below will provide some basic information – Click each underlined link for more information.
Timeline for Moving to Office 2007
New Default Document File Formats
Accessing Office 2007 files with Office 2003
What CEPS Technology Services Has Done to Help
Exchanging Documents between the Two Versions of Office
Final Note on CEPS Moving to Office 2007 – CTS Team
Recommended Preview Options for Office 2007
Dual installations of Office XP and Office 2007
Timeline for Moving to Office 2007
The projected implementation of Office 2007 could happen university-wide as early as fall 2007, but the actual timeline for this move will depend on the University deployment plan and CEPS Leadership Team decisions. Our hope is to hold off on moving to Office 2007 until a thoughtful and practical migration plan has been developed so that productivity is not negatively impacted. CEPS will address the challenges this migration will pose through training sessions, instruction sheets, online demos, and any other nifty solutions we can think up. For the time being, though, the college is not moving to the new Office suite.
There are several big changes in Office 2007. First and foremost, Office 2007 looks very different from the Office software we are currently using (Office 2003). It sports a new user graphical interface, including a “ribbon” comprised of a combination of toolbars that changes based on what you are working on. There is also a new “Office button,” which replaces the old File menu. It may take some time to get used to these changes. However, there are interesting new features and tools that Office 2007 will provide which hopefully make it worth the effort.
New Default Document File Formats
A major change related to Office 2007, and the one most likely to cause problems right away, is the new default document file formats. With the switch to Office 2007, Microsoft has changed Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to read and write using its new “Open XML file formats” rather than what was used in previous releases dating back to Office 97.
The new style documents can be identified by their filename extensions. There are several new format types, but the ones you are most likely to see and use right away are:
.docx for Microsoft Word
.xlsx for Microsoft Excel
.pptx for Microsoft PowerPoint.
For more information on file extensions in Office 2007, please see Microsoft’s article on the subject at: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA100069351033.aspx
Accessing Office 2007 files with Office 2003
As a result of the new default file format change, you may have students who are working with the new Office suite submit homework and artifacts with the new file formats. This is especially important if you are teaching a class where you may receive electronic documents or are distributing electronic documents to others. WebCT and ePortfolio users will be impacted by this change, too.
It is not practical at this time to assume that everyone on- and off-campus can read or create the new Open XML documents. This means we will have to share files across the two Office suites. Please read the following information which will help you plan accordingly and keep you "in-the-know."
What CEPS Technology Services Has Done to Help
Microsoft has created a Compatibility Pack software that will open the new Office 2007 files in Office 2003. This software has already been "pushed" to all CEPS student labs and classroom computers as well as all faculty, staff, and administrators' computers. You were probably not even aware that this has been done, as Michael Guard developed the install to be done automatically and "behind-the-scenes."
(The big challenge is that for the compatibility software to be installed, the computer must log into the UCO network. Any computer which is not connected to the network with a LAN cable will be unable to open Office 2007 documents until the conversion software is installed. We believe this will mostly impact departmental laptops. Simply connect your departmental laptops to a network jack, start it up, and log into the UCO network. In most cases, the software will automatically be pushed to the machine. Keep in mind that if it has been awhile since you connected the laptop to the network, numerous other updates may automatically occur -- including important antivirus updates -- so this might take some time. Please put in a request for help at http://www.educ.ucok.edu/techreq if you run into problems. We’re happy to help.)
Instruct your students who are using Office 2007 to use the "Save As" feature! This option will allow Office 2003 users to open Office 2007 documents but it must be performed by the person using the NEW Office software. They simply need to remember to change the way Office 2007 saves their documents by using the “Save As” dialog and choosing the Office 97-2003 file format each time a file is saved. (Office 2007 users may also change the default “Save” preferences for each office application to save in the Office 97-2003 file format.)
Exchanging Documents Between the Two Versions of Office
Making the above changes will help with sharing documents between the 2 different versions of Office. It will also help to minimize frustration and panic attacks related to “incompatible” Office file formats when turning in homework or making presentations. Eventually the install base for Office 2007 (both here on campus and in the world in general) will be large enough that it will be okay to use the newer file format as the default, but for now it is not possible to expect that all of the people we share documents with are using the latest Office suite available.
Final Note on CEPS Moving to Office 2007 – CTS Team
Migration to the new Office suite is going to impact everyone: students, staff and faculty. Please be aware that we will do everything we can to help each person make the transition. The CEPS Leadership Team will be discussing how to best serve the entire college at their Leadership Team meetings. Open forums and group info meetings are being planned. Michael Guard has been meeting with the Departmental Tech Services (DTS) team to keep them informed, and additional information will be shared in multiple ways in the coming weeks. Also, as always, you are more than welcome to contact any member of the College Technology Services team and ask questions or make suggestions. Team members include:
Dr. Dana Owens, Director of Technology
Email: dowens@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-5677 ? Office: EDU 205
Rod Edwards, Instructional Technologist
Email: redwards@uco.edu ? Phone: 974-5160 ? Office: EDU 211
Michael Guard, Computer Network Specialist
Email: mguard@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-5145 ? Office: EDU 232
Gretchen Magee, ePortfolio Coordinator
Email: gjackson@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-5101 ? Office: EDU 205
Toni Bourlon, Student Computer Labs Coordinator
Email: tbourlon@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-3414 ? Office: EDU 225
Meher Goru, Data Specialist
Email: mgoru@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-5408 ? Office: EDU 211
Rachel Ingram, Administrative Assistant, Center of Teaching Excellence
Email: ringram2@ucok.edu ? Phone: 974-5103 ? Office: EDU 205
Recommended Preview Options for Office 2007
We have three preview options which we are recommending for now:
1) Click the blue link below to take a free online test drive. This is a quick, easy-to-use, browser-based trial experience. It gives you an excellent interactive preview of the new software. "The real-time test drive does not require product installation or download—it's the fastest way to try out all 2007 Microsoft Office system programs. In just minutes you can start exploring Microsoft Office through your Web browser on your own, or follow the step-by-step tutorials to experience all of its useful features."
Notes:
-- You will need to install a free plug-in to take the free online test drive. This is okay to do on your UCO computer as well as at home. Just follow the instructions.
-- You will need to already have or be willing to sign up for a Windows Live ID account. This is a Microsoft requirement. It is free and easy to do.
-- You will need to answer a very short survey to help Microsoft know more about their customers.
Free Online Test Drive - http://www.runaware.com/microsoft/en-us/2007office/td
2) You can view online demos for the main three products.
PowerPoint 2007 - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA100484621033.aspx
Word 2007 - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100484691033.aspx
Excel 2007 - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA100484501033.aspx
No installation is required. Just sit back and watch the videos.
3) You can come to the FDC lab in EDU 211 and take a look at the single computer (FDC-006) that we have installed Office 2007 on for planning and testing purposes. The ITC student on duty will help you get started. Just ask.
Dual installations of Office XP and Office 2007
It is possible to download and install a free trial version of Office 2007 for 60 days. However, please be aware that we do NOT recommend this either at home and especially not at school! Dual installations are not supported on CEPS computers. There are a number of user issues that come with having both versions of Office installed on the same computer at the same time. Please use one of the above recommended preview options above if you want to learn more about Office 2007.
If you decide to go ahead and purchase Office 2007 for your home computer, we recommend you uninstall Office 2003. Again, at this time, we ask that you please NOT install of ANY version (trial or purchased) of Office 2007 on a CEPS computer without first contacting a member of the College Technology Services team.
Right now, we are all in the same boat and are learning as much as we can as fast as we can. We do not have all the answers. But feel free to contact any member of the College Technology Services team and ask questions. We will work with you to find out what you need to know.