It may seem a trivial matter, but getting your Office 2007 and 2010 applications set up correctly before you start working is a smart move. Think about all the times you have had to change formatting options on existing workbooks and tally up that time — it adds up.

Tech tips: 3 ways to make life easier in Excel.

Here are three tips that will enable you to reset Excel 2010’s default formatting. Set them once, and never again.

1. Setting Formatting Options for Workbooks, Part 1

Excel does not offer many options that allow you to set formatting defaults for your workbooks. However, you can work around this by modifying the formatting in a blank workbook, then saving it as the default template.

Excel 2007:

1. Open Excel to a blank workbook. Read more…

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Myth: Office 2007 support needs fade within just a couple weeks of deployment.
Reality: Providing support and training to information workers before, during and after deployment is crucial to early and sustained adoption. The new interface is designed to make people aware of features they never found in the old versions. Information workers will continue to discover these new features for months after deployment and they will need ongoing help using them. It is unreasonable to expect the help desk to have found and mastered the features that were so well hidden in previous versions of Office. Above average migration call volume can be expected to last as long as six months, as call volume is linear throughout the migration. The peaks in volume will crest most noticeably during the initial installations. During months 1-3, call volume for how to questions on Office 2007 can spike to a 50 percent increase, drop to an average of 30 percent during months 4-6 and then continue to decline. 

 Myth:  Migrating to Office 2007 is like every other software upgrade or switchover.
Reality: The application looks radically different and is a complete overhaul of the user interface. There are no menus and no toolbars. Many information workers won’t even be able to open files without training and assistance. In past upgrades, an information worker’s knowledge of how to get to the features in the previous version was 95 percent effective in the new version. For Office 2007, it is zero percent effective.    

 Myth: Information workers will benefit from Windows 7 without training and support
Reality: A learning curve is guaranteed when information workers, or even an internal help desk staff, are faced with tools, applications or operating systems that look differently. A lack of proper training and support will prolong the adoption period. Maximizing the productivity increase — and resultant ROI — from the new tools in Windows 7 requires training in the theory and support in the practice of using the new tool. Read more myths and realities of an Office 2007 and Windows 7 migration and eight service levels needed to prove migration ROI http://www.pchelps.com/html/o2007mythsrealitiesroi.asp

Jenny Sweeney How To, Office 2007, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program, ROI, Uncategorized, Windows 7, Windows 7 & Office 2007 Migration migrations, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program, Windows 7

Although most tech publications are reporting on Microsoft Office 2010, the reality is that a significant number of U.S. companies have yet to finish the Office 2007 upgrades they purchased before the recession hit.

Windows 7 is upon us. New operating system, new Office suite. Let the games begin.

According to a leading industry source, about 50 percent of enterprise-sized IT infrastructures are running mixed Microsoft Office end-user environments. That’s a whole lot of wasted investment.

Then there are companies who waited for that whole Vista debacle to blow over. They kept XP and Office 2003, with the aim of upgrading when Windows 7 was released.

Windows 7 is upon us. New operating system, new Office suite. Let the games begin.

We have compiled a list of the most common Office 2007 user questions and issues, and it was recently published by IT World. You can read it here. Take notes, and happy migrating.

PC Helps also recently published a white paper on the subject, titled “The Myths and Realities of an Office 2007 and Windows 7 Migration.” Download it for free http://www.pchelps.com/html/o2007mythsrealitiesroi.asp

MORE INFO IN: Desktop Application Support | Contact PC Helps

Jenny Sweeney Office 2007, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program, Windows 7 ITworld.com, Microsoft, Office 2007, ROI, Windows 7, Windows XP

According to a survey by Technologizer.com, early adopters of Windows 7 are a happy lot. That’s a 180 from the Vista mess, and it’s good news for Microsoft, not to mention corporate IT departments.

Eighty-four percent said their switchovers “went off without meaningful hiccups.”

For the survey, which was conducted at the end of last year, more than 550 early adopters were asked about their upgrade processes. Of them, 84 percent said their switchovers “went off without meaningful hiccups.” (Of the users surveyed, 46 percent upgraded from Vista and 32 percent from XP.)

This is significant, writes Technologizer founder Harry McCracken, considering the fact that when XP was rolled out, a PC World study found that more than half of those who upgraded reported installation difficulties.

And then there’s the issue of the actual product and its usability. Windows 7 fares OK there as well. According to the survey, 79 percent of those who upgraded from Vista reported that they are “extremely satisfied” with 7; 61 percent of XP users feel the same.

It’s not all good news, however. Users are having problems with two main issues in Windows 7: missing drivers and application incompatibility – both of which were expected. Read more…

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According to a leading industry source, more than 50 percent of enterprise-sized IT infrastructures are running mixed Microsoft Office end-user environments. Half the knowledge workers are running 2003; the rest are getting to know 2007 and the Ribbon.

When half your knowledge workers are using one version and the rest another, that’s a whole lot of lost functionality — and wasted time.

The recession and Office 2007’s immense learning curve are partly to blame, but, ultimately, it’s you, the IT leader, who must take responsibility for diminished return on investment. There’s still time to finish your migration; here are six reasons why you should:

1. ROI: You purchased X number of licenses and only have migrated half. You do the math: You purchased the upgrade for a reason — to take advantage of new and easier to find productivity features.

2. The dreaded Office 2007 learning curve: As evident in the hundreds of expletive-laced Tweets about Office 2007, the new user interface is a downright shock to many knowledge workers. Where’s the file menu? How do you save a document? What is this Ribbon? If you finish your migration, you will not have to face these questions again when you decide to upgrade to the next version (which also has a Ribbon interface). Read more…

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A random sampling of tweets about Office 2007 offers no surprises. Users are frustrated, desperate, confused, angry even. No matter where you are in your 2007 migration – research and planning stage; implementation; post-migration – you will hit some snags, to be sure. How you handle them may dictate future budget allocations, even the health of your IT department. Here’s what you should know before you choose a migration plan and partner: Read more…

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Migrating to Windows 7 and Office 2007 is a massive undertaking, no matter your company size. Preparation is vital to a successful transition. Using the information and data points we’ve culled from many successful migrations with our mid- to enterprise-size clients, we have organized this collection of best practices and common occurrences:

Most Common Support Calls

Many corporate workers have been using Windows XP for some time now, so a learning curve with Windows 7 is inevitable. Below are some factors that will affect your employees’ productivity with the new operating system:

• Elimination of the Quick Launch toolbar and the Vista sidebar (if applicable)
• A new taskbar with icons only
• Changes to auxiliary apps like Windows Movie Maker and Windows Mail
• New features like Federated Search, Windows Mobility Center, Aero Peek, Jump Lists

Best Practice – Provide consolidated training on these features before deployment or make sure Windows 7 experts are standing by and are readily available the day of deployment. Downtime is costly.

As for Office 2007, its radically different interface will result in an even steeper learning curve. The design is such a departure that your employees will hit snags just trying to figure out how to perform basic tasks like saving and formatting. Here are some issues that may cause problems: Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Office 2007, Windows 7 migration, Office 2007, Windows 7

Consider the following scenario: The entire staff of an elementary school was recently upgraded to Office 2007. When Teacher A began creating a new lesson in PowerPoint, which is something she does on a regular basis, she couldn’t figure out how to align her text.

After more than an hour of trial and error Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Computer Literacy, Office 2007, ROI, Worker Productivity Cat Stevens, Help Desk, Office 2007, PowerPoint, ROI, software support, Worker Productivity

You’ve already committed the company to an Office 2007 migration, and the learning curve alone promises grief. Factor in the current financial climate and the overwhelming pressure to pull off a successful migration, and you have full-on agita.

Software migrations will no doubt cause disruptions in at least three areas over several months. But if you approach it with a thought-out plan, you can lessen the sting.

Where’s the File Menu?

The first and most obvious impact will be on your employees. Read more…

Jenny Sweeney Computer Literacy, Office 2007, ROI, Worker Productivity Office 2007, Office 2007 Migration Assurance Program

Way back in April 2009, I posted a piece on CIO.com titled “Office 2007 Doesn’t Really Suck; It’s Just Misunderstood.” Little did I know it would create such a fuss.

Over the past 11 months, the piece has received a smattering of comments, many of which are tinged with vitriol. Office 2007 doesn’t just suck, according to CIO’s readers; it’s reviled, despised, detested, loathed.

Taking a stand by sticking with an earlier version of Office is hardly a political move.

Here’s a sampling of the comments:

“I’m a longtime Office user (since its inception). Office 2007 is an abomination and shows just how out of touch those developers are with real world use and workflow.”

“Thought my suckage meter was just already broken or something, it being beyond the warranty period, but as the 10 or so days went by from having installed this step backwards in software development, and having not latched onto what I had assumed was some kind of groundbreaking innovation in GUI, I started to suspect that Microsoft’s product itself had gone beyond the limits of my suckage meter and broken it… and everyone here has affirmed that.” Read more…

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