After 10 years, dare I advance to 2013?

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I still use Office 2003 because I’m scared of the ribbon! I have customized every toolbar and menu, written dozens of macros, made scores of keystroke redefines, added hundreds of auto-text entries, and who knows how many other little tweaks that I’ve moved between versions of Word since before Win95.

My NORMAL.DOT file is 700+ KB.

Does anyone know how much of this I’ll lose to that darn ribbon?

I assume the toolbars are toast. Auto-text and auto-correct can be moved, can’t they?

But what about my keystrokes? It’s been 20 years since I’ve removed my fingers from the home row! I don’t have a touchscreen, nor do I want to waste time repositioning my hands continually to use one!

Has anyone made this transition? Tell me it’s possible. (I know it’s too much to ask that it would be easy! )

Thanks for any help to a poor out-of-date but efficient Wordie.

AL

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Office 2007 is in very wide use. Why not upgrade to that?

Group "L" (Linux Mint)
with Windows 10 running in a remote session on my file server

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There is a massive number of users who have made the transition from Word 2003 up to the later versions so you won’t be treading new ground. Yes it can be done. If you are worried about it you should read the short book “Who moved my cheese” (or watch it on Youtube)

Yes you will lose productivity initially. This productivity loss may never be made up by the (potential) productivity gains you experience once you are back up to speed. But on the up side – you will have learnt new skills and will be better able to adapt to future learning demands imposed by other software.

You can convert your Normal.dot template to the newer Normal.dotm will bring across the macros, toolbars and autotexts. It may even bring over the keyboard shortcuts (I can’t remember). You will however want to move the toolbars to the newer ribbon interface since the old toolbar buttons all end up dumped into an Addins tab.

Moving auto-corrects is going to be just as problematic as moving them between 2003 machines. I believe you will be able to find instructions online which describe how to do that.

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Adjusting to interface changes is like driving a new car after 10 years. Most essential things operate much like what you are used to in your old vehicle, but the new stuff initially seems overwhelmingly distracting: the electric seat adjustment is slower than the old lever; the lens for the backup TV camera gets dirty so the rearview mirror just displays a blur; the GPS tries to guide you on ridiculous routes…

But then the new things start to grow on you: you discover that a single button sets all of your preferred seat positions and the channel and volume of the radio; you learn that wiping off the camera lens when you get to your car in a parking lot makes it really useful for backing up in tricky situations; you find the settings for the GPS to prefer faster instead of shorter routes… And meanwhile, you easily and seamlessly adapt to the things you just expect in a car — road stability, responsiveness, good visibility, etc.

After a while, getting back into an older model reveals how much you value the improvements. Ever try driving a car with foot-powered headlight dimmers that get clogged up with sand or salt? Or with a window washer button on the dash?

Word’s ribbon interface certainly takes getting used to, and as Andrew said, your productivity will probably suffer at first. I was initially dismayed to lose some of my familiar custom toolbars, but soon found that the important functions could find new places. I skipped over Word 2007 because it seemed clunky, but I’d upgraded my computers by the time I started using Word 2010 and the response time for the context-sensitive ribbon switching was much smoother. Word 2013 is not significantly different, but the responsiveness seems better.

My advice for transitioning would be to take Word 2013 on a “test drive”: open an old — and non-critical — document and see how it feels when you make changes to tables or reposition figures. Don’t try to learn on a new and time-sensitive document. Don’t be too hung up on the interface changes because all (well, almost all) of the old function is still there. Don’t rely on the often-useless Microsoft Help; use Google search and find forums (like this one) to learn about the differences.

Before you know it the ribbon interface will seem normal — and although you may feel nostalgic about Word 2003, you probably won’t want to go back to it.

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Thanks for all the good advice. I don’t mind learning the new interface, it was the loss of keystrokes and efficiency that bothered me. You’ve assured me that I don’t have to lose them. Now to find a few days without a deadline.

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You might want to look at Woody’s column on Office 2013 before taking the plunge:
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/surviving-your-first-hour-with-office-2013/

Jerry

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You might want to look at Woody’s column on Office 2013 before taking the plunge:
http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/surviving-your-first-hour-with-office-2013/

Jerry

… and take it with some grains of salt ;).

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Make up your own mind. :rolleyes:

It was enough to dissuade me from considering an upgrade to Office 2013 but I have no use for the cloud. The screen shots I’ve seen are butt ugly.

Jerry

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Make up your own mind. :rolleyes:

It was enough to dissuade me from considering an upgrade to Office 2013 but I have no use for the cloud. The screen shots I’ve seen are butt ugly.

Jerry

C’mon Jerry, you don’t need 3rd party opinions, you can very well make your own mind on your own :).

I don’t think the article portrays Office 2013 in a fair manner. I can tell you I wouldn’t go back to Office 2010, even though there are some wrinkles in some apps. I would also offer that it’s not about the looks, but functionality. Other than the better integration with SkyDrive, there are no revolutionary changes, but there are small changes that are quite interesting and that one discovers from time to time. My favorite OneNote app has a few delicious improvements considering how I use it.

Is it worthwhile to upgrade if you have no upgrade agreements or do not buy a new computer? Probably not, unless the cloud is relevant, but Office 2013 is a better Office than the previous version, no matter how acid some reviews may be. It’s always better for one to make one’s own mind. I started using 2013 when it RTMed and everybody in my office went along. No one would go back now.

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Download the trial version and see for yourself. There are issues (all quite adequately documented elsewhere) about running multiple versions of Office on the same computer. If you have a “spare” computer or if you’ve ever used Virtual PC, VirtualBox or VMWare, you can keep 2003 on your main computer and run the trial on another PC, real or virtual.

Personally, I found 2010 to be better than 2007, but did not feel 2013 was better than 2010 — though I’m interested in the “delicious” enhancements to OneNote that ruirib mentioned.

Best, Kim

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Download the trial version and see for yourself. There are issues (all quite adequately documented elsewhere) about running multiple versions of Office on the same computer. If you have a “spare” computer or if you’ve ever used Virtual PC, VirtualBox or VMWare, you can keep 2003 on your main computer and run the trial on another PC, real or virtual.

Personally, I found 2010 to be better than 2007, but did not feel 2013 was better than 2010 — though I’m interested in the “delicious” enhancements to OneNote that ruirib mentioned.

Best, Kim

I use OneNote as a central “repository” of info on projects, and that means I can have docs of multiple types linked (Excel, Visio). I use Visio frequently. OneNote now allows you to insert a Visio diagram and have the diagram displayed in OneNote. The good thing is that you can edit the original document starting from OneNote and the diagram will be automatically updated when updated in the original document. You can also force a document refresh. This is much more interesting that what happened before, that you needed to open the attached document to see document contents.

This is probably the one feature I like the most in OneNote 2013.

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Very cool. Thanks! I love OneNote and will take a look at that.

K

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There is also a new “full screen” mode, that is quite handy when working in my laptop, with the pen. There is a small icon that you click and all the OneNote interface” goes” away. All you have is writing space :).

I have said it before, there are no revolutionary new Office features, but there are a few incremental features that are very nice. Whether that is a reason to upgrade or not, well that’s for each user to decide. I think some “angry” Office reviews I have read are thoroughly without justification.

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I think some “angry” Office reviews I have read are thoroughly without justification.

I’m not so much angry as irked. I feel some of the UI choices to be a bit backward. But if one doesn’t have 2010 (or even 2007) already, there’s nothing wrong with jumping to 2013.

I find the licensing to be much more irksome than the program. The original install-on-a-single-computer-and-if-it-dies-you’re-out-of-luck license was a non-starter. I’m not a cloud person (at least right now) and was going to ride it out until MSFT changed their policy. Turns out it hasn’t taken that long, but I still have a desktop and a laptop and it irks me to pay another $400 to run 2013 Pro on both. I didn’t pay anything near $400 for 2010 and it’s licensed for 1 User/2 PCs, which is what I’m waiting for. As a precaution, I’m not holding my breath.:D

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I agree, the licensing was not the smartest move. There should be options for people who have no use for 5 licenses. I think another subscription level around $50 / year for two licenses would go a long way to make it reasonable. Like this $100 / year for 5 licenses is way too much if you have one or two computers where you want to run Office.
I understand they want to push people to the subscription model, but alienating your user base is never a good way to go about it.

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Unless there are features of 2013 you really need, think about why you’d upgrade at all. I’ve been on it for a few months and thus far haven’t seen anything that made the transition worth it. On the contrary, all I’ve experienced so far are a boatload of annoyingly arbitrary changes (e.g., “Contacts” is now “People”) and function relocations.

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I just added a new PC to my home office and chose to buy a copy of MS Office Pro 2010 instead of 2013. I don’t like the new pricing structure (only one PC and if it dies you’re SOL; or, pay to play if you want to keep using it). I am one of those who has been happily using Pro 2003 since the beginning of time. We are a multi-computer family – using our PCs until they literally die — just keep using them as storage/backup or for guests or grandkids. I have MS Pro 2007 on a relatively new laptop so was acquainted with the ribbon although I don’t think it’s a “miracle” tool. Long story short, I’d recommend looking for a copy of Pro 2010. It will be an improvement over 2003 in a number of ways (Outlook particularly), you’ll avoid the buy/subscribe decision, and after an initial few days of agony, you’ll be whizzing along with new skills.

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I just added a new PC to my home office and chose to buy a copy of MS Office Pro 2010 instead of 2013. I don’t like the new pricing structure (only one PC and if it dies you’re SOL; or, pay to play if you want to keep using it). I am one of those who has been happily using Pro 2003 since the beginning of time. We are a multi-computer family – using our PCs until they literally die — just keep using them as storage/backup or for guests or grandkids. I have MS Pro 2007 on a relatively new laptop so was acquainted with the ribbon although I don’t think it’s a “miracle” tool. Long story short, I’d recommend looking for a copy of Pro 2010. It will be an improvement over 2003 in a number of ways (Outlook particularly), you’ll avoid the buy/subscribe decision, and after an initial few days of agony, you’ll be whizzing along with new skills.

The Office 2013 licensing has been changed to allow you move Office to a different machine every 90 days. I’m quite sure that if there was a disaster and you needed to install it again before 90 days you could contact Microsoft for a different key. The other restrictions on the retail version remain. All along the one install per key was the same as the key card licensing of Office 2010 only the retail Office 2010 DVDs had different terms.

Joe

--Joe

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The Office 2013 licensing has been changed to allow you move Office to a different machine every 90 days. I’m quite sure that if there was a disaster and you needed to install it again before 90 days you could contact Microsoft for a different key. The other restrictions on the retail version remain. All along the one install per key was the same as the key card licensing of Office 2010 only the retail Office 2010 DVDs had different terms.

Joe

Office 2010 Home and Student has a 3 PC license, Home and Business has a 2 PC license. You can pick up Home and student from Walmart for $125.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Microsoft-Office-Home-and-Student-2010-Traditional-Disc/14272900#Specifications

33409-office

Jerry

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IMO, $100 USD/year is not too much for two computers.

First, the retail Office 2013 Pro costs $400 USD. As with 2010 there is no upgrade pricing. If you change Office versions every three years that is a $500 USD savings.
Second, no one forces you to use SKyDrive to store anything. You can still store everything locally if you wish. You can just dabble in the cloud until you are comfortable with it.
Third, you can add/change the license to any new device you acquire along the way. If you hit the limit of five you can easily decomission one and enroll another.
Fourth, you get Office-on-demand. An easy way to get a temporary install of whatever the latest bits are on a machine that does not have them should the need arise.
Fifth, Microsoft has said they intend to iterate the Office 365 SKUs much more frequently than the traditional version. I’ve yet to see that the tradtional retail version is expected to be updated at the same time. Of course, the proof is in the updates.
LAST, FWIW you get 60 Skype minutes per month.

Joe

--Joe

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IMO, $100 USD/year is not too much for two computers.

Most households only need one copy though and $100 a year is way too much. Even with two computers, you will have invested $400 in four years or $200 per computer and still don’t own a copy of the software. May make sense for a business but for home use IMO.

Jerry

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Most households only need one copy though and $100 a year is way too much. Even with two computers, you will have invested $400 in four years or $200 per computer and still don’t own a copy of the software. May make sense for a business but for home use IMO.

Jerry

The $400 dollars after four years is till half of the two PCs that Kim mentioned. If there is only one PC is the household the determining factors may be how often you choose to upgrade Office and which SKU you use. $100 may be more than you what you think is reasonable but others may think differently. There is still much to learn about how Microsoft is going to update/upgrade Office 365 Home Premium compared to the retail suite.

You have never owned the software. All you own is a license to use the software and have a physical copy of the install media because that was the only reliable way to deliver the software.

Joe

--Joe

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Joe makes good points.

But what if I don’t want to upgrade every three years? Not everyone does. I have several clients still happily using Word 2003. I don’t think remaining at a previous version is an option with a subscription. And at this point, I have to assume that if you stop paying, you won’t just not receive upgrades, you’ll stop being able to use the software.

I don’t feel MSFT has this cloud thing down yet. I acquired an Outlook.com account that they’ve already “lost” — I can’t log in because they can’t upgrade my Hotmail account at this time — which was already upgraded when I got the Outlook.com account.

I don’t think MSFT has quite managed either to put their ducks in a row or to keep them there. I’ll wait a while before investing in a subscription.

Kim

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Also, if you don’t need Outlook, you can get Home and Student for $139 without the annual $100 toll. Pays for itself in less than 3 years.

You have never owned the software. All you own is a license to use the software and have a physical copy of the install media because that was the only reliable way to deliver the software.

I realize that’s what the license says but in reality you effectively own it because you can continue to use it for as long as you want under the terms of the license. I believe most people think of it as owning the product.

$100 may be more than you what you think is reasonable but others may think differently

I agree which is why I said “IMO (In My Opinion)” I still believe most home users would agree with me. Like Kim, I have clients that are still using Office XP and it does everything they need. People like you and Rui can much more easily justify a subscription.

Jerry

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Remember that 2013 is an evolution from 2007 -> 2010 -> 2013. So tips and suggestions you see for earlier versions will often still be applicable in the later versions.

One key point to remember is that the ribbon was designed from the ground up as a way of making using Office easier for NEW USERS. Experienced users like us were a distant second consideration.

For any new user I strongly suggest they take advantage of the some of the “command search/finder” tools listed in the “Learning the Ribbon” section below. Particularly the “Map 2003 menu to 2010 Ribbon Silverlight applets” and the “Word Command Finder” web page

If you are a tinkerer and want some answers to the question “why the **** did they decide to do this stupid thing in the ribbon”, take a look through the Jensen Harris link. There is a lot! of reading there.

Here are a bunch of “what’s new” articles

What’s new in 2007 / What’s new in 2010 / 2013
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178980.aspx – This page has links to specific details for Office 2010 as a whole and each of the Office Apps

Changes in the 2007 Office system – http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178954%28office.12%29.aspx

Technical reference for the 2007 Office release, 257 pages of all changes – http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=79595

WHAT’S NEW IN OFFICE 2013
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/ – section on left hand side called:- What’s New in Office?
Win8 Review – What’s New in Win8 RTM Version? http://www.askvg.com/windows-8-review-whats-new-in-windows-8-developer-preview/
http://www.askvg.com/review-whats-new-in-microsoft-office-2013/

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178980.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc178954.aspx

http://www.7tutorials.com/what-s-new-office-2013-and-office-365-where-buy-it

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/download-whats-new-in-office-2013-your-unofficial-overview/ – link to download 27pg booklet

Here is an overload of “learning the ribbon” type tips and links

LEARNING THE RIBBON LINKS
A key point to keep in mind is that from the point of view of the “Average User”, Office 2007 and 2010 are 99% identical. Tips specific to 2007 almost always are still valid in 2010 apps so don’t automatically ignore things that were created for 2007.

Unfortunately, I have not seen many of these tools recreated for 2013.

This next link is one of the best resources I’ve looked at for getting you into the right frame of mind.
Stop Clicking and Exploring Excel 2007 like a Newbie – http://www.scribd.com/doc/29093109/Stop-Clicking-Exploring-Excel-Ribbon-Like-Newbie – applies to any Ribbonized app. This is an excellent booklet to get people into the right frame of mind to learn and use ANYribbonized app.

2010 / 2007 Search Command Addon http://www.officelabs.com/projects/searchcommands/Pages/default.aspx .

Office Watch Word/Excel Command Finder –
http://office-watch.com/commandlist/Word_2010.aspx
http://office-watch.com/commandlist/Word_2007.aspx
http://office-watch.com/commandlist/Excel_2007.aspx – Office Watch Excel 2007 Command Finder

The Office watch command finders are really good tools, they actually provide a more focused result, but the path it describes is sometimes wrong. (They got all of the info from MS …). They have also added some commands that are not on the “official” MS command list.

You can add the link to OWW Command Finder tool to the QAT using this macro:
Public Sub command_finder()
‘ Ed Weber
‘ Call the Office Watch Command List applet
‘ Equivalent to the Search Tab addon
‘
ActiveDocument.FollowHyperlink _
Address:=” http://office-watch.com/commandlist/Word_2010.aspx”, _
NewWindow:=True, AddHistory:=False
End Sub

Map 2003 menu to 2010 Ribbon Silverlight applets and spreadsheets- https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/learn-where-menu-and-toolbar-commands-are-in-office-2010-and-related-products-HA101794130.aspx?CTT=3 – Another way of finding “lost” commands

I just watched the video on this page:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jensenh/archive/2008/03/12/the-story-of-the-ribbon.aspx
It’s just under 1.5 hours. I found it quite informative. It explains a lot of the (ir)rational behind the Ribbon design, including the name by the Manager in charge of it’s development (not that I agree with it all…). The slides download just don’t tell the story.

12 Steps to become awesome in Excel (and your work) in 2012 – http://chandoo.org/wp/2012/01/06/12-ways-to-learn-excel/ – although this tip is identified as being specific to Excel, it applies to any software (ruined by ribbonization or not), and life in general.
http://www.askvg.com/download-free-microsoft-office-2010-getting-started-screensaver-for-windows-7/

Download a free screensaver from MS that presents short video tips. New tips constantly downloaded from a MS RSS feed.
Good site, lots of good tips. Their newsletter is worth signing up for.

Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog –
This one can be used to find answers to the inevitable question: “why did stupid MS do this, that or the other stupid thing in the stupid ribbon’:
Original source: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/10/09/58
alternate source http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jensenh/archive/2008/03/12/table-of-contents.aspx
This is an organized Table Of Contents to a large collection of links to MS Dev Team Blogs about the design and building of the 2007 ribbon. A LOT of reading, but interesting to understand the underlying (il)logic of the Ribbon

Map 2003 menu to 2007 Ribbon Flash Applets, spreadsheets – https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/guides-to-the-ribbon-use-office-2003-menus-to-learn-the-office-2007-user-interface-HA010229584.aspx
http://www.worldstart.com/ms-office-2010-still-having-trouble-locating-things-on-the-ribbon/comment-page-1/#comment-26505

2007/2010 Getting Started Tab addin Download
The optional “Get Started” addin also has a button to the “Interactive Word 2003 to Word 2007 Command Reference Guide”, but this button activates an internet link to the MS website. Personally, I prefer using the downloaded flash applet. Note: I have had problems trying to run the online version on FireFox, it worked fine in IE.
https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/download-help-to-get-started-with-office-2007-HA010214685.aspx?pid=CL100788241033
This download adds a Get Started tab to the end of the Word 2007 Ribbon. Commands on this tab give you easy access to free content on Office Online, such as training courses, video demos, and other Office Online content designed to help you learn Word 2007 quickly. An Office Online interactive command mapping tool, also available on the Get Started tab, shows you where to find Word 2003 buttons and commands are in Word 2007. Office Online Community discussions are also available directly from Word with this add-in.

Ribbon Hero – http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/help/be-ribbon-hero-and-have-fun-doing-it-HA010390372.aspx A learning game that guides you through various Office features.
Ribbon Hero 2: Clippy’s Second Chance – http://www.ribbonhero.com/news.html New version of the learning game.

Office 2010 Getting Started resources downloads page- Articles, interactive guides and guidance to help you be more productive with Office 2010 more quickly. – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=17339

2010 Migration Guides – https://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/office-2010-migration-guides-HA101982272.aspx

3 ways to learn the Office 2010 ribbon http://blogs.office.com/b/office-education/archive/2011/01/10/3-ways-to-learn-the-Office-2010-ribbon.aspx

10+ ways to help your users transition to Word 2007 http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/10things/?p=407

10+ ways to train your users on Office 2007 for free http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/msoffice/?p=144

Word 2010 / 2007 Free Tutorial – http://www.wordtutorial.net/

Mini-glossary: Office 2007 terms you should know – http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6180692.html

10 new Office 2007 interface elements (and what most of them are really called) http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/msoffice/?p=139

Dictionary of Windows UI terms – http://www.askvg.com/complete-guide-for-windows-customization-terms-and-resources/

Word 2007 Cheat Sheet – Intro to Ribbon UI http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9010482/Word_2007_Cheat_Sheet

Excel 2010 cheat sheet – What’s New- http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9220441/Excel_2010_cheat_sheet?source=ctwirhr_excelcs_reg

Explore what is new and different in Microsoft Word 2007 http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6153797.html?tag=content;leftCol

A few things you’ll miss when you upgrade to Office 2007 http://articles.techrepublic.com.com/5100-10878_11-6161683.html?tag=content%3bleftCol

Changes in Office Word 2007 http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc179199%28office.12%29.aspx -This article lists the changes in Microsoft Office Word 2007 from Microsoft Office 2003.

Word 2010 Beginners Guidebook – Good intro to Ribbon based Word $20, 236 pg http://store.tips.net/T010905_Microsoft_Word_2010_Beginners_Guidebook_Table_of_Contents.html

10 cool add-ins for Office 2007 and 2010: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/10things/10-cool-add-ins-for-office-2007-and-2010/2455 Everything, E-mail Follow-up, More Add-in, FreeFile Viewer, ASAP Util (excel), Proposal Pack Wizard, Visual Bee (PowerPoint), iSpring Pro (PowerPoint), Pop-Up Excel Calendar, Excel Fuzzy Dup Finder.

10 Quick Tips to Get the Most from Microsoft Office – http://www.howtogeek.com/98499/10-quick-tips-to-get-the-most-from-microsoft-office/

Reveal Codes in Word – Is there life after “Reveal Codes”? – http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/RevealCodes.htm . This is an excellent article describing all of the native Word tools for discovering formatting.

Formatting Problems? Install CrossEyes – http://www.levitjames.com/Products/CrossEyes.aspx
This tool adds a pane that converts Word formatting into HTML/WordPefect like “codes”, displaying a WordPerfect like “Reveal Codes” pane. It is a great complement to MS’s inadequate attempt in the “Reveal Formatting” pane.

Backup and Restore Your Office 2010 Ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar Customizations – http://www.howtogeek.com/72670/how-to-backup-and-restore-your-office-2010-ribbon-and-quick-access-toolbar-customizations/

Outlook http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/make-the-switch-to-outlook-2010-RZ101809884.aspx

Word http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/make-the-switch-to-word-2010-RZ101816356.aspx

http://www.baycongroup.com/wlesson0.htm Free Tutorials to other apps too

Excel http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/make-the-switch-to-excel-2010-RZ101809963.aspx

PowerPoint http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint-help/make-the-switch-to-powerpoint-2010-RZ101791923.aspx

http://www.editorium.com/editkit/TH_18.htm – Word Functions for Editors. A good list of Word features to learn as a starting point for new users.

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Why in the world would you want to go from Office 2003 to 2013? Does Office 2003 no longer work? Is there something you want it to do that it won’t? You will be miserable for several weeks to months until you learn the new interface.

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If you must move to Office 2007, 2010 or 2013, immediately download and install UBitMenu. It is free for personal use. It adds the classic menu to the ribbon. I could not get along without it. (At work we all had to upgrade to a newer version of Office.) Here is the URL; http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/

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I must be a Luddite, and if they only knew about me, Microsoft would hate me. I’m still using MS Office 2002 (XP) together with the free Libre Office and Open Office. There’s nothing I need to do in any of the Office applications that I can’t do in those. Why pay MS when it’s all free or paid for long ago? What am I missing? The “smell” of new software? The feel of the cutesy Ribbons? Menus always did, and still do, work fine. :rolleyes:

Frank D

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Would you all believe I still use WORD 97 and WORKS 4.5 a (with the year 2000 upgrade)?

Why change? They both work great and provide plenty of word processing and spreadsheet power. I’ve been able to install this in every version of Windows that I have used. I am currently on W7.i am not sure if it will work on W8,but frankly I am quite content with W7,

Why do I need the latest and greatest?

I swear that marketing types get paid to convince us of great needs that we don’t know we have.

Oh, I’m writing this on my iPad 2 with IOS 5.x

Okay, folks, fire away!

Mel

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One thing you might want to be aware of: if you use any Adobe Type 1 fonts, these will not be rendered readably on screen in Word 2013 as Word’s new rendering engine cannot cope with them (God and Bill Gates know why). They will still print correctly and they work fine in other Window programs including Publisher. Just not in Word. That has been enough to drive me back to Word 2010, as I have used Adobe Fonts over the years for special purposes and can’t afford to re-purchase the OpenType equivalents (Adobe converted its entire font library to OpenType but doesn’t seem to offer existing, licensed users any upgrade path).

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