Surviving your first hour with Office 2013

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	TOP STORY Surviving your first hour with Office 2013
	By Woody Leonhard If you’ve looked into Office 2013’s “improvements,” they might have struck you — as they did me — as largely gratuitous, cumbersome, and designed more to add to Microsoft’s coffers than to improve Office productivity. Fortunately, there are ways rid yourself of Office 2013’s worst changes — if you know the tricks.

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The full text of this column is posted at WindowsSecrets.com/top-story/surviving-your-first-hour-with-office-2013/ (opens in a new window/tab).

Columnists typically cannot reply to comments here, but do incorporate the best tips into future columns.[/td]

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I bought MSO2013 via the home use program at work.

In the past there was an option to download to MSI and burn to DVD. NOT! this time.

There is no second install now option after ‘click to install’.

It immediately takes over your previous Office Installation.

I uninstalled and ‘repaired’ my MSO 2010 install. Never gain.

That was the first ‘Grief’. The second was the word ‘Cloud’.

At 60 I’ve been in Advanced Electronics and Computers since I joined the Navy at 17.

Well there really weren’t computers back then available to the public. BUt, you get my drift.

So, anything that requires a reliable connection to the internet, which having lost connectivity many times in the city, even, is a big NO for me. Uesable Software is something I can take to the Mountaintop on a Netbook if need be.

As for the Cloud… I trust no one with my data… Or, my software… And, I keep multiple backups on everything…

So, for me the Cloud is a non-starter as is Windows 8. Sorry, I’m a dinosaur and I do not chase tablet consumer fads.

All my electronics and programming is Desktop Based and I’ll probably be forced to Open Office and Ultimately Linux.

Good Grief!

I did delete the MSO2013 and got a refund.

Yeah, it’s only $10. But, it’s the lack of up front communication about no download options and having to pay an extra $14 to get a DVD shipped with added postage and taxes… Yech Microsoft… Too big for their britces!

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I haven’t read past the “Getting a grip…” section and this article is already extremely useful. Thank you for the tips. Those backstage screens were driving me nuts.

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I bought MSO2013 via the home use program at work.

In the past there was an option to download to MSI and burn to DVD. NOT! this time.

There is no second install now option after ‘click to install’.

It immediately takes over your previous Office Installation.

I, too, was mightily annoyed by that, but you can download the Office 2013 trial version (a 666MB .img file), burn it or mount it as a virtual drive, and you have complete control over your install options. I entered my HUP activation key, and it accepts that.

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No criticism of the column. What is innovative here? Nothing. This is simply change for change’s sake, so that Microsoft Press can mill out Office 2013 books, Microsoft can collect royalties on Office 2013 courses taught by its certified acolytes, and on and on. Office 2013 follows a trend started with Office 2007, doesn’t it? Gee, let’s keep changing the look-and-feel of the product while leaving its major functions the same. Oh, and maybe fix a bug or two.

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No criticism of the column. What is innovative here? Nothing. This is simply change for change’s sake, so that Microsoft Press can mill out Office 2013 books, Microsoft can collect royalties on Office 2013 courses taught by its certified acolytes, and on and on. Office 2013 follows a trend started with Office 2007, doesn’t it? Gee, let’s keep changing the look-and-feel of the product while leaving its major functions the same. Oh, and maybe fix a bug or two.

Maybe you don’t need it, but there is innovation. There is an increased huge of the cloud and the way that is accessible in Office is quite interesting and it’s very good for those who need or want to use the cloud. It’s not for everyone, but it is for some. This integration, the ability to cooperatively edit documents, for example, is innovative and quite useful, if you need it.

Cloud computing is here to stay. Major players will increase its integration with their operating systems and software offers, this is not only Microsoft and Office 2013 innovates there. Contrary to Woody’s opinion, expressed in the column, I really enjoy this integration.

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I’m really disappointed with the screen clarity in my Office 365 Outlook program. It’s hard to read, the colors and separation are not distinct and there doesn’t seem to be any way to change it effectively. I’ve never encountered this issue with any other application or with Office 2010 or any of the predecessors. I’ve essentially given up on it.

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For those who want to stick with a desktop Office Suite, LibreOffice or OpenOffice do present good Office alternatives.

Yes, Cloud computing is here to stay, but mandatory Cloud Storage is more of an Apple i-this, i-that strategy.

-- rc primak

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I’m glad Woody has given us a sharp review of this topic. Thanks.

What I’d like to look at are the alternatives! We can easily react to MSOffice like a rabbit caught in the headlights. In this mode, you can’t move, you have to react to it!

I agree with all your gripes, Woody! $,£ and zlotys line the streets.
SpiritualMadMan started, BobP answered, suggesting the alternatives of Open Office and Libre Office depending on your platform.

Let me offer a viewpoint from one type of computer user: I’m based in one location. I don’t need a laptop or a tablet or a mobile phonecellphone because the alternative full size PC, webmail and the landline telephone will do the job.

Storage? I could extract one or more terabyte backup machines, stow them in various places, reciprocally with friends, in commercial property, and so on, with no hint of the potential security problems of cloud users.

But the big question is surely, what is MSOffice’s usp in all its different iterations?

Are Powerpoint and Publisher effective monopolies? I don’t think so.

I do not understand why everyone has to have Office. Yes, it is “good” software, but even ten years ago it was irritating me with its failure to involve me with what I wanted from a Word Processor. Remember Mr Cheeky Chippy Clippy Paperclip?

It decides what you want and doesn’t explain. And that is without considering its very least friendly feature: Access, for which – at least for beginners, whom I was charged with helping – novices found it no help whatsoever.

You may find some of this irrelevant, but I think it supports Woody’s extremely moderate valuation of the latest service-based offerings from Microsoft.

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I use Open Office because I like it, I use MS Office only because I have to. I think MS Office may be the best thing to happen to open source alternatives. I’ve already decided I’m not going to upgrade my XP machines to any newer versions of Windoze, I’m in the process of testing various linux distros to find my next successor to XP…
d1hartman

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I really didn’t find this article to be very helpful at all. Frankly, it comes across as crotchety and snide and just one long rant about Mr. Leonhard’s dislikes with Office 2013. I’ve been reading Woody on Office since sometime back in the 1990’s. Used to own a great thick book (“Woody Leonhard Teaches Microsoft Office 2000”) by Mr. Leonhard on using Office and found it very helpful. But if it had been written in the style he exhibits here, I never would have bought it or otherwise followed him.

Mr. Leonhard writes “Click File/Open and try to find a file located on your computer. Instead of going to the familiar file-open dialog box you’ve used for the past — couple of decades? — Office 2013 takes you to a touch-friendly window that reeks of SkyDrive” as though trying to find a file on your PC via this interface is difficult. Well…right there in the screenshot is “Computer” (not to mention “Recent Documents.”) What’s the issue? Why does this “reek” (Defines as “Smell strongly and unpleasantly; stink”) exactly? Is there some issue with making SkyDrive’s availability prominent as a file location beyond Mr. Leonhard’s seeming personal distaste for it?

I’m not going to go through the whole thing and pick it apart. I will just say that if I were an editor and Mr. Leonhardt’s article here came across my desk, it would be sent back for rewrite. Very poor.

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Mr. Leonhard writes “Click File/Open and try to find a file located on your computer. Instead of going to the familiar file-open dialog box you’ve used for the past — couple of decades? — Office 2013 takes you to a touch-friendly window that reeks of SkyDrive” as though trying to find a file on your PC via this interface is difficult. Well…right there in the screenshot is “Computer” (not to mention “Recent Documents.”) What’s the issue? Why does this “reek” (Defines as “Smell strongly and unpleasantly; stink”) exactly? Is there some issue with making SkyDrive’s availability prominent as a file location beyond Mr. Leonhard’s seeming personal distaste for it?

I can’t see one. I think your post is a very good summary of the article.

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So after 10 years of not being able to convince consumers to work and store their files online, MS is finally forcing us to their business model. Woody, you can come up with workarounds for us and its appreciated. But why should we have to do that? My objections are 1) I don’t like being forced to do something I don’t want to do 2) The Internet is not secure 3) I want to be able to work when I don’t have an Internet connection 4) I don’t want my data in someone elese’s hands where it has a high exposure and the owner of the servers insists they have no liability if something is compromised. Data is the currency of the Information Age. If I give my currency to a bank, they are liable for losses, etc. Why do Internet data storage providers think differently? If data is equivalent to currency, then my data is MY currency.

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So after 10 years of not being able to convince consumers to work and store their files online, MS is finally forcing us to their business model. Woody, you can come up with workarounds for us and its appreciated. But why should we have to do that? My objections are 1) I don’t like being forced to do something I don’t want to do 2) The Internet is not secure 3) I want to be able to work when I don’t have an Internet connection 4) I don’t want my data in someone elese’s hands where it has a high exposure and the owner of the servers insists they have no liability if something is compromised. Data is the currency of the Information Age. If I give my currency to a bank, they are liable for losses, etc. Why do Internet data storage providers think differently? If data is equivalent to currency, then my data is MY currency.

1.) If you are referring to storing your data in SkyDrive you are NOT forced to do that. Microsoft is not forcing anyone to store their data in SkyDrive or any other cloud solution. 2.) And you could get killed walking across a street. Take the necessary precautions. IMO, Microsoft’s data centers are more secure than most private computer systems. 3.) You can work offline. An internet connection is only required periodically to check that the software is still valid. 4.) Your choice about where to store data. Your opinion that the data has high exposure.

Joe

--Joe

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Just to clarify – Are you saying that people (like me) who do not have internet access at home can not install Office 2013? That Office now *requires* an internet connection to work?

Concerning the design changes: It’s just one more bump in the nightmare. The ribbons are a disaster of inefficiency. This description of Office 2013 just continues the trend. As another posted stated, Office 2007 + and now Windows 8 are the best things to happen to open source software. Previous to these releases, I would never have considered switching to anything else. Now I definitely will when my current PC gives out.

I appreciate the review. It is good to know what direction MS is going to – (and it’s not learning from their mistakes!).

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Just to clarify – Are you saying that people (like me) who do not have internet access at home can not install Office 2013? That Office now *requires* an internet connection to work?

Concerning the design changes: It’s just one more bump in the nightmare. The ribbons are a disaster of inefficiency. This description of Office 2013 just continues the trend. As another posted stated, Office 2007 + and now Windows 8 are the best things to happen to open source software. Previous to these releases, I would never have considered switching to anything else. Now I definitely will when my current PC gives out.

I appreciate the review. It is good to know what direction MS is going to – (and it’s not learning from their mistakes!).

The standard installer must be downloaded before you can install it. There are more expensive full retail versions, either now or coming. But the idea seems to be to install Office 2013 from the Internet, use it with and Internet connection, and store files on SkyDrive. Local solutions seem to be discouraged.

-- rc primak

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Once the desktop applications are installed an internet connection is not required to use the programs. A connection is only required periodically to validate the software. You could use the programs on an airplane as you always have.

Joe

--Joe

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Thanks for a useful article! One minor “peeve” if I may: Office 2013 does NOT look like its predecessors(!) The “pale” and limited choice of only three themes (white, light grey, dark grey) are so similar as to make virtually no difference to the extremely bland appearance of the program when open on a desktop. The Microsoft Community is swamped with complaints about these pale options. (one example is at this forum: http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2013_release-office_install/how-to-change-the-theme-of-office-2013/aadcf2ff-4435-48e1-bc80-c058d6299a61) One wonders if this might trigger a patch that will offer to reset colours to those of Office 2010 (for example)?

My Rig: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core CPU; ASUS Cross Hair VIII Formula Mobo; Win 11 Pro (64 bit)-(UEFI-booted); 32GB RAM; 2TB Corsair Force Series MP600 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD. 1TB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 NVME SSD; MSI GeForce RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC; Microsoft 365 Home; Condusiv SSDKeeper Professional; Acronis Cyberprotect, VMWare Workstation Pro V17.5. HP 1TB USB SSD External Backup Drive). Dell G-Sync G3223Q 144Hz Monitor.

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Just a further note: Here is Microsoft’s response to the hundreds of complaints about the “bland” themes of Office 2013:
“Reply : Thank you for the feedback on Office’s new look. We are actively collecting, sorting and reading through feedback on Office 2013’s design and User Experience. As the audience for Office 2013 grows, we are being mindful of patterns and pain points that emerge from user feedback. While we do not have any additional Themes planned at this time, it is an issue we are watching very closely.” (Extract from: Microsoft Community)
So, it seems we must just “grin and bear it?!

My Rig: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-Core CPU; ASUS Cross Hair VIII Formula Mobo; Win 11 Pro (64 bit)-(UEFI-booted); 32GB RAM; 2TB Corsair Force Series MP600 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0 M.2 NVMe SSD. 1TB SAMSUNG 960 EVO M.2 NVME SSD; MSI GeForce RTX 3090 VENTUS 3X 24G OC; Microsoft 365 Home; Condusiv SSDKeeper Professional; Acronis Cyberprotect, VMWare Workstation Pro V17.5. HP 1TB USB SSD External Backup Drive). Dell G-Sync G3223Q 144Hz Monitor.

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Just a further note: Here is Microsoft’s response to the hundreds of complaints about the “bland” themes of Office 2013:
“Reply : Thank you for the feedback on Office’s new look. We are actively collecting, sorting and reading through feedback on Office 2013’s design and User Experience. As the audience for Office 2013 grows, we are being mindful of patterns and pain points that emerge from user feedback. While we do not have any additional Themes planned at this time, it is an issue we are watching very closely.” (Extract from: Microsoft Community)
So, it seems we must just “grin and bear it?!

Microsoft’s way of saying #### off.

-- rc primak

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It sounds as though Office 2013, like 2007 and 2010 is an abomination.

However, the really interesting part of the article was the following;

“In either case — buy or rent — all acquired Office components are installed on your computer. Despite what you might have heard, there are no obligatory Office 365 components in the cloud. All Office 365 apps run on your PC — as Office apps have since the start of time. There’s no operational difference between purchased and rented versions.”

So it would seem that anyone wanting the latest Office could rent Office 365 for the minimum period, be it a month, year or whatever, then cancel the subscription and continue using it, as it would already be installed on their PC. The only downside would seem to be that patches would probably be impossible to install.

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It sounds as though Office 2013, like 2007 and 2010 is an abomination.

However, the really interesting part of the article was the following;

“In either case — buy or rent — all acquired Office components are installed on your computer. Despite what you might have heard, there are no obligatory Office 365 components in the cloud. All Office 365 apps run on your PC — as Office apps have since the start of time. There’s no operational difference between purchased and rented versions.”

So it would seem that anyone wanting the latest Office could rent Office 365 for the minimum period, be it a month, year or whatever, then cancel the subscription and continue using it, as it would already be installed on their PC. The only downside would seem to be that patches would probably be impossible to install.

I really cannot agree with any of the statements, sorry.

Regarding licensing, the software will enter read only mode when the license expires, regardless of whether it’s a monthly or yearly subscription.

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Thanks as always, Woody, but this kind of myopic design is nothing new for Microsoft.

Two words: TRANSFER / LOAD.

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Everyone of these articles generates a lot of BS flack aimed at Microsoft. It’s always about an article written by an Industry Guru. Outside of Windows Millennium, I have never had any problems with any Microsoft product that wasn’t directly related to my own stupidity. I have been using Office 2013 for nearly a year now and it does things no other Office Suite can. Excel users will really notice the changes under the hood, but you have to take the time to learn them. And if you are spending $100 to $400 on a version of Office 2013, then one would assume you planned to make use of it. Open Office and Office Libre are fine products, but they are not Microsoft Office, which is the more popular choice in the business communities around the world. I have both, Office 2013 and Office 2007 installed. Once my beta testing license is up, I will go back to using Office 2007. If I could afford it, I would make the switch to the retail version just recently released. If someone says that some free Office Suite is as good or better than MSOffice, then they are not familiar with how MSOffice works.

I agree with many draw backs mentioned in the article about the lack of options and the in-your-eye-with-a-pizza-pie interface. But, at least use the program honestly for 6 months before dumping on it.

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I would like to ask pohs (Rick) above what he regards to be the great improvements in Excel in Excel2013?

This may perhaps be the wrong place to ask, and I will respond to an Admin caution, but my reading is that loyalty to the first serious market entrant (MS Office) has diminished the opportunities that later entrants have to provide a better alternative.

I do not think the MSOffice users have successfully made their case for pushing rival offerings aside.
I feel that MSO has two serious flaws: it is supplier-directed, not user directed, and it has never been able to ask the user: how do YOU want to use the program? How would YOU like us to set up the defaults that you’ll be happy with?

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Bob and Joe: Thanks for the replies. Since I have no internet connection at home for either the initial download or periodic validations, sounds like I’ve been kicked out of ever upgrading MS Office. (I was leaning that way anyway as my previous post indicated. But now I know I don’t have a choice.) Thanks for the clarification.

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