Hands on with Office 2013
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ntWindows 8 is not the only Microsoft product that is moving from a mouse-centric view of the world to one that embraces touch- and pen-driven actions as well — Microsoft’s other cashcow, Office, has also received an interface touch-up.
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ntWe were given the opportunity to put Office 2013 through its paces during Microsoft’s TechEd conference last week.
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ntThe hardware used was a Samsung Series 7 tablet that had Windows 8 Pro installed and packed an Intel Core i5 processor with 4GB of RAM.
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ntBut the most interesting aspect was the choice of input devices: a bluetooth keyboard and stylus were supplied.
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ntThis meant that any scrolling action needed to occur via the use of fingers, as it is not possible to move any viewpoint with the stylus. I would prefer that there was a way to scroll with a stylus by hitting one of the buttons, or adding a new one on the side, that enabled a scroll mode. Something like IE’s scroll mode when the middle mouse button is depressed would be nice.
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ntAfter a couple of hours with the device, and being questioned as to why I would want such a mode (presumably this has never occurred to the design teams at Microsoft or Samsung), I still believe that this is a major oversight at the worst, and a sheer annoyance at the very least.
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ntHaving to switch from pen-driven input to finger-driven input may only take a second of your time, but each second of movement adds up very quickly.
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ntMaybe I do not grok finger- and pen-driven navigation yet, but it strikes me as strange that I can have the full range of input operations with a mouse or sole use of finger, but not sole use of a stylus.
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ntEnough ranting; let’s move on to the program at hand: Office 2013.
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ntChris Duckett attended TechEd as a guest of Microsoft.
Hands on with Office 2013: Word
Hands on with Office 2013: Word
ntThis is Word 2013. Nothing completely revolutionary at this point, but it will serve as a basis for the new reader view on the next page.
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ntA look on the lower right of the ribbon shows a toggle that will hide and unhide the ribbon. If you still carry a grudge against the ribbon, at least you can make it go away until you need to use it.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Word reader view
Hands on with Office 2013: Word reader view
ntWord arrives with a new reader mode that removes most of the chrome.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Export to HTML
Hands on with Office 2013: Export to HTML
ntCompare the above image to the document’s original format.
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ntIt’s reassuring to see that no matter what version of Word you use, its export-to-HTML feature is as terrible as ever.
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ntI looked through the code, and it is still full of tags and stylings that give web developers and designers nightmares.
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ntBest to avoid it wherever possible.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Excel
Hands on with Office 2013: Excel
ntThe new Excel desktop version with hidden ribbon.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Excel web app
Hands on with Office 2013: Excel web app
ntThe web app version of Excel is included with Office 365 subscription plans.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Office on Demand
Hands on with Office 2013: Office on Demand
ntOffice on Demand allows users to download and use a fully featured Office application for a one-time use on a new computer without violating the terms of Micrsoft’s seat licence. A PC running Windows 7 or 8 is needed.
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Hands on with Office 2013: On Demand or desktop?
Hands on with Office 2013: On Demand or desktop?
ntAs Office on Demand streams a full-featured version of the Office application, a casual glance is not enough to reveal whether the app is the desktop or On Demand version.
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Hands on with Office 2013: The future of email
Hands on with Office 2013: The future of email
ntAfter a couple of hours with a slate and a stylus, I had a lucid moment where I saw the future. It involves PHBs and handwritten emails.
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ntI hope I’m wrong.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode
Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode
ntUsers who enjoy having their screens rotated 90 degrees of the norm will not face any issues in Office.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode gone wrong
Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode gone wrong
ntOn the other hand, there are some programs within Windows 8 that fail to work properly with a portrait orientation.
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Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode how-to
Hands on with Office 2013: Portrait mode how-to
ntThe Series 7 comes with a dock that works well in landscape mode, but is able to plug in to the slate in portrait mode.
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ntIn a pinch, the dock can be turned upside down to make it slightly above the horizontal stand, but is not recommended.
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