Autofilter so different, harder to use

[Guest]

I actually sort of regret getting Office 2007. I am having a very difficult
time figuring out how to do the most basic of things with this drastically
different software.

I figured out autofilter in Excel 07 but I find it much harder to use now.

When I create a filter on 1st line, I get all my drill down arrows. I click
on one of those arrows and it opens a box with a few options and everything
checked. I know how to uncheck all and make this work, but it was so much
simpler in previous versions of Excel.

In previous versions, it just simply popped up all my data and I could
easily select whatever I wanted, now I gotta uncheck all and find what I
wanted. I still get the same end result, but it's actually harder.

Do any of you regret Office 2007. It's like learning a whole new suite of
software and I don't know where anything is hardly.

It took me 10 minutes or so just to figure out how to open a file.

 

[Gary]

Initially i had troubles. but now getting used to it.

 

[Tyro]

This is because you didn't expend a few dollars to buy a book on how to use
the new interface. Once you understand that, less than a day, you'll find
2007 much easier to work with than previous versions of Excel.

Tyro

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

There are many very knowledgeable Excel users that would disagree with your
opinion
I am a fairly decent user and I don't consider it easier by quite a large
margin, don't believe everything the marketing department at MS throws at
you. That doesn't mean I don't think there have been some very nice
improvements in some areas, but overall I am not very happy with it.


--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[Tyro]

I have been using Excel for about 12 years. I find Excel 2007so much easier
than previous versions. Everything I need is usually selectable on the
ribbon, no drill down thru menus, my own toolbars and own menus are still
there. What is the problem?

Tyro

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I think your pseudonym is appropriate (Tyro: novice - someone new to a
field or activity).

I've found with my clients that tyros generally find XL2007 pretty easy
to use.

I've also found that *most* of my experienced clients find it much more
difficult than previous versions. More than half have gone back to XL03.

 

[iliace]

I was highly afraid of the Ribbon, for the most part. But, after
Beta, some partner-readiness training, and the final version, it
didn't seem like a big deal at all. In fact, once I found the
"Office" button, it was all downhill. After I saw that underneath the
fancy interface you have most of the old-school dialog boxes, I knew I
could at least live with it. Plus it makes training easier, which I
end up doing at work quite often.

The only feature I like less than previously is the new PivotTable
layout, but thankfully they left the "classic view" option in there.
The autofilter is definitely improved - having used it literally daily
in 2003 and prior, I had no issue switching over with that particular
feature.

Sure, it leaves more to be desired, but it's progress.

 

[Peo Sjoblom]

The problem is that it is so different from the way I have been working
since way back.
To me it is "Office for Dummies" (no offense meant).
I was a dog-bits user and a beta tester of Office 2007, I have been a MS MVP
since 2002
I have multiple versions of it but I uninstalled it from my main PC and
installed it on an virtual HD.
I would not recommend any company making the switch unless they are in the
software support business and of course they would only do it on certain
computers
I don't like to have to go back to different tabs to do things, some
functionality is hidden where it will take several extra clicks. It seems
rather unstable.
I would go so far as to say that people should always wait for the first
service pack
before they install anything from MS on any PC that do any business work.




--


Regards,


Peo Sjoblom

 

[Tyro]

Re Tyro:

I've been in the computer field for over 40 years. It's all I've done in my
adult life. I'm hardly a Tyro

Tyro

 

[JE McGimpsey]

*You* picked the name, not me...

In any case, I wasn't saying you were - I obviously don't know you from
Adam.

Rather I was making the comparison between your pseudonym and those of
my clients (i.e,. the tyros) that actually find that XL07 gives them
anything like reasonable productivity...

 

[Tyro]

Excel 2007 is so much easier to use than previous versions. Most of
everthing needed is in the ribbon, not hidden in drill down menus. I can
find things without even having to look in help. The ribbon is so much more
intuititve. I think the "problem" with the ribbon is that it is different
and people don't like something different and are unwilling to stop, look
and see.

Tyro

 

[JE McGimpsey]

I (and most of my clients) strongly disagree, but de gustibus non
disputandum est.

 

[iliace]

So long as they're kept as gustibus.

Where the ribbon really makes life difficult is Word and PowerPoint -
at least for me. With Excel, I don't think it's nearly as much a
problem. Then again, I knew Excel commands and features quite a bit
better than the others, before 2007 beta.