Microsoft Office 2007
Microsoft has released Office 2007 for the public and it is available for departments to use, but there are some things to be aware of before making the conversion. First, the user interface is quite different. Microsoft has spent alot of time in redesigning the menu system and how we interact with the software.
The below graphic shows how much of the interface has gone to toolbar type menus as opposed to text menus from older Office products.
XML Format
One key difference is that Office 2007 now uses a document format called XML instead of the binary file format of older versions office like .doc, .ppt, .xls. So you will be saving your Word documents as a *.docx file instead of the *.doc file you were used to. The XML format allows for better transportability between applications and as XML is more of a text file it has better security than older office files and should pass through corporate firewalls and virus checking with little hindrance.
Technical details about the XML format is available at Microsoft's website:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa338205.aspx
The downside is that the new XML format is not easily readable by older Office versions without a converter. Although Office 2007 does have the ability to save documents as a .doc or other older file by choosing it in the menu and is able to open documents created by earlier versions of Office.
You can save your Office 2007 document in an older format by clicking the "Office Button", Select "Save As", then choose "Word 97-2003 Document" as in this example of a Word document. The same holds true with other Office applications.
If you did save your work in XML format then older versions of Microsoft Office can open and gain the functionality of XML by installing the MS Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint File Formats. It is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=941B3470-3AE9-4AEE-8F43-C6BB74CD1466&displaylang=en This compatibility pack is freely available from Microsoft for Office XP and Office 2003.
One thing to note is that if you share files with Macintosh users, then you will want to make sure to use the .doc or other Office 2003/XP file format as a converter is not yet available for Macintosh versions of Office.
Modifying Default "Save As" Format
To save your work as a older format by default, click the "Office Button", and then the "Word Options" button.
Click "Save" on the left options.
In the drop down box after "Save files in this format:" select Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc) instead of (*.docx) and then click "ok".
Acquiring Office 2007
Office 2007 is included in the University of Minnesota's license agreement with Microsoft which is available for University owned computers that are used by University employees in the scope of their employment.
More details about the University's Campus Agreement can be found at:
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/software/ca/
You can obtain a copy of Office 2007 from your local area technical coordinator or Department Contact. The list of available people who should have a installation disk, or will have one soon is located at:
http://www.d.umn.edu/itss/software/ca/deptcontacts.html
You may also download a disk image of Office 2007 in .iso format at:
http://download.software.umn.edu.
You will then need to burn that disk image to a CD using an application like Nero Burning ROM, or EZ CD Creator before installing it.
If you are unable to locate your area Department contact, or are unable to burn a CD image, then you may contact Mark Shetka at 726-8857.
Office 2007 Product Key
You will need a product key for installation of Office 2007. Product keys for all University Campus Agreements products are available at: