| Pages in topic: [1 2] > | Have you upgraded to Word 2007? Thread poster: Jeff Whittaker
|
|---|
Jeff Whittaker 
United States
Local time: 13:24
Member (2002)
Spanish to English
+ ...
I posted this question as a poll, but it has not come up yet.
I was curious to know how many individual translators and agencies have upgraded to and are using Word 2007 and your opinions of this version with respect to the translation business.
I have heard that this version uses a new file format that is incompatible with files written using earlier versions. Word 2003 cannot open Word 2007 files (without conversion which may not be perfect), but can Word 2007 open W... See more I posted this question as a poll, but it has not come up yet.
I was curious to know how many individual translators and agencies have upgraded to and are using Word 2007 and your opinions of this version with respect to the translation business.
I have heard that this version uses a new file format that is incompatible with files written using earlier versions. Word 2003 cannot open Word 2007 files (without conversion which may not be perfect), but can Word 2007 open Word 2003 files? ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Yes Word 2007 can open older version files | Sep 8, 2008 |
Hi,
I've been working with Word 2007 for the past year and apart from forgetting to save under the old version from time to time (which does mean people have trouble opening the file), I haven't had any problems. The new file format is .docx but you can save under .doc with no conversion problems. I haven't encountered any problems opening older version files.
I'd love to be able to tell you about all the new features but I can't actually remember what differences ther... See more Hi,
I've been working with Word 2007 for the past year and apart from forgetting to save under the old version from time to time (which does mean people have trouble opening the file), I haven't had any problems. The new file format is .docx but you can save under .doc with no conversion problems. I haven't encountered any problems opening older version files.
I'd love to be able to tell you about all the new features but I can't actually remember what differences there are with older versions... ▲ Collapse
| | | | Henry Hinds
United States
Local time: 11:24
English to Spanish
+ ...
In memoriam
My observations are the same as Emma's. I can open any older files, but I have to be sure to save any files I create in an older version. I usually just go with Rich Text. Apparently a lot of people out there have not upgraded and they cannot open the 2007 files.
I like 2007, it has some nice features. Of course I do not use CATS, so I have no conflicts there and do not want any.
| | | | | From Word 1997 (!) to 2007 | Sep 8, 2008 |
I upgraded recently to Word 2007 from Word 97 (never saw any reason to change before...) and have not encountered any problems when opening my 'old' '97 files. So a change from 2003 to 2007 should be at least as easy
| | |
|
|
|
Karen Stokes
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:24
Member (2003)
French to English
I'm running 2007 on my laptop and 2002 on my desktop and would agree with what Henry and Emma have said. No problems with working with files created in earlier versions of Word, or with my CAT tool (I use Wordfast). I wonder if there are more of us running 2007 than we realise - I suspect there are lots of us busily converting to a 2003-compatible format because none of us thinks anyone else is working with 2007...
Best,
Karen
| | | | PAS
Local time: 19:24
Polish to English
+ ...
I have 2007 at work (not my choice) and 2003 at home.
Don't make the change until you absolutely have to. Even if you get docx documents, there are still ways of opening them in Word 2003 (free packages available from Micro$oft).
To me, 2007 is a serious step backwards in terms of screen ergonomics. The bloody ribbon eats screen real estate voraciously and everything is shifted around so that you lose time looking for obvious things. I am not alone - there are a number ... See more I have 2007 at work (not my choice) and 2003 at home.
Don't make the change until you absolutely have to. Even if you get docx documents, there are still ways of opening them in Word 2003 (free packages available from Micro$oft).
To me, 2007 is a serious step backwards in terms of screen ergonomics. The bloody ribbon eats screen real estate voraciously and everything is shifted around so that you lose time looking for obvious things. I am not alone - there are a number of relatively advanced Word users at work (including me) and not one of us is happy with 2007.
As to conversion - I have not yet seen a document (almost a year using 2007) which would lose some of its properties because of conversion from 2007 to 2003.
I have Wordfast (demo) installed with 2007 and have not noticed any problems, but then I do not use WF very much...
@Lori - ditto re. hijacked shortcuts and installation, but it got smoothed out relatively easily
Best,
Pawel Skalinski
[Edited at 2008-09-08 19:10]
[Edited at 2008-09-08 19:30] ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No problems here | Sep 8, 2008 |
I just "save as" .doc instead of the default .docx, no problems whatsover as far as compatibility goes. Opening files created in a older version is not a problem. Word 2007 just informs you that you're working in "compatibility mode" (not sure if that's what it is in English - my version is French).
There is one feature I really like in Word 2007, when you double click a word (or highlight a section) a little box pops up with the most common options (bold, format paste...) and I fin... See more I just "save as" .doc instead of the default .docx, no problems whatsover as far as compatibility goes. Opening files created in a older version is not a problem. Word 2007 just informs you that you're working in "compatibility mode" (not sure if that's what it is in English - my version is French).
There is one feature I really like in Word 2007, when you double click a word (or highlight a section) a little box pops up with the most common options (bold, format paste...) and I find that it's very convenient.
I had slight difficulties installing Wordfast and Plustools, but that was quickly resolved.
I encountered a few "hijacked" shortcuts and that was also quickly resolved.
The most difficult thing is getting used to the totally reorganized menus - everything has changed compared to 2000/2003 versions! None of the usual things can be found in a logical place, the whole ribbon really s***s IMO. The other day it took me 10 minutes to find the "macros" area.
I haven't bothered to learn all the Word 2007 shortcuts yet, but I intend to do so, hopefully it will make life easier.
So far, I have had no need for the docx format (what good is that anyway ), and I am probably not using any of the new features because I haven't bothered to read up on them.
For daily translation needs, it works just fine.
Warning about Excel 2007 and Wordfast - I had a terrible experience when segments got transferred back to the wrong place in the original excel file. That never happened with Excel 2000/2003. I have been copying excel columns into Word documents ever since, and copying back to Excel after cleanup. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 18:24
Russian to English
+ ...
In memoriam | I have it & don't much like it. | Sep 8, 2008 |
I have Word 2007 on a new laptop & Word 2000 on my desktop.
I agree with PAS. I can't understand why they had to make such a drastic revision of the format. I see no advantage in the new system of multiple tabs for access to different menus.
Apart from that, the whole thing is based on the idea of giving you what Bill Gates thinks you want, but it usually isn't what you want. To get beyond this you have to click another button marked "further options" or something. For example, "... See more I have Word 2007 on a new laptop & Word 2000 on my desktop.
I agree with PAS. I can't understand why they had to make such a drastic revision of the format. I see no advantage in the new system of multiple tabs for access to different menus.
Apart from that, the whole thing is based on the idea of giving you what Bill Gates thinks you want, but it usually isn't what you want. To get beyond this you have to click another button marked "further options" or something. For example, "Tables" opens up with a sample table which is nothing like anything I ever want. Click an extra button and you come to something like the familiar table-creating setup. If you want to insert a symbol, instead of being able to start on choosing it from the fonts, you have a selection of symbols you are presumed to want, but usually don't, before you can get through to the usual selection process.
For me, the main use of it will be to convert .doc files to .docx files for anyone who may want them. Apart from that, I'll continue with Word 2000 as long as I can.
[Edited at 2008-09-08 23:03] ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
Amy Duncan (X)
Brazil
Local time: 14:24
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| Had it since I bought my Mac | Sep 8, 2008 |
I bought a MacBook the end of last year, and shortly after purchased Office for Mac. Since most of my clients don't deal with docx files, I just save all my work in doc. If I see that a client is sending me texts in docx, then I'll use it.
The one thing I intensely dislike about Word 2007 is the "add space between paragraphs of the same style" feature, which is a default and can be changed only by going to Format>Paragraph and then clicking on "don't add space between paragraphs of ... See more I bought a MacBook the end of last year, and shortly after purchased Office for Mac. Since most of my clients don't deal with docx files, I just save all my work in doc. If I see that a client is sending me texts in docx, then I'll use it.
The one thing I intensely dislike about Word 2007 is the "add space between paragraphs of the same style" feature, which is a default and can be changed only by going to Format>Paragraph and then clicking on "don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." For me, this feature means that the program is always double spacing when I don't want double spacing and I have to click on it over and over to get it to stop. I figured there must be a way to make it a default, but I haven't discovered it yet. It is beyond annoying. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Allesklar
Australia
Local time: 02:54
English to German
+ ...
| no problems - no advantages | Sep 8, 2008 |
Amy Duncan wrote:
The one thing I intensely dislike about Word 2007 is the "add space between paragraphs of the same style" feature, which is a default and can be changed only by going to Format>Paragraph and then clicking on "don't add space between paragraphs of the same style." For me, this feature means that the program is always double spacing when I don't want double spacing and I have to click on it over and over to get it to stop. I figured there must be a way to make it a default, but I haven't discovered it yet. It is beyond annoying.
There is a "Default..." button at the bottom of the paragraph dialog box. Set everything how you want it and then click that.
Agree with what has been said before, the new features and layout were annoying to get used to but I don't see that they achieve any increase in productivity. And I have never been sent anything in docx yet.
| | | | Amy Duncan (X)
Brazil
Local time: 14:24
Portuguese to English
+ ...
| No default button | Sep 8, 2008 |
Allesklar wrote:
There is a "Default..." button at the bottom of the paragraph dialog box. Set everything how you want it and then click that.
There's no default button at the bottom of my paragraph dialog box, just a tabs button...is that what you mean?
| | | | | Surely you mean "Have you been forced to upgrade to Word 2007?" | Sep 8, 2008 |
When I shifted to Vista last year (it came pre-installed), I found that Word began to crap out regularly, especially when working with Trados. It became almost impossible to use Trados with Word on Vista. A very convenient error message each time Word died (30% of the time when opening a segment) was "Microsoft no longer supports Word 2002. Please upgrade". This is planned obsolescence at its best, one would think.
Word 2007's interface takes us a few steps backward as far as produ... See more When I shifted to Vista last year (it came pre-installed), I found that Word began to crap out regularly, especially when working with Trados. It became almost impossible to use Trados with Word on Vista. A very convenient error message each time Word died (30% of the time when opening a segment) was "Microsoft no longer supports Word 2002. Please upgrade". This is planned obsolescence at its best, one would think.
Word 2007's interface takes us a few steps backward as far as productivity is concerned. The most obvious shortcoming is the attempt to phase out the use of shortcuts. Earlier, every command was available with easy mnemonic keyboard shortcuts. Not any more. Word has introduced numeric keyboard shortcuts that might be nearly impossible to remember. It's almost as if they're forcing the user to be unproductive and use the mouse all the time. The most egregious example: Ctrl-X no longer works! Although old shortcuts do still work (Alt - E - T to cut a selection), it's anybody's guess how long that will last.
Having 'upgraded' to Word 2007, I found Trados 7.5 no longer works with Word 2007, at least on Vista, and had to 'upgrade' to Trados 8. Now everything works. Almost, that is. It takes about 7 seconds for a segment to open (Does anyone else have this performance problem with Trados 2007 and Word 2007?) ▲ Collapse
| | |
|
|
|
| Performance problem and solution | Sep 9, 2008 |
Anil Gidwani wrote:
It takes about 7 seconds for a segment to open (Does anyone else have this performance problem with Trados 2007 and Word 2007?)
It is a known Microsoft problem, there is a solution on the Trados website or somewhere, I read it not so long ago.
I will try to find the link.
Here is the link:
http://talisma.sdl.com/display/2n/kb/article.aspx?aid=2211
And the explanation part:
Explanation Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Microsoft Word 2007 as follows: "In Microsoft Office Word 2007, when you use a Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) macro to communicate with an application by using a COM interface, the macro takes a long time to finish. When you run the same macro in Microsoft Office Word 2003, the macro runs much faster." (Quote from Microsoft KB article 952701 at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/952701/en-us)
[Módosítva: 2008-09-09 02:54]
| | | | | The ribbon is driving me nuts, too | Sep 9, 2008 |
I cannot find obvious things, many times I end up looking it up in the Help.
Anybody tried any of those third-party add-ons that put the menus back in the old format, instead of this stupid ribbon?
I have not tried any of them yet, but my productivity has not improved (quite the opposite) since I installed this beast, so I am seriously interested in getting rid of the ribbon.
| | | | Yaotl Altan
Mexico
Local time: 11:24
Member (2006)
English to Spanish
+ ...
Since 2007 and I like it a lot.
| | | | | Pages in topic: [1 2] > | To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator: You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request » Have you upgraded to Word 2007? | Anycount & Translation Office 3000 | Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.
More info » |
| | Trados Studio 2022 Freelance | The leading translation software used by over 270,000 translators.
Designed with your feedback in mind, Trados Studio 2022 delivers an unrivalled, powerful desktop
and cloud solution, empowering you to work in the most efficient and cost-effective way.
More info » |
|
| | | | X Sign in to your ProZ.com account... | | | | | |
Login to reply/comment 
Translation news
