Computer Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) -- What's New In Office 2003?

OFFICE XP ENHANCEMENTS

• Office task panes -- Common tasks in Microsoft Office are now organized in panes that display with your Office document. These panes allow you to continue working on your main document while performing other tasks. Examples of these tasks would be (searching for items, using the Clipboard Gallery to view items that have been placed on the clipboard, etc.) Task panes vary for each Office Application.
• Help Screens -- The menu bar now includes a help section that allows you to type a question and receive help on that item.
• Application Recovery -- This feature makes backup copies of open documents (Recovery Documents). If the application is Not Responding (crashes) this feature will automatically appear giving you the option of saving the document, restarting Word and opening the recovered document. This generally preserves any documents being worked on when the failure occurs.
• Smart Tags -- New in-place buttons called "smart tags" let you immediately adjust how information is pasted or how automatic changes occur in your Office programs. For example, when you paste text from Microsoft Word into Microsoft PowerPoint, a button appears next to the text. Click the button to see a list of choices for fine-tuning the formatting of the pasted text. Smart tags and their associated choices vary per Office program.
• Conceptual diagrams -- Word, Excel, and PowerPoint include a new gallery of conceptual diagrams. Choose from diagrams such as Pyramid for showing the building blocks of a relationship, Radial for showing items in relation to a core element, and more.

MICROSOFT OFFICE WORD 2003

• Select Multiple Areas of Text -- Multiple areas of text can now be selected at once using the CTRL key. (This functionality works the same as in Windows Explorer when selecting non-contiguous files.)
• Find -- The Find feature can now find all instances of text, making it simple to make mass changes to the formatting of the text. This works similar to the “Replace All” option in Word 97, however, now all instances of text can be selected at once and the text itself can be changed (font, color, size, etc.)
• AutoCorrect Smart Tags -- These appear when AutoCorrect makes a change to the document. For example, If you type : followed by ) AutoCorrect will replace those two characters with a smiley face when you press the space bar. In cases where you do not want this to occur, you can use the backspace key, which will revert the characters, or you can use the smart tags menu (click on the little blue smart tag) to revert the change.
• Smart Tags -- Smart Tags have also been added for names, addresses and dates. These smart tags will allow you to add a name to Contacts in Outlook, obtain maps/driving directions for an address, link dates to the Calendar in Outlook, etc. To use Smart Tag capabilities, click on the icon and select from the Smart Tag menu.  Smart Tags options can be customized by clicking [ Tools ] --> [ AutoCorrect ] --> [ Smart Tags ] (Tab).
• Styles and Formatting -- Styles are now much easier to use with the Styles and Formatting Task Pane. Styles can now be added to lists and tables as well. Using this task pane, formatted text can be returned to the Normal Style, removing all formatting except hyperlinks using.
• Mail Merge -- A Mail Merge Task Pane is now available. This pane walks you through the steps of creating merge letters, labels, envelopes, etc. It makes the process of creating a merge document much simpler. To access Mail Merge, click [ Tools ] --> [ Letters and Mailings ] --> [ Mail Merge Wizard ] . Follow the steps, reading tips and choosing items necessary.
• Merge Documents – If you open a merge document that was created in a previous version of Word, answer [ Yes ] at the prompt for converting to Word 2003.
• Watermark -- The watermark options have now been improved, allowing you to choose text, pictures or a logo as the watermark for the document. To set a watermark, click [ Format ] --> [ Background ] --> [ Printed Watermark ].
• Word Count Toolbar -- A new toolbar is available to show Word Count Statistics. It will display the number of pages, paragraphs, lines, words, and characters in the document. To view this toolbar, click [ View ] --> [ Toolbars ] --> [ Word Count ].
• Track Changes -- A new markup utility makes it easier to see revisions made with Track Changes, placing the changes and comments in the right margin. The Track Changes view can now also be printed.
• Reviewing -- The reviewing toolbar now allows all changes to be accepted or rejected at once, as well as individually. It also allows filtering changes and comments to view by a selected reviewer or all reviewers.
• Save as Web Page -- This feature has been enhanced, allowing users to remove XML tags, if desired. These XML tags added substantially to file size in previous versions of Word.  This change allows for a much smaller web page size. To save a web page without XML tags, click [ File ] --> [ Save As ] --> [ Web Page, Filtered ].

MICROSOFT OFFICE EXCEL 2003

• Smart Tags -- Like Word, Smart Tags have been added to Excel. Error Checking Smart Tags automatically appear when the system detects what might be an error in a formula (for instance adding a sequence of numbers and missing the last items that are stored as text – which will not work in the formula). The error checking smart tag will display with a green triangle in the upper left corner of a cell. When selected the smart tag icon will display next to the cell. Clicking on the icon will provide an explanation of the possible formula problem.
• Narrow Column ToolTip -- This Tip will appear when the value is too large to appear in the column width set. The cell will still display #### but but the complete value can be seen by clicking the ToolTip.
• Function Screen Tips -- This Screen Tip will provide arguments for a function after the function has been entered in the cell. This is an interactive tip and can provide help with the function desired. Clicking the function name will provide a help screen on the function.  Clicking the argument name (i.e. number1) and the cell location will prefill the formula correctly.
• Recommended functions in the Function Wizard -- This allows you to type a natural language query, such as "How do I determine the monthly payment for a house loan", and the Function Wizard returns a list of recommended functions you can use to accomplish your task.
• Cut-and-paste function reference examples -- This allows you to cut and paste examples from the help screens to help you work with the help data and understand the actions desired.
• Formula error checking -- Like Grammar Check in Word, Excel uses certain rules to check for problems in formulas. These rules can help find common mistakes. You can turn these rules on or off individually by clicking [ Tools ] --> [ Options ] --> [ Error Checking (Tab) ].
• Merge and Center -- This button now acts as a toggle function. Once cells have been merged, simply click the button to un-merge the cells.
• Expanded AutoSum Menu -- This function now includes some of the most often used formulas. To access these functions, click on the down arrow next to the AutoSum button and choose the desired function.
• Worksheet Tab Color -- The tabs in the workbook can now be color coded for ease of use.  This can be used to separate tabs by office, function, details from summaries, etc. To change the color of the tab, right click the [ Tab ] --> [ Tab Color ] --> choose desired color and click [ OK ].

MICROSOFT OFFICE ACCESS XP

• Conversion Table -- A table is created when errors are encountered during the conversion process to Access XP. This table makes it simpler to identify and address concerns created during the conversion process.
• File Format -- Access XP has a new file format that supports future enhancements without requiring the data format to change, as well as faster processing of large databases.
• Undo/Redo -- Multiple actions can now be changed with the Undo and Redo functions in most design views.
• PivotTable and PivotChart -- These views make it easier to analyze data for complex patterns. (This function is similar to the function available in Excel 97). These views can be saved as data access pages that can be viewed by anyone with Internet Explorer 5 or later. Subforms can also be used in the PivotTable and PivotChart views.
• Field List -- Pressing F8 on a form or report in design view will display the field list.
• Schemas and Style Sheets -- Access also provides methods for easily controlling your data by making it simple to create and apply schemas and style sheets. Access allows you to easily describe and deliver rich, structured XML data to and from any application in a standard, consistent way. For example, you can use Access to create a schema that describes the structure of your data and then send the schema to your team members so that they know exactly how to expect your data to appear in reports and/or charts, etc.
• Subforms/Subreports -- You can now open subforms or subreports in their own Design view window directly from within the form or report or from the View menu. Scrolling has also been improved so that it is easier to work with subforms and subreports in Design view.
• Design View -- Pressing ENTER after selecting a field in the field list in form or report Design view will automatically add the field to the form or report design surface. Pressing CTRL+TAB will move the focus from a form or report section to a subsection.

MICROSOFT OFFICE PUBLISHER 2003

Publisher can help you create great-looking publications in the same amount of time (or less) than you'd spend using a word-processing program. Publisher makes it especially easy by giving you hundreds of professional designs to start from.  Publisher includes designs for newsletters, brochures, Web sites, business cards, postcards, greeting cards, media labels, and more. And once you pick up the basic skills you need to start and customize a publication, you'll be able to apply those same skills to the entire range of personal and business publication types now at your fingertips.  Work productively across Microsoft Office System programs. Publisher 2003 looks and works like other programs in the Microsoft Office System, making it easier than ever to use the right Office tool for the task, while still making the most of your knowledge and experience with the Microsoft Office System. New features include:

• Paragraph-formatting consistency with Microsoft Office Word 2003, including indents and spacing, and line and paragraph breaks.
• A new Bullets and Numbering dialog box.
• The ability to find and replace text across stories and text boxes.
• Backward compatibility so you can open Publisher 2003 files in Publisher 2002 and share your files more easily.

MICROSOFT OFFICE INFOPATH 2003

InfoPath 2003 is an application that creates forms and shares data.

InfoPath 2003 does not have its own database. Instead, InfoPath 2003 supports interoperability with various data sources using standard protocols such as XML (schemas or XML data files), ADO (Microsoft SQL Server, Microsoft Access, etc.), and Web services. InfoPath 2003's support for Web services allows you to create forms based on XML data that can be retrieved and submitted using Web services, creating a rich client interface for Web services' XML data. InfoPath 2003 can also save the raw XML file to a local PC if there is a need to work offline.  Under the hood, InfoPath 2003 totally relies on XML technologies, using XML files (with the .XSF extension) to store all the metadata about the form, XSD (XML schemas) and scripts for data validation, and XSLT to perform a view transformation on the XML data. (Note that DTD, XDR, and XForms are not supported.) The resulting view is HTML.

InfoPath 2003 is different from tools like Access and .NET in that, technically speaking, tools like Access and .NET are used for storing and reporting structured and relational data, and InfoPath 2003 is used for semi-structured data. With InfoPath 2003, you can have tables, nested data, and text fields. InfoPath has built-in support for creating dynamic forms that can expand or shrink according to the information gathering needs of the end user. Incorporating this ability into the form does not require any special coding or customization. In fact, InfoPath 2003's power lies in its ease-of-use (it doesn't necessarily take a developer to set up and deploy a form), its rich interface, and its ability to easily create generic XML data that can be integrated into other systems. InfoPath 2003 is simply a robust interface for collecting miscellaneous pieces of data that can be used by other applications. It alone does not create full-blown applications.

MICROSOFT OFFICE PICTURE MANAGER 2003

Microsoft Photo Editor has been discontinued as a Microsoft Office component in Microsoft Office 2003.

Microsoft Office Picture Manager 2003 is a new component in this release of Office. While it is primarily a file management tool, and not an editing tool, it does have some image correction and editing features.

Editing features in Picture Manager:

• Brightness and contrast -- Allows you to adjust the difference between light and dark tones. You can use this feature to correct pictures that appear too light or too dark.
• Color -- Allows you to adjust the hue (hue: The color attribute that most readily distinguishes one color from other colors. A color's hue is also its name.) and saturation (saturation: A measure of purity in a color, determined by its movement away from gray. More gray in a color means lower saturation; less gray in a color means higher saturation.). You can use this feature to correct pictures with colors that are tinted or dull.
• Crop -- Allows you to crop (crop: To trim vertical or horizontal edges of an object.  Pictures are often cropped to focus attention on a particular area.) out unwanted parts of a picture. You can use this feature to correct pictures that contain distracting elements.
• Rotate and Flip -- Allows you to rotate pictures or flip them on the current axis of the picture. You can use this feature to correct pictures that you have taken sideways for a portrait orientation.
• Red eye removal -- Allows you to remove the red from your picture subjects' eyes caused by the camera's flash. You can use this feature to correct red eyes wherever they appear.
• Resize -- Allows you to change the dimensions of a picture. You can use this feature to enlarge a picture for printing or reduce it to send in e-mail messages or share on the Internet (Internet: A worldwide network of thousands of smaller computer networks and millions of commercial, educational, government, and personal computers. The Internet is like an electronic city with virtual libraries, stores, art galleries, and so on.).

• Effects -- Sharpen, Soften, Negative, Despeckle, Posterize, Edge, Chalk and Charcoal, Emboss, Graphic Pen, Notepaper, Watercolor, Stained Glass, Stamp, Texturizer.
• Tools -- Smudge, Sharpen, Set Transparent Color.
• Image Acquisition -- You cannot create a new image from a scanner or a camera. (In Microsoft Windows XP, the capability to create a new imagine from a scanner and a camera is built in Microsoft Windows Explorer.)
• Image -- Fewer color correction options are available in Picture Manager 2003 than were available in Photo Editor. Specifically, there is no Gamma adjustment, and you cannot apply corrections to only one of the three color components, red-green-blue (RGB).
• Properties -- You cannot explicitly specify the image resolution dots per inch (dpi) or the color depth of images in Picture Manager 2003.

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