What’s New in Office 2010: Word

This is the second installment of our series on Office 2010. If you missed the first one on Excel you can catch it here As with Excel, there are many changes to Word, so I’ll only mention what’s brand new and then point to some quick and easy training courses at the end.

Here’s what brand new for Word:

Fluent UI – The fluent user interface consists of several components but the important part of it to understand is that Word is going to change the options available to you in the ribbon based upon what you are doing at the time. So if you start making a list, the ribbon menu will change to expose Word’s list features. Most people find this very helpful as it helps you use features that you may not have realized were there.

The Ribbon – The ribbon is the name for the menu at the top of the screen. This was new in 2007. What is new in 2010 is that you can customize and create your own tabs in the ribbon. People use this to organize their favorite features into one easy to find place.

Backstage view – Backstage view replaces the file menu of old. It is used to manage files and the data about the files, such as creating and saving files, inspecting for hidden metadata or personal information, and setting file options.

File format - The Word 2010 file format enables new features such as co-authoring, new graphic and text effects, and new numbering formats. Word 2010 works with Office Word 2007 documents.

Protected View - Files from a potentially unsafe location (such as the Internet or an e-mail attachment) or files that contain active content (such as macros, data connections, or ActiveX controls) are validated and can open in Protected View. When you open files in Protected View mode, the editing functions are disabled. This will help protect you from opening an attachment only to find it was a virus. You can open and edit files from trusted sources by clicking Enable Editing.

Collaboration and sharing features - Word 2010 supports co-authoring functionality. Co-authoring functionality simplifies collaboration by enabling multiple users to work productively on the same document without intruding on one another’s work or locking one another out.

Graphic enhancements -Word 2010 provides improved editing tools with a new set of Picture Tools that enable you to transform your documents into artistically engaging documents. New editing tools are as follows:

· Picture Correction Options

· Artistic Effect Options

· Background Removal

· Picture Layout Options

Now for some quick training to demonstrate a couple of these new features.

Make the Switch to Word 2010 from earlier versions ( about 30 minutes)

Understanding new Word security messages (about 10 minutes)

Create visually compelling documents using image editing, screen clippings and new SmartArt (about 30 minutes)

We hope that these references will help you make a smooth transition to Office 2010.