OFFICE 2013 – A Sneak Peek at the New Superhero

In this article we will tell you about OFFICE 2013 – A Sneak Peek at the New Superhero. Here’s the complete detail.

One great add-on that we will be getting with the release of Windows 8 is the new Office 2013 or Office 15. This next gen version of Office gets the tinge of Metro UI and is touch optimized as well. Bygone are the days when you were cribbing for iCloud because now the Office is compatible with Skydrive, Microsoft’s own cloud storage service. So now you can save your data and access it from anywhere which will be very useful for business users on the go.

The new user interface

The ribbon this time has better spacing and larger fonts. Though the positioning is the same i.e. front and center. Now it comes with two new tabs which are: Design and Developer tabs, though the Developer tab might not be present in the final release. The UI feels awesome when used both via mouse/keyboard or via touch on a tab.

Amazing new features

Word has this time been incorporated with very interesting and productive features. Now you can directly import a PDF into word, edit and modify it and then either save it as a word document or a PDF. All the formatting options will be retained as it is when you import a PDF file. You can also edit tables and other graphic elements as if they were created in word only.

Another useful feature is that you can use the Bing search engine without even leaving Microsoft Word.  You can also import videos and audio by embedding the online HTML code in the document. The Word has got powerful internet functionality. Linking your SkyDrive or Flickr account, you can directly access your online photos and use them in your documents

There is also a bonus feature for adding images; you can embed the screenshots very easily. Just right click and choose Insert -> Screenshot and it will give you the screenshots of all the apps running at the current time. Select the desired one and it’s done.

One more improvement that can be seen while embedding video and pictures is that the text itself flows around and adjusts accordingly without any hassle.

New Collaborating Features

When a document is in many hands, Word 2013 makes it a piece of cake to know the changes made by individuals. A red line on the left indicates of changes made and a balloon on the right tells you about the comments. There is also a new mode called the ‘Reader Mode’ in which each paragraph will be preceded by a triangle. When you finish reading that paragraph, click the triangle to collapse that part allowing more text to appear on the screen without scrolling.

The all new Excel has excelled this time

Microsoft Excel has got a complete makeover this time. Just select a range of data cells and the interactive ‘Quick Analysis’ tool will pop up, giving you various options including charts, formulae etc. Just hover over any option and you will get a real time preview with your data as the inputs.

It will automatically choose the best type of chart such as a line chart, bar graph or a pivot table (yes it can also transform data into a pivot table automatically) and will also tell you why that particular chart suits the data best. But you can always change it as per your needs.

Change the data in cells and the chart will not only update itself but it will animate as well telling you which part of the chart has changed because of the changes made by you. You will definitely notice the animations and get the idea of the difference. Even when you move cells or add some figure that affects the formula, again animations will tell you where this has affected and you will get to know the difference.

Now you need not organize the haphazard data copied from your website or credit card sheets, Excel will do it for you without even asking. To sum it up we can assure you that you will be amazed by seeing the very helpful and amazing features that have been clubbed in to this version of Microsoft Excel.

PowerPoint just got more powerful

Same as the other Office members, PowerPoint has also been given some additional ‘super powers’ this time. When you open the app, you will get a list of recent documents and also the thumbnails for various available themes and templates, which is sort of a welcome page.

When you choose a template from the gallery online, you will get a ‘Backstage Preview’ of that template on your document in real time. Most of the templates have been optimized for 16:9 aspect ratio this time, unlike the Office 2010, which ran presentations with black strips on both sides.

If you switch back to a doc that you were working earlier, click the pop up window to directly go to the place or slide where you left off. It has the same internet functionality as the new Word enabling you to insert elements directly from the internet. There are ‘Quick Formatting’ tools similar to the quick analysis option in Excel.

You have many options to experiment with shapes and the orientation of the objects on the slide. There is an option of thumbnail grid which only you can see while delivering a presentation to quickly review your slides. There are many other presenter friendly, innovative and visually delightful tool.

 PROS

• Same Office on all your Windows devices.
• A genuine improvement on the interface.
• The main document has been emphasized on by slightly dimming the option and other panes.
• Clean, clear and very efficient.
• Office now suggest you the best possible options to present your data.
• Every app has some great features like the PDF flow, automatic analysis etc.

CONS

• Pricing not announced yet. Supposed to be rather costly.
• No support for Windows XP or prior.
• Sometimes it becomes hard to find some tools within the pool of options.
• You need to stay in Metro UI all the time.

The Verdict

Microsoft has power packed the Office this time with loads of interactive and very useful features. After a few days use, you will think that you can never survive without these features. You will get acquainted to the new features within no time.

Microsoft has brought a perfect blend of the Metro UI and functionality, giving its users more power to achieve even more than what they expected through the product. Once you have used Office 2013, you will definitely fall for it, provided that the pricing is not kept heavy on your pockets.