The Microsoft Office Word Team's Blog

If the next version of Word improved my ability to x...

...it would make my life better because...

If the Word Team Blog improved my ability to x...

...it would make my life better because…

do text to speech while typing

the quaility of my initial input would be much improved.

interact with OneNote

production of a final report would be greately enhanced, thus the final quailty of work would be greatly improved

build operationally specific words to the local dictionary (via a wizard or template)

I would not have to constantly deal with new words during spell check, when I could imput them up front during a single session.

submit product errors and/or suggestions to product team via the ribbon interface

I can offer up specific errors or suggestion as they occur, thus making sure my 2 cents worth is heard

interface with the Digital Rights Management

I can make sure who has viewing and copying sensitive documents rights, also make sure the snippng tool is disabled if a DRM document is being viewed

use a wizard to read a text/document and create an outline of the important key points

export key ideas to a mind map or PowerPoint Presentation

Manage the ruler like the old wordPerfect

I couold do a better and more professional LAYOUTS

bullet and numbering

... it always gets confused

import and export ODF

French administrations are moving to OpenOffice.

contribute feedback on Word development

I like Word and want it to improve.

USE OPENTYPE FONTS

my legal briefs would look better.

great extent, I will be happy

of enrich knowledge it imparts

understand the tabbing and bullet embedded codes

i spend far too long untangling tabbed/bulletted lists getting messed up

Access my word documents via a network password from anywhere

I would never have worrying about leaving my work at home when I work an hour away.

teach 5th graders cool word applications

I am responsible for creating 21st century learners.

write a report, which looks as pretty as LaTeX

I would not have to spend hours trying to get the layout just right

use OpenType advanced typography

I need true smallcaps, glyph alternates, old-style figures

easily create citation formats

I could create citation styles for Law

create my own page styles

I could stand out from using a generic template

working with bibliographies more easy.

I write a lot of articles and I'd like manage my references easily

Quickly and efficiently correspond

I am too busy to figure out how to use programs that have too many bells and whistles

do stuff!

its crap

integrate charts and tables from Excel

I wouldn't have to reformat the data to match my current Word document

find answers to uncommon problems

I would have a place to go to when the Help" menu doesn't meet my needs"

create structured AND layout-intensive documents

I wouldn't have to spend so much time rearranging errant text boxes, correcting page breaks/indexes/etc. after editing, and fixing broken link fields.

relay problems (e.g. bugs) and suggestions to the Word developers

then I would be able to see that user feedback makes a difference.

insert bibliography better

by smoothing the flow of UI in the diagloue box, I can (maybe) say goodbye to Endnote

make my presentation good in word

very happy

import and edit references to a bibliography

I constantly have to work around the limitations in the current version

gain control of figures and their titles

it doesn't dawn on this power-user, why it moves about in the document

control the content of the blank pages resulting from section breaks

sometimes it's not clear whether the blank page is intended or just a printing mistake.

place custom art (from drawing tools) into writing

it is a pain to add drawings to a document

Easily change citation & bibliography formats

Gives more flexibility to anyone trying to write a paper following a certain bibliographic style.

turn off the ribbon and bring back the menu bar from Word 2003

I wouldn't have to hunt for the commands I need by clicking on endless ribbon items

learn the secrets of the Word masters

I could appear to even smarter to my colleagues!

combine all my best of breed applications into one (such as real spreadsheets, email, etc.)

i wouldln't have to switch between applications or have many different types of applications to deal with

use it easier

it would be more usable

1 use the simple functions with no training 2 one click to get to the 2003 menu equivalents

1 new users could not be overwhelmed 2 I wouldn't have to go to help and then the Website and then a couple more screens to get this information

create and edit large (1000+ pages) books with lots of linked pictures

master/sub-documents don't work and wouldn't help much anyway because I need a common TOC, TOF, Index.

understand Word's strengths and limitations

I'm constantly running into problems where I don't know if it's supposed to work or not.

mail merge where I am using the same letter but modified client information each time

I wouldn't feel like I am using it backwards (I always feel like it is designed to use different letters but the same data records and it is not very user friendly to constantly add new data records or revise exisiting ones)

reference

i just started a degree at a university that uses the harvard referencing system that you didn't include in 2007!

write reports

i now have to write reports as part of my degree.

convince my company's ID department to install it

they would

link word files to xml data sources

currently it's pretty sophisticated.

edit .pdf

it's one of the standard formats next to .doc

Collaborate on documents and know who said what when

I would know who was getting their work done on time and who was not, because I don't trust my coworkers

get my feature ideas into the next version of the product

Word would do what I wanted! :)

create a ribbon with simple skills (html, javascript)

I could integrate more online services and content to decrease the need to copy/paste.

intelligently compare two or more documents

need to compare docs

Build structured documents based on categorised building blocks and business data

My clients woudl save lots of time compiling their documents.

Improve my developer productivity

I could deliver many more productivity solutions to my clients (now it is often to expensive)

notetaking (outliner)

it can handle bibtex file for inserting the references.

cite references using the Harvard Referencing System

I could automatically reference and save a lot of time referencing the many essays I and thousands of other students do a year!

switch back and forth between the current MAC and Windows versions with little user difference in commands

I'm a trainer, and I train on both platforms - often in the same class! Minimizing the differences would help keep our training costs down and eliminate the challenges for users who are forced to be familiar with both platforms.

keep the scrolling position of the styles list

I wouldn't need to scroll or use drop-down button to use styles that are at the bottom of the list

work faster without having to figure out where the buttons have moved to

I would spend less time on the mechanics of the document

Edit the HTML code of a word document directly. (since it IS integrated into Outlook)

if Word had a compare feature to sort through changes in another file. It would also help if it allowed overlay of changes like Beyond compare.

build customized html fill-in forms in word, I would be a lot more productive.

i would know how to friggin do it. :)

create forms

I will be able to create new forms very fast and send to my colleagues

Open DOTX and other Word 2007 files that can't be opened in 2003

Help Desk would save time and money - you might lose money selling new version

convert 2007 to older versions of word used throught the world as we know it

I wouldn't waste so much of my precious lifetime on unnecessary problems you have created for my with your monopoly status

write questionnaires by allowing me to easily update all references to autonumbered questions when the question numbers change

I wouldn't have to spend hours manually updating Ask If" and "skip to" logic every time I insert a question"

understand why Word style sheets are so convoluted

I might actually use style sheets

easier use of XML (interoperability between Excel and Word)

maybe it would not be so technical (it is already pretty darn good though)

use and customize content controls

I could create more effective documents

reuse content from other documents, sources and systems

I could spend more time on the unique stuff.

understand smart tags

I would use them more

copy building block/autotext entries to other templates

I need this functionality very often and use the Organiser dialog for copying autotext entries frequently in previous Word versions.

give users of old Word versions an easier understanding of Ribbon

they would not need so much support

to quickly format pictures by automatically switching to the contextual tab

I would not have to select the contextual tab myself.

type O2008 without autocompleting it to O2008-01-11 (option to disable this AND when enabled localized date format)

this is somewhat annoying.

move the startup folder, which has templates containing RibbonX and still keep RibbonX symbols in the QAT (qat files currently contain full template file path instead of file name or internal template name only)

users here have different startup folders on the network which have partially identical templates in it

reference headers/text in another document

I have a group of related document

use large documents in a group

we are a team working on the same set of large documents eg. referencing a document written by another in my document

Write directly on the screen rather than using the TIP even when converting to text...

...because it would enhance the creative process even more, be fun, and make text input in Word smoother and quicker when using a tablet in slate mode.

Communicate directly with team members...

...it would add value and make my love of Word even greater. Sometimes, you have a question that's vexing and you just don't have the time to sour the net for an answer...especially if your question is rather obscure.

just get on with my work instead of having IT take over and change things like the hated extra LINE SPACING

I have spent hours and hours trying to come to grips with 2007

move the multifunctional bar

i would be able to see more text on my 15,4' screen

use drop down menus

menus a way quicker than buttons

customise the screen

I could get real estate on my 12 in superlight back and useable

work with sections and subdocuments by combining both features into an Excel-style tabbed interface.

it's hard to see where sections start and stop; to add/delete sections; to keep the layout from freaking out when editing section-heavy documents; to add new pages and chapters in the middle of a document without messing up the layout; to create multi-author anthology-like documents (where each chapter should be a section linked to a separate file.)

add capabilities to Word, e.g. by featuring more add-ins (like the math canvas one) and macros.

I could do more!

have Bibliog. styles in accordance with IEEE format, even better if it could be linked with the IEEExplore database

it would let me save a lot of time and (commercially speaking) it would let a lot of peple use Office instead of LateX