Tech Support Services
Summer 2008: Microsoft Office 2007
Following the University standard in classrooms and labs, the College will complete our migration to the latest versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Access, and other titles in the Microsoft Office Suite, as we upgrade all faculty, staff, and adjunct offices to Office 2007. Many of our staff, as well as IOD and CRHDE have already made the move. In order to provide better compatibility and tech support, we want all users to be on the same version of Office.
New Look and Learning Curve
Office 2007 does look significantly different from the previous versions. Many users have reported a lengthy “learning curve” to get used to the new interface, but most have said they like the new features and additional templates and design elements of the new version.
You can start exploring the new version at http://trymicrosoftoffice.com.
Resources for Learning Office 2007
Many of you will prefer to jump in and use it, but there are also many resources available to you to help you get familiar with the new version of Office 2007. These include:
Microsoft Help and How-To Section
Microsoft offers a range of online help and how-to documents to assist you. Start Here: 2007 Microsoft Office System Courses or the Beginner's Training for Office 2007.
Atomic Learning - Training Videos On-Demand
Atomic Learning provides you with short 2-3 minute video tutorials that target specific tasks you want to accomplish in Office 2007. Want to know how to create a PDF in Office 2007? Want to Create columns in Word 2007? Watch the video and then try it yourself!
Note: Atomic Learning requires a username and password to login. Refer to the Summer 2008 announcement email for this information or contact Lori Bailey at lori.bailey@temple.edu.
See these areas of Atomic Learning for more:
Temple Face-to-Face Training
If you'd prefer to get personalized instruction from a live trainer, you can sign-up for any of the many Office 2007 seminars offered by Computer Services. If there is enough demand, we will request a special training series for the College of Education in Fall 2008.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I stick with Office 2003, if I want to?
Sorry, no. Due to compatibility issues with previous versions and, in order to provide uniform support, we will be upgrading all faculty and staff offices to the latest version of Office. Also, as Microsoft focuses on developing its latest version, we anticipate that more and more security vulnerabilities will appear in previous versions that will not be patched by Microsoft. In short, we need to move forward with Microsoft in order to insure uniform, compatible, and secure access to a key set of software.
We understand that this may mean a bit of inconvenience as you learn your way around the new software, but having upgraded the majority of our staff and two of our centers, we have found that most users eventually come to like the new software. Of course, there will always be things about the new version you don't like and wish Microsoft had done better, differently, or kept the same as the old version.
Can I get Office 2007 for my home computer?
Temple's campus agreement does allow you to install Office 2007 at home, provided you are using it only to conduct Temple business and you remove it if you leave Temple. You can get complete details and find out how to pick up your installation CD by visiting:Temple's Microsoft Work-At-Home Software Distribution Program.