What's New in PowerPoint 2007?

What Did I Think of PowerPoint 2007?

My Thoughts on PowerPoint 2007

Things I Liked -

• the new user interface (UI) - it's very logical. If you want to design something it is in the design ribbon, if you want to animate something it is in the animate ribbon
  
  
• real time previews - hover over an object and see the effect immediately
  
  
• the shortcut Ctrl +G to group several objects - it's about time that Microsoft added this feature, since just about every other program on the market uses this keystroke combination
  
  
• I'm hoping that the new XML format really will cause fewer corrupt PowerPoint files
  
  
• you can save for earlier versions back to PowerPoint 97
  
  
• saving as a PDF file is a great feature
  
  
• tool tips are very descriptive
  
  
• icons are larger and contain text so you know what they are for
  
  
• numerous effects, shapes and border options to jazz up your photos

Things I Didn't Like

• I found navigation cumbersome trying to return to a previous screen. In fact, I feel that navigation was far better in earlier versions of PowerPoint. In this new version, I find I have to click the mouse much more to get where I want to be. Not a big deal for the average user, but if you use PowerPoint daily, as I do, all those extra mouse clicks start to add up. Repetitive stress injuries are becoming very common in the office workplace.
  
  
• I was unable to change a picture once inserted into the SmartArt diagram. I had to start again from scratch.
  
  
• You can't change existing bullet points into SmartArt. The bullet text has to be typed into the SmartArt diagram.

The Overall Experience - PowerPoint 2007

Overall, although I liked the new version of PowerPoint, I still prefer the older versions. The new user interface is logical, but there is still too much mouse clicking necessary. In its defense, there are so many more new features (more than I have mentioned in this article) that for the first time I feel that finally, Microsoft can justify releasing yet another new version of PowerPoint. However, be prepared for your computer resources to take a hit. It takes up a lot of space and needs much more memory in order to work effectively.

More on PowerPoint 2007

• Beginner's Guide to PowerPoint 2007
• A Visual Tour of PowerPoint 2007

Check out PowerPoint's competitors

• Review of Google Presentations
• Review of Corel Presentations X3
• Review of SmartDraw 2008