Six Downloads to Improve Microsoft Office - harriscondets

Anyone World Health Organization uses Microsoft Authority bequeath consort on two things: It's a powerful accumulation of applications, and IT needs improvements.

Here are sixer programs that bring Office a lot closer to what it should exist. The first three work across twofold Bureau applications, improving the a lot-loved–and more-hated–ribbon-based interface. The other three are application-specific, giving Mentality, Word, and Stand out additional capabilities that Microsoft either didn't think of or didn't bother with.

For links to these downloads all in same convenient place, see our "Six Downloads to Improve Microsoft Office" collection.

User Interface Improvements

Government agency Tab

If you've of all time had ternary Surpass worksheets open at once, you cognize the frustrations of switch among them and keeping track of which is which. The same goes for Word documents and PowerPoint presentations.

Extendoffice.com's Office Tab key adds tabbed document management to those three applications, making the job overmuch easier. As with the tabbed Web pages in your browser, you can easily switch betwixt tabs, rearrange them, Beaver State good-click for a menu of options.

Extendoffice also sells separate tab programs for Word, Surpass, and PowerPoint, but if you use whatever two of those applications, the cram full Office Tab platform costs fewer.

Download Office Yellow journalism | Price: $25; 30-day inexact trial | Supports Place 2003, 2007, and 2022 (does not withal support PowerPoint 2022)

Search Commands

Do you know, off-hand, which ribbon you need to change Wor's AutoCorrect options? Or which Excel ribbon you need for categorization a worksheet? In that location's ever a feature that you just have a go at it is around somewhere, but Help is a far to a fault slow and chafed way to find it.

This freebie from Microsoft Part Labs South Korean won't eliminate your need to ask such questions, but it leave probably leave answers. Bu go to the Search Command ribbon and move into a keyword to bring upfield a row of congruous icons. One is bound to be the item you want.

Look for Commands works in the 2007 versions of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Download Search Commands | Price: Free | Supports Office 2007

Classic Fare for Office 2007

If you young woman the old Microsoft Bureau user interface–the incomparable with menus instead of ribbons–Classic Bill of fare is a dream come true. Install information technology, and you're back to the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint you love.

And Addintools, the creator of this download, brings stake the menu decently: It augments the ribbon user interface rather than replacing IT. Classic Menu simply adds another ribbon–peerless with the old, familiar menus and, as a bonus, the familiar, common or garden toolbars. Information technology's there when you want it, but you can e'er snap connected another typewriter ribbon and use the many modern interface when the mode strikes you.

As the name implies, this program is for Berth 2007. Addintools sells similar minimal brain damage-ons for the various Function 2022 packages.

Download Standard Carte for Office 2007 | Price: $30; 30-day disembarrass tryout | Supports Office 2007

Specialized Coating Improvements

Lookeen

You have a good deal of selective information stored in Mindset–your entire contact list, appointments, countless e-mail messages. And the only thing you birth to search it with is…Outlook.

Unless you're willing to drop $40 for Lookeen, that is. Then you'll have each sorts of fast, indexed searches at your fingertips. For example, you can choice an electronic mail message and click the Conversations icon to bring up all of the messages that Lookeen thinks are part of the same conversation, as wellspring as maybe under consideration appointments and contacts. Other searches will discovery elements added today Oregon this week, or items that are "more like this."

It behind even search outdoors of Prospect, qualification IT a desktop search tool.

Download Lookeen | Price: $40; 14-daytime free tribulation | Supports Lookout 2003, 2007, and 2022

CrossEyes

Bible documents aren't sausages–thither's zilch crying about seeing how they'Ra made.

With Levit & James's CrossEyes, you can see exactly what's going on inside a Word document. Is that phrase bold and red because someone assigned a particular style thereto, or simply because someone ready-made it bold and red? That rather difference means a lot when you'rhenium altering a document's look, especially if you'Re not the only mortal WHO has worked on that file.

Not every Word user necessarily CrossEyes; but if you have to reformat different mass's work, it's a blessing.

CrossEyes is currently connected version 4. Version 5, which is publicly beta as I write this, supports Word 2022.

Download CrossEyes | Price: $30; 15-Clarence Day trial | Supports Word 2003 and 2007

ASAP Utilities

This Excel add-in puts all sorts of tools onto the practical application's ribbon. With it, you can data formatting the on-silver screen view (hiding grids, cypher values, and other possibly distracting bits), select the cell with the smallest or largest number, select all the cells with errors, freeze panes on multiple sheets at once, and simultaneously hold open the current file and create a backup.

That's righteous a small sample of all the ways this tool allows you to pull wires numbers, schoolbook, links, and information. And if its large offerings get too confusing (it's really for Surpass powerfulness users), you can put over your most-victimized options in the customizable 'My favorite tools' menu.

And if things become likewise frustrative, you can relieve some stress by pull down the ribbon's Start menu and selecting Comical (error) messages. I got 'Error saving file! data format labour now?'

Download ASAP Utilities | Monetary value: $49 for commercial use, subsequently 90-day trial period; inexact for noncommercial use, unless "you get into't want to exist forced to update to the new version doubly a year…or if you alike this program and think it is worth the money." | Supports Excel 2000, 2002/XP, 2003, 2007, and 2022 (32-bit)

Contributing Editor Lincoln Spector writes PCWorld's Answer Line column and blog.