Integrated office packages
Integrated office suites are increasingly seen as essential to
business. Terry Pinnell looks at Microsoft Office 95 and Microsoft
Works 95 ñ each can help improve productivity by its integrated
approach
LIFE
SUITE
To get the greatest amount of effective work done with the least effort: this is the primary requirement of any combination of programs that you are going to use on a regular basis, whether at home or at work. And, for this to be possible, itís crucially important to use programs that work smoothly together ñ programs that are well integrated.
For the average home and small office user, word processing heads
the league of most-used applications, with spreadsheets in second
place. Behind these are basic database and drawing programs, while
communications software has also recently joined this repertoire
of popular tools. For each of these applications you could use
separate programs from separate suppliers, with no claims by any
of them to be integrated with the others. But, like fitting a
car with four different tyres, itís not to be recommended.
Nor is it likely to be cost-effective.
Types of integration
There are two ways to achieve an effective integrated approach.
One is to use an integrated package ñ a single program
with several application modules, all quickly accessible from
a central interface. Alternatively, you can install an office
suite, a powerful set of separate, full-featured programs that
can be run alone when preferred, but which are designed with integration
in mind. Like integrated packages, office suites come with a central
management facility, which simplifies the launching and control
of programs. Microsoft offers the most effective and popular products
in both of these categories: Microsoft® Works for Windows®
95, and Microsoft® Office for Windows® 95.
Choosing the right blend
Which one would suit you? There really are no hard and fast criteria,
no simple lines of demarcation. As a general guideline, Works
is less expensive and less power intensive, while medium to large-sized
companies account for a high proportion of Microsoft Office users.
Also, Office is often favoured by home or small office users who
need its sheer power or advanced features, and by those who want
to capitalise on their existing Office skills, perhaps developed
at work.
Open advantages
There are three key benefits of integration. First, itís much easier to switch smoothly between programs if theyíve been designed for simultaneous use. Second, itís simple to exchange and link information between modules and programs, such as copying a chart prepared in a spreadsheet into a report in a word processor. Much time can be wasted if such procedures arenít straightforward.
For most people, however, the greatest benefit of an integrated
approach is that itís so much easier to learn and use the
applications if they all have the same look and feel ñ
if they use similar terminology, menus, toolbars, and share common
resources like dictionary, thesaurus and help system. When youíve
learned how to use the word processor, youíll quickly pick
up the spreadsheet, and having mastered printing for one type
of document, it will come naturally for the others.
The complete Works
The latest 32-bit version of Works utilises all the new functions
of Windows 95. So, for instance, itís goodbye, ëMNGFULFN.DOCí,
and hello, ëMeaningful Long Filenameí! But Works also
has many new features of its own, mostly aimed at further improving
usability across the five integrated applications: word processor,
spreadsheet (with simple charting facilities), database manager,
drawing tools, and communications.
Works wonders
On starting up Works, and every time you open a new file, the handy Works Task Launcher is displayed. Each of its three tabs opens a document in a different way, including two familiar routes: open an existing document from a list of recently-used ones or from a Windows 95 File Open dialogue, or open a blank document in one of the main applications.
The third tab, TaskWizard, lets you focus on what youíre trying to create, rather than on the tool used.
These TaskWizards are great, and you get 39 of them, in ten categories. Thereís Wizards for letters and reports, brochures, newsletters, labels and certificates. For a small business, Wizards will prepare price lists, quotations or an accounts receivable database. Other TaskWizards will handle the tricky procedure of merging a Name/Address database with a standard letter for mailshots or invitations, or help design forms for home, club or office, or for a teacher or pupil at school.
In each case the Wizard prompts for further input. Sometimes itís
simply a matter of choosing from a few options, and sometimes
itís more extensive, but you can always accept the defaults
and cut to the finish.
Online, all the time
Worksís online help system is comprehensive and easy to
use. Help is displayed on the righthand side of your document,
and provides information and lists of tasks appropriate to whatever
youíre doing. Select a task, and youíre prompted
on what to do. When your skills increase, or you want to see more
of your document, you can shrink the Help window to a small icon
or hide it completely.
The power of Word
The word processor is crammed with easy-to-use features. Borders, shading, bullets, numbered lists, spell checker, thesaurus, word count, multi-line headers and footers are all there. But theyíre supplemented by more powerful facilities. For example, Easy Format lets you apply one of 25 professional styles to paragraphs or entire documents, and you get a thumbnail preview first. If youíve formatted some text yourself and are pleased with the results, just add this to the list for future use. Then thereís Easy Text, using abbreviations for fast, accurate entries of difficult words, phrases, signatures, or any information that you type frequently.
Worksís other modules are also easy to use. The database lets you create, store and manage lists, such as CD and video collections, and you can sort, filter, and organise information to present or print it how you want. Thereís also a library of clip art, easily accessible from Worksí Insert menu. The spreadsheet has several features inherited from its heavyweight sibling, Excel, such as auto-summing and cell-filling. Its range of chart types is fine for most purposes, but customising is limited. To transfer a chart or a spreadsheet to your wordprocessing document you copy it to the clipboard using either tool button or menu, switch to the other document and paste it in place.
The Communications module works slightly differently. It lets
you create and maintain Communications documents, for dialling
up other computers, bulletin boards and online services. You can
also record a script ñ a sequence of steps used for a particular
communication task. When you play it back, Works performs the
same steps again.
Microsoft Office 95
Microsoft Office for Windows 95 combines Microsoftís most
powerful software products in a cohesive package, each program
designed to work closely alongside the others, together with additional
tools to provide central management.
Quality quintet
You get five main applications with Office 95: Word 95, the top selling word processor;
Excel 95, the latest version of the powerful spreadsheet package;
Access 95, the database manager, suitable for both end users and
developers; PowerPoint 95, the easy-to-use graphics presentation
package; and finally Schedule+ 95, the most recent addition to
the family, which covers time management, PIM (Personal Information
Management), and group scheduling, and also has strong links with
email. All programs now have many shared facilities, so once youíve
learned and used one application, youíll have an easy
time with the next.
Power to your elbow
You soon discover the power that these heavyweight applications bring to your desktop.
As a key element, thereís full support for the
latest 2.0 version of OLE (Object Linking
and Embedding), so data sharing is easy. Also, all Office 95 applications use common newly-designed File Open dialogue boxes, which
offer extended features such as advanced
file-finding capabilities that search for files based on specified criteria. You donít even
have to open a document to see its contents,
as thereís now a preview button in the File Open dialogue.
Productivity keynote
Many of Officeís new features are productivity aids, and
some of the best are based on IntelliSense technology. AutoCorrect
repairs accidental typing errors automatically, and makes sure
that sentences start with a capital letter, while AutoText lets
you enter abbreviations to speed up repetitive data entry. Brand
new in this version is an even smarter facility called AnswerWizard.
When you type a question in plain English, it responds with clear
instructions on how to get your work done.
Electronic paper clip
The Office Binder keeps related documents together. Suppose you have various documents prepared on Word, plus a financial spreadsheet from Excel and a business case presentation from PowerPoint, all of which together make up a single report.
By placing them all in a binder, you can work on them together for common tasks, like applying common styles or logos, spell-checking and page numbering, while retaining the ability to work on them individually too.
Another key tool is the Office Shortcut Bar, which gives you one-click access to frequently-performed tasks, no matter which application programs or files are involved. The Shortcut Bar can be positioned anywhere on your desktop, anchored to top, bottom or side, or automatically hidden when not wanted.
Versatility
Excel 95 has enormous flexibility, especially in charting and simulation, and the use of macros based on Visual Basic adds great scope for automation. In Schedule+ thereís a MeetingWizard that works out a time and location suitable for all participants, and prepares a pre-addressed meeting request that you can send to them. PowerPoint slide or screen presentations can be created easily from a Word outline, by simply clicking on the Present It button. And, as final examples from a long list, both Word and PowerPoint include the WordArt, Equation Editor, and Graph applets that respectively let you add special text effects, equations, and charts to your documents document.
So, to maximise your desktop efficiency the new version of Microsoft Works, or, if you need a more power-intensive package, Microsoft Office, provide the perfect answer.
It doesnít take an AnswerWizard to work that out! M
One of the three tabs in the handy Task Launcher enlists nearly
40 TaskWizards to help you prepare a wide range of document types
(above).
(Right) Handling several related documents at once is easy with
Works 95, and so is chart making. Note also how you can preview
your font selection.
Officeís applications share a common look and feel, such
as the similar menus you can see above. Spot the single difference?
(Left) Word 95ís many optional toolbars (all customisable) with the Office Toolbar and an AnswerWizard standing by.