Gadgetory

microsoft announced the latest version of its office suite today but i got an early review copy i'm going to share with you right now i'm jason parker from cnet and this is a first look at the new microsoft office it's important to note that I'm only scraping the surface of the new features in the interest of time so I'm only going to cover a couple of the core apps with the tiled interface of Windows phones and the Metro UI design in the coming upgrade to Windows 8 it's clear Microsoft is trying to reinvent the way you interact with its software now with the new office Microsoft is also reinventing the way you interact with your office suite in fact i'll be demonstrating the new features in this video on a samsung tablet running the current preview version of Windows 8 it's important to note that you'll definitely be able to use office on desktop computers with all the same features I'll start with well-known word processing software microsoft word immediately upon launch you'll notice a new start page here you'll be able to open recent documents you have worked on or you can choose from several templates word remembers what templates you use most and will display relevant templates at the top the recent documents and templates start page will also show up in excel and powerpoint now i'll open a demo document i made you'll notice the somewhat controversial tool the ribbon is still here but the buttons have been flattened for a more simplified and minimalist look not a fan of the ribbon not to worry to get a cleaner view simply touch the small arrow on the right to get rid of the ribbon if you need it back for some heavy editing or other more complex word processing tools just touch any of the tab headings at the top to bring it back you can then pin it open using a button on the right or let it collapse again when you're finished now let's have a look at PowerPoint right away you'll notice a similar start page with recent presentations on the left and several pre-made themes to choose from on the right once in a presentation powerpoint offers all the features you've grown accustomed to in previous versions but adds several more all of which you can use with the touchscreen interface another new welcome enhancement in PowerPoint is the presenter view now when you're presenting with a second screen like a projector for example you'll have a view that offers behind-the-scenes tools so you always know what's coming next you have full control over your slides here and you have other useful tools like a laser pointer to out specific items to the audience you can also have notes over on the right to remind you of topics to cover during your presentation all of these tools are hidden from your audience as your presentation plays in the projector in Excel Microsoft has added a number of new tools to help you visualize and interact with through data one new feature that illustrates this concept is the addition of recommended charts rather than having to build a nice-looking chart from scratch you can highlight your data click a small tab below your selection and Excel automatically lists out recommended charts also extremely helpful are the quick previews of each chart type so you know what you're getting before you make your selection that's all we have time for today but the new microsoft office also includes updates for access publisher outlook OneNote and the rest of the apps and enterprise services in the suite it's pretty clear from the features I have seen that Microsoft is going all in on the touchscreen interface and it looks like they did a good job making it work in the end we'll have to wait and see how users respond to the new style of using Microsoft Office i'm jason parker for cnet and this has been a first look at the new microsoft office thanks for watching