Hi, again. If you'll be at TechEd next week, please join me on Tuesday evening (6-5)- for a Birds of a Feather session that I'll be moderating at 9pm. Here's the scoop:

The New Hybrid: Office User-Developers
With the introduction of the Office Open XML Formats in the 2007 Microsoft Office release, more and more advanced Office users are moving into what has historically been developer territory to explore dynamic capabilities such as data binding in Word or the ability to customize the new Fluent Ribbon interface. The new Office power user is a true hybrid user\developer - utilizing VBA and Open XML to create dynamic document solutions. Join this session for a discussion of the opportunities available to the hybrid user\developer, and the challenges they face, when working with the 2007 Microsoft Office system.

... I'll also be helping out at the Open XML booth periodically throughout the week, so please stop by ...

Look forward to seeing you there!

Posted by Stephanie at 09:50 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, everyone! I just realized that it's been a couple of weeks since I posted ... sorry for the brief disappearance.

Just a quick note to say that I've finally updated my webcasts page on this blog with my Office 2007 webcasts - including the Open XML and VBA basics series ... just point to get help with Office in the navigation pane at left and then click to select webcasts from the articles, webcasts, and tutorials links. The tutorials link will take you to my Office Online Training courses, by the way - and you should hopefully see the first Open XML course in that upcoming series appearing there soon as well.

Note that the webcasts page only lists recorded versions of those webcasts that are free and available to everyone - so those are the webcasts I deliver for Microsoft. If you're looking for other webcasts I deliver for specific audiences (such as my Thomson Course Technology events for instructors) drop me an email and I'll be happy to send you the links to the free, recorded versions of those.

For the updated on-demand webcast listings, you can also click here.

(Also - please remember that you can always send questions by the 'Click to Contact' link at the bottom of the page, even if I haven't posted in a week or two - it doesn't mean I'm away...just super busy :) I will always post to say that I'm offline if I won't be able to answer questions for a bit. If it's been awhile since I've posted, that might just mean that I'm swamped with work and may take a day or two to reply to your email. But I always reply to every email - as long as it's nice ;-)

Happy Tuesday everybody!

Posted by Stephanie at 09:37 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, everyone! Thanks very much to those of you who took the time to attend today's Course Technology webcast on Excel 2007.

As promised, following are links to additional resources. If you don't see a link you need or the links provided don't answer your questions ... feel free to use the Click to Contact link at the bottom of the page to send me an email.

Also keep in mind that, if you missed anything we looked at today - the presentation was recorded and will be posted on the Thomson Course Technology web site, where you'll be able to watch it again on demand. Go to www.course.com/office for information on Course Technology Office 2007 offerings; or go to www.course.com/events for information about webcasts (such as my upcoming webcasts on PowerPoint - June 13th).

Meanwhile ... here are those resources, as promised:

Getting up to speed on the new interface and the new release in general:

Command reference guides for:
Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Or, download the free Get Started tabs for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to have access to the Command reference guides and other help resources right from the Ribbon in the applicable program.

Word
Excel
PowerPoint

Check out help articles, free online training courses, templates, free trial downloads of all Office 2007 products, and more from Office Online: office.microsoft.com

Using the new file formats:

- For the excellent paper I mentioned written by a member of the Office product team (about working with the new file formats across multiple versions) ... click here

- Compatibility Pack download page

- Basic intro to the new file formats and overview of new file extensions

- Developer's introduction to the new file formats

- For those who would like advanced information on working with the new file formats ... including how to 'break into' the XML behind your files and how to use XML to customize the Ribbon ... in addition to my webcasts for Course Technology, I also give webcasts frequently for Microsoft. I've just completed a series of webcasts on working with both Office Open XML and VBA in the 2007 release. You can view those webcasts on demand. You can also find a great deal of coverage on those topics in my new book for the 2007 release (click the My Books link at left for more info and a look at the book's full Table of Contents.)

2007 customization webcast series (if you're new to Office Open XML - definitely watch session 1 before session 3):
1 - Open XML basics webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Breaking Into Your Office Open XML Format Documents (Level 300)
2 - VBA basics webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Every Day Is Easier Than You Think
3 - Customizing the Ribbon with Open XML webcast: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML (Level 300)

...I'm also writing a series of courses for Office Online Training on working with the XML behind your 2007 release files ... the first of those will be posted soon - so check back here for more info.

For a chart of the differences between the 2007 release editions (such as Professional and Ultimate), click here

Additionally ... check out my Links page (available from the navigation pane at left) for some of my favorite Office 2007 resources - including blogs from members of the Office 2007 product team - as well as some of my favorite Excel MVP websites.

Finally - to learn more about my new book for the Office 2007 release - Advanced Microsoft Office Documents 2007 Edition Inside Out ... click the my books link at left or click here.

Happy Thursday everybody!

Posted by Stephanie at 05:00 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, everyone! Please join me today at 2pm Eastern time for a one hour instructor's introduction to Excel 2007. This free session is presented exclusively for teachers, by Thomson Course Technology.

You must be an educator to sign up (they'll request the name and address of your school when you register)...but all are welcome...

Here's the link to register:

Your Data Has Never Looked So Good—Welcome to Excel 2007

... and if you're already registered, please don't forget to check back here a few hours after the event today for follow-up and additional resources...

Enjoy your Thursday everybody!

Posted by Stephanie at 08:25 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

[updated 5-9 with on-demand link]

Hi, everyone! Thanks to all of you who made time to attend today's session on basic ribbon customization. For those who wanted to but couldn't make it, the on-demand version is available here:

Advanced Tips and Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML

Meanwhile, many additional resources promised, so those follow. As always, if you don't see the answer you need - feel free to use the Click to Contact link at the bottom of this page and drop me an email (please just don't attach any files if you email as I can't open unsolicited attachments).

For those who want to review (or learn) basics of working with the Office Open XML Format ZIP packages ... check out the first webcast in the series for which today's session was the third (and final) installment:

Advanced Tips & Tricks: Breaking Into Your Office Open XML Format Documents (Level 300)

If you're looking for an introduction to writing and editing your own VBA macros, check out the second installment in this same series:

Advanced Tips & Tricks: Using Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) Every Day Is Easier Than You Think

[Also - check back at this blog for more information and links to upcoming courses on working with the Office Open XML Formats that I'm writing for Office Online Training ... the first in the series, on the basics of breaking into an Office Open XML Format ZIP package, should be available soon. To check out all of the courses available at Office Online Training (they're all free!) go to office.microsoft.com/training]

For those who would like to learn about Office Open XML and customizing the UI from the experts who designed this technology (and who wouldn't?! :), here are a few of my favorite Office team blogs:

Jensen Harris: Office 2007 User Interface

Brian Jones: Office XML Formats

Doug Mahugh: Open XML File Formats

Though this next blog isn't about the Open XML Formats, it's a fantastic blog from the Word 2007 product team ... and the contributors include Tristan Davis, another of the Office product team members behind the new file formats -- Tristan and some of his colleagues blog about content controls in Word and binding custom XML data to controls (another of the incredible things you can do with the new file formats). You'll also find good info on lots of other Word topics here ... so it's a nice link to have regardless of your XML interest level.
Word Team Blog

To download the Ribbon controls, the Office 2007 icons gallery, and XML Notepad 2007, use the following links:

Office 2007 Icons Gallery

Workbooks containing the lists of control IDs for all 2007 programs using the Ribbon

XML Notepad 2007 [remember that you can edit the XML parts from an Open XML Format ZIP package in the Windows Notepad utility ... you don't need anything but Internet Explorer and Notepad to view and edit your XML code ... but XML Notepad 2007 provides another free alternative with a structured XML editing environment.]

...also - don't forget to check out the Office Developer Center for lots of terrific resources.

Finally - if you don't yet have my book and you're interested in more info, you can check out a PDF version of the complete table of contents - available from the My Books link in the navigation pane at left. The book is written for advanced Office users and includes extensive primers on the basics of both Office Open XML and VBA... check out Chapters 21 (VBA Primer), 22 (Office Open XML Essentials), and 23 (Using VBA and XML Together to Create Add-Ins).

... remember ... shoot me an email if I left your question unanswered... and meanwhile, enjoy the rest of your Tuesday!

Posted by Stephanie at 04:22 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, everyone! Just a quick reminder to please join me today at 9am Pacific, Noon Eastern, for a one-hour session on the basics of customizing the ribbon using Office Open XML. Click the link that follows to register:

Advanced Tips and Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML

As with all Microsoft Office webcasts, this session is free and open to anyone. If you haven't attended a LiveMeeting event recently, please login a few minutes early in case LiveMeeting needs you to install updated software (it's free - but it can take a few minutes). Also - if you have difficulty hearing the audio, remember that you can post a question in the LiveMeeting room's Q&A panel once you log in, asking the producer for the free dial-in number, so that you can listen to the session on the phone.

Please see my previous post, directly below, for recommendations on who will benefit most from this session and more information about what I'll be covering today.

Look forward to seeing you there!

Meanwhile ... happy Tuesday everybody!

Posted by Stephanie at 08:35 AM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)

Hi, everyone! Just a quick note in preparation for the webcast I'm giving next Tuesday on the basics of customizing the ribbon. If you've not yet worked with Office Open XML at all and haven't yet explored the contents of a document's ZIP package, I recommend a bit of homework before that webcast, so that you can comfortably follow along.

If you have my Office 2007 book (Advanced Documents Inside Out), go through as much of the topics and exercises as you can in Chapter 22 (Open XML Essentials) that lead up to the portion of that chapter on ribbon customization.

If you don't have the book, or if you want some visual guidance through some of the basics anyway, check out the on-demand version of my first webcast in this series Advanced Tips & Tricks: Breaking Into Your Office Open XML Format Documents (Level 300).

I'll be showing you how to add a macro to the ribbon, so if you're acquainted with at least basic VBA, you'll get more out of that ... but that's a small portion of next Tuesday's session, so don't let a lack of VBA experience dissuade you from joining. If you do, however, want to start learning VBA and you have the book - explore Chapter 21 (VBA Primer).

Meanwhile ... you can register for next Tuesday's session here: Advanced Tips & Tricks: Customizing the Ribbon Using Office Open XML (Level 300)

Keep in mind that the level 300 note on these webcasts refers to your Office experience, not VBA or XML experience. These are sessions designed for advanced users of Office. For developers, they're very basic.

Look forward to seeing you then! Meanwhile ... happy Wednesday everybody!

Posted by Stephanie at 04:09 PM | Permalink | TrackBacks (0)