Entered CNET Catalog:
05/18/2006
SKU: CNETMICROSOFTPOWERPOINT2007BETA2
Manufacturer: Microsoft Corp.
CNET editors' review
- Editors' Choice: No
- Reviewed on:
05/24/2006
Microsoft is spicing up PowerPoint with new templates, animation effects, and image-editing tools. The interface of the 2007 beta 2 displays icons of features organized within a tabbed Ribbon atop the page. We expect longtime users to initially balk at the drastic changes; while some tools are easier to find than in version 2003, others aren't where you expect them. However, in our tests we grew comfortable with the new location of the major features within several days.
Microsoft is enlarging the icons of features within PowerPoint and clustering access to most functions within tabs along the top of the screen.
Hoping to please image-conscious PowerPoint users, Microsoft is building the 2007 edition with a host of preprogrammed style galleries to spruce up images and text. SmartArt capabilities allow you to quickly turn bulleted text into a flow chart or other information graphic. You can also preview changes within the drop-down Galleries before committing to them.
The rebuild of this app touches more than its look and feel; Redmond is changing all of the file formats within Office 2007 so that they're XML compatible and open to developers' tweaks. This makes file sizes smaller and also should allow you to more easily restore a file, should it become corrupted. These changes may enable people to make more nimble and professional-looking PowerPoint presentations. Still, we wish that Microsoft would also improve PowerPoint's tools for helping people manage their slide shows while presenting them, such as keeping track of the time spent showing each slide. For 11 images of the PowerPoint 2007 beta 2, see our beta 1 build from last fall.
User opinions
Select a User Opinion to view:
1
2
User Rating: 
6/10
i need to downloadby sharmdiver - June 1, 2006
Pros: can i download
Cons: please can download
Review:
i wait to download please for long time
User Rating: 6/10
It seems better butby gmait57 - May 24, 2006
Pros: Everything seems readily availible
Cons: Still missing what to me is important
Review:
When I do presentations I sometimes have to show documents that were written on portrait layout, I always have to link these because you can't mix portrait and landscape slides in one presentation
About CNET Archive BETA
Welcome to the CNET Archive, a library of product reviews, user opinions, videos, specifications, and manufacturer descriptions for products no longer offered by the manufacturer or most retailers. Here you will find information on replacement parts and replacement ink cartridges. Read what others had to say about that used laptop you are considering buying. Take a trip down memory lane as you browse and reminisce about your favorite old video game or that first digital camera.
Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 beta 2 specifications
