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FEATURE STORY
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Microsoft Vista and Office 2007 --
What Have You Done for Me Lately?
Are Microsoft upgrades a blessing or a curse?
By Donald H. Kelley
Microsoft Vista and Microsoft Office 2007, along with other products
(like Internet Explorer 7, which was released before Vista) offer a
variety of new features potentially useful to the trusts and estates
practitioner. There's independent calendaring and address book
facilities, personal database software, handy informational gadgets and
better web browsing.
At the same time, this software requires significant learning
curves and has some technical problems.
Let's take a look at what we might immediately gain from these
releases and let the information technology people worry about what's
under the hood. But, if you just can't help wondering about the issues
and problems that accompany Vista as a new Microsoft operating system,
check out the discussions at Vistahunt.com.
My first impression of Windows Vista was that it is more difficult than
Windows XP and takes longer to work with. But maybe that's because we
usually love the software we've been using and hate learning "new"
software. Beyond user resistance, there is this critical question: If
you bother to upgrade to Vista (and other Microsoft 2007 software) or
acquire a Vista-ready machine (and there are some real bargains out
there), what can it do for you right now?
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(continuation of article)
Compatibility
First, you must make sure, as with any Microsoft operating system
upgrade, that your favorite software and peripherals are compatible with
Vista. For instance, drivers for various peripherals may not be. If
you use a Hewlett-Packard printer, be sure to check for upgraded
Vista-compatible drivers. As of the release of Vista, WordPerfect was
not yet Vista-ready, but on March 9, 2007, Corel Corp. announced the
availability of a Service Pack to make
Office X3 compatible with Vista. Another example of compatibility
issues is Intuit Quickbooks. As discussed at ZDNet, Quickbooks
compatibility issues appear to stem from third-party add-on software
that Intuit cannot control.
If a program fails to launch because of compatibility problems, right
click on the icon for that program and open the "Compatibility" tab.
You will find a drop-down box that lets you set the program so Vista
will attempt to run it by emulating earlier operating systems.
Vista Gadgets
Not everything useful has to be groundbreaking. There are some
facilities in Vista that may seem small in scope, but may fill a
valuable role in your daily computer use.
You will find on the right-hand side of the Vista desktop a vertically
placed series of small utilities called "gadgets." Vista provides a
selection of visible gadgets that can be added or changed with a click
on the gadget area of your desktop. These gadgets include a visual
monthly calendar, a convenient yellow sticky-like note pad (much handier
than the Outlook Note Pad) and even a stock price ticker (a nice feature
on up days, but not so nice on others.) If you are like me and are
really attached to having an outside temperature gauge in your car, you
will appreciate an outside temperature display on your desktop.
You will find lots of other gadgets to download at microsoftgadgets.com/, such as
the TravelWizard, which expedites searches of travel planning websites,
and WeatherBug, which gives you weather conditions anywhere in the
world.
Other Vista Features
Microsoft has unbundled some of the things included in Outlook and
Windows Mail (the successor to Outlook Express), such as the calendar
and address book. Windows Calendar has the look and feel of the Outlook
calendar, but is free standing and convenient to use. Windows Calendar
may be emailed to another party -- from within the program or calendars
-- and may be shared among remote users via the Internet. You also may
subscribe to specialized calendars on the Internet, such as iCalshare. Such calendars include
holidays in the United States and foreign countries, political and
government events and astronomical data.
Windows Contacts has the look and feel of the address book included in
Outlook Express and, although free standing, it is used as the contacts
list for Windows Mail. It reminds me, in terms of desktop convenience,
of the neat virtual rolodex that was included in Windows 1.0.
For those of you who are not Outlook users, these small programs may be
quite useful.
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(continuation of article)
A Handy Personal
Database
We could all use a simple database for storage and retrieval of personal
notes, information, graphics, etc. OneNote
2007 (part of Office 2007) is one such program that gives you
immediate visual access to the items that you have stored through
general categories (known as "notebooks") and subdivisions within such
categories (known as "sections.") OneNote now has a navigation aid that
conveniently shows you the open notebooks and makes navigation across
multiple notebooks easy. You can move between open notebooks by
clicking on a notebook icon. Across the top of the workspace are tabs
associated with sections within a notebook. You merely click the arrow
at the top of the navigation pane to expand the view and show more
detail about notebooks and their sections. You can store and retrieve
text, Internet URLs and graphics by copying and pasting them into the
appropriate section.
You may download specialized notebooks linked to, or from, the "Help
file," including a "Legal Practice" notebook, which may assist you in
getting quick value from OneNote. One interesting feature is the
ability to capture and paste a portion of any screen being displayed on
your computer into a notebook. Use of OneNote is described on the
Microsoft website at Organizing
and managing your notes.
Internet Explorer 7
Also deserving of mention is Internet Explorer 7, which offers new
features that may be helpful to the trusts and estates practitioner.
Perhaps the most useful is its tabbed websites. Now you can have a
number of websites displayed on a series of tabs at the top of the
screen and move back and forth among them with one click. I find this
feature particularly helpful in research; I can have the Internal
Revenue Code, Treasury Regulations, Tax Court cases and other federal
court sites all displayed at once, allowing me to bounce around as I
compose an article or memorandum. With Internet Explorer 7, you can
save a number of open websites as a favorite group. There also is a
feature that automatically shrinks a web page to fit the printed page
and enables you to print selections from a web
page.
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Tips and Tricks
There are a number of websites that will help you get quickly acquainted
with useful new features. An overview of Vista
Tips and Tricks for new users is available from Microsoft. It
discusses, among other things, the revised start menu, the new interface
and the file search explorer facility, as well as the enhanced browsing
capabilities of Internet Explorer 7.
The TechRepublic website offers Hidden
Vista tricks that can make you more productive, including how to
work more efficiently using the special Windows keyboard keys and the
mouse wheel.
RedmondMag.com gives you the Top 5
Cool Vista Tricks, including using the backup tool, sharing
calendars and checking your computer's performance.
The Petri IT Knowledgebase Windows Vista Information,
Tweaking, Tips and Tricks contains a collection of tweaking tips and
tricks, articles and "how to" guides.
Bottom Line
Learning Vista does not have to be like climbing Mount Everest.
Ideally, it should simplify daily tasks. Sometimes it pays to spend
time at your base camp doing the easy stuff before attempting the more
challenging climb. Immediate gratification helps all of us stay
motivated for tougher times.
Trusts & Estates magazine is pleased to present the monthly
Technology Review by Donald H. Kelley -- a respected connoisseur of
software and Internet resources wealth management advisors use to
further their practices.
Kelley is a lawyer living in Highlands Ranch, Colo. and is of counsel to
the law firm of Kelley, Scritsmier & Byrne, P.C. of North Platte, Neb.
He is the co-author of Intuitive Estate Planner Software (Thomson - West
2004). He has served on the governing boards of the American Bar
Association Real Property, Probate and Trust Section and the American
College of Tax Counsel. He is a past regent and past chair of the
Committee on Technology in the Practice of the American College of Trust
and Estate Counsel.
Trusts & Estates has asked Kelley to provide his unvarnished opinions
on the tech resources available in the practice today. His columns are
edited for readability only. Send feedback and suggestions for articles
directly to him at dhkelley@qwest.net.
Back to Top ^
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