Western's Division of Information Technology is excited to offer Microsoft Office 2003 for Windows to faculty and staff. Microsoft Office's most recent version, Office 2003 is comprised of Access, Outlook, Word, PowerPoint, Publisher and Excel. The software suite will be used by all Western students and installed in e-classrooms on campus by fall.
“With Office 2003, faculty, staff and students will see improvements in organization, collaboration, and efficiency,” said Jason LaVigne, IT Services computer consultant.
The most noticeable change to Office 2003 is with the general “look and feel” of Outlook, the e-mail client. A navigation pane provides centralized navigation and easy access to sharing features while reading panes can be turned on or off. When turned on, the user decides where the pane appears.
Outlook's improved junk e-mail features make it easier to set up filters to keep mailboxes from filling up with unwanted e-mails. The mailbox also can be cached to the computer so users can work with their e-mail when not connected to the network.
Added security features provide the user with the choice to display pictures, Web sites, etc. at the click of a mouse button instead of automatically launching them when accessing email.
Users are now able to sort and view messages by 13 predefined standard arrangements. Examples of arrangements include group by date received, importance, and category.
New Outlook calendar features include a date navigator, the option to create additional calendars within an account (which cannot be shared), and the ability to view multiple calendars that are shared in a side-by-side view.
For more detail on these Outlook features, visit http://www.microsoft.com/office/outlook/prodinfo/overview.mspx
New editing, viewing, and research tools not available in previous versions are a staple of Office 2003. Older Office products (with the exception of Access 97) also can be opened with this version.
For faculty and staff who regularly give presentations and reports, PowerPoint offers enhanced multimedia support resulting in more sophisticated end products.
Office 2003 is available to faculty and staff not only for the office but also for home use. Faculty and staff are invited to check out a copy of the software from IT Services and install it on their home computer.
In order to move to Office 2003, faculty and staff are encouraged to attend an introductory session which will focus largely on new features and Outlook. At the session, attendees will receive information on installing the software.
To schedule an introductory session and review the topics to be covered, visit http://itsworkshops.wcu.edu/display.asp?qryid=Office2003. Sessions can be provided for single departments by request. For more information, contact Chris Snyder at 227-7487.
For more information on Office 2003, contact IT Services at 227-7487 (7ITS).
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