Microsoft Office 2010 “Outspace”, switching it on/off
Known only by its codename at the moment, Microsoft Office “Outspace” (MOO?) is one of the more noticeable changes to the new Office suite. Upon clicking of the Office button, you’re whisked away into a fancy task-oriented view that lets you manage your open document, presentation, or spreadsheet at a much higher level. (More details pending technical beta release.)
Figures 1 and 2 -- Microsoft Office “Outspace” turned on and off (Microsoft Word)
For those of us that hate change, fear not. You can revert back to the old way of doing things with a quick registry tweak. Simply navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Common\Toolbars (creating that key if it doesn’t already exist) and create a DWORD named UseOutspace. Give it a value of 0 or 1 (representing disabled or enabled, respectively) and you’re done. You’ll notice with Outspace off, a piece of the original Office button shows up. This is a bug that’ll be cleaned up as the product matures.
Wow, that’s going to confuse the hell out of some people, especially after they’ve just finally figured out 2007.
Not the power users though. I might like it if it’s efficient enough.
And I mean Outspace in general, not turning it off.
I’ve been using the Technical Preview for a few months now, and I think that the “Outspace” is pretty nice… Dunno about anyone else, but it seems to help those with A.D.D. with focusing on printing the document, and not seeing if there is some other quirky little quote you can throw into the report to turn in…
Nice find, mate.
The worst thing about ‘Outspace’ is the slight (but noticeable) delay when it’s opened (at least on my PC).
(So is the ‘technical beta’ actually a beta, or is it still at an earlier stage?)
The released Office 2010 version is technical _preview_, not a beta. It’s not even an alpha, it’s an earlier stage. :)
I believe they’re calling it Backstage now – http://www.microsoft.com/officebusiness/office2010/
It did feel like a completely different world at first but it’s a much nicer world after getting used to it. The fully customizable ribbon will ultimately put to rest any menus/toolbars vs ribbon issues. (poor 2007 users are the only ones left with a non-customizable UI). Overall I’m liking 2010. Startup of all apps is awesome fast and responsive compared to 2007, File format choosing UI is there! I noticed there’ll be themes (beta 2 onwards) and you can create your own too using the Theme builder from Connect? PowerPoint seems to be catching up on effects, actions and transitions and Word on typography which it has never done at all. VSTO is there OOTB. Office Document Imaging/Scanning are gone from 64-bit, I hope MS is not killing them in the 64-bit version. Office apps don’t confirm if you want to Save or Open and directly open the document if you click on a document link from IE because the apps have got “protected view”. InfoPath Editor might be given away free to improve its adoption.
I personally like the new backstage feature… loads fast for me as well. We won’t be disabling at work either for our users.
I *am* a “power user” (an academic); have been using 2007 since it came out; and, still think it sucks in comparison to the 2000 version I was using.
It was the first time I ever had to go on the technical message boards to figure out what the heck 2007 was doing to my documents. Oh, by the way, Microsoft, thanks for stating on the packaging before I opened it that the .docx format would be unrecognized by previous versions. It was also the first time that I started considering — I mean, really considering and not just kvetching about — buying a competitor’s product.
Don’t worry Matt, OpenOffice can read .docx and the rest of the new formats just fine.
@Matthew W I Dunn, you call yourself a power user, yet you don’t seem to be aware that previous versions (2003, 2002 and your beloved 2000) can open .docx documents after installing a freely downloadable compatibility pack?
I think I actually like outspace. I’m having billions of problems with Office 2010, the “Office” button, doesnt even show the office logo on it – instead it says “File`f” – and the uninstaller is borked too.
Dear Dan,
Thanks. I use “Compatibility Mode” and don’t save my files in .docx. I’m just not going to bother with getting the inevitable e-mail saying, “Sorry, can’t open the attached file.”
Dear Someone,
First, nowhere does Microsoft apprise the customer buying 2007 that (without the add-on of a compatibility pack you mention) any files saved in the “x” format will not be readable by previous versions. Nowhere. Unfortunately, this vital piece of information is kept from the consumer until the package has been opened and is, hence, unreturnable.
Second, the fact that Microsoft quietly (secretly?) sent out the compatibility pack as part of its regular update schedule . . . well, that kind of says it all, doesn’t it?
hey everyone the official tech preview is available to download i just got an email from ms
heres the email.
“Welcome! We are pleased to invite you into the Technical Preview program to be among the first people in the world to experience Microsoft® Office 2010.
The following link will bring you to Microsoft Connect, where you will find downloads available for early, pre-release versions of Microsoft Office 2010 products. You will also find product information and have the chance to participate in newsgroups to engage with our product teams and other program participants. Please note that there is no technical support offered for this program.
To get started, please click on the link below. This is a one-time-use only url associated with this e-mail address, so it cannot be shared with others to join the program. This will bring you to the Connect site where you will need to sign in with your Windows Live ID account. If you do not have a Windows Live ID, you can create one from the Connect site.
Your ticket to the Technical Preview:”
then it posts your link and the url the link is bold and in blue and the url is under it.
Well since the vast majority of people are plain shit fucking stupid, they will have a long learning curve.
Matt, since you’re a “power user”, why don’t you checks out the INTERNET first before buying the software in the first place? Plus, from the 2007 betas, you can see that it’s not compatible with older version (for *.*x format) of Microsoft Office suite. Don’t give an excuse like it isn’t anywhere as it’s all stated on the INTERNET. Plus there’s always Compatibility Pack, or get your lazy fingers to click and change default save option to older format.