Introduction

What s New in The Microsoft Office System 2003

You ll notice some changes as soon as you start one of the programs that is part of The Microsoft Office System 2003. Many of the familiar program elements have been reorganized to give you better access to the features you use most, and many new features have been added to make it easier to access the tools you use most often.

 New in Office 2003    Some of the features that are new or improved in The Microsoft Office System 2003 won t be apparent to you until you start using the programs. To help you quickly identify features that are new or improved with this version, this book uses the icon in the margin whenever those features are discussed or shown.

While many new features of The Microsoft Office System are discussed in this book, many other new features are covered only in the Step by Step books that pertain to the individual applications.

The following table lists the new features that you might be interested in, as well as the chapters in which those features are discussed.

To learn how to	Using this feature	See
View and read the document as it will appear on paper without needing to print it	Reading Layout view	Chapter 1
View small images of each page in the document	Thumbnails	Chapter 1
Display a menu of options for performing common tasks	Smart Tags	Chapter 2
Locate supporting information in local reference materials or on the Internet	Research service	Chapter 2
Track types of data, such as dates, names , and addresses, that can be used in multiple ways	Smart Tags	Chapter 9
Change your display theme	Support for Windows XP Theming	Chapter 10
Quickly update input mask options	Property Update Options	Chapter 12
Choose words that suit your presentation and your audience and research information on the Web	Thesaurus and Research task pane	Chapter 15
Deliver a presentation on a computer on which PowerPoint is not installed	Updated PowerPoint Viewer program	Chapter 16
Mark up slides during a presentation	Improved ink annotations	Chapter 16
Move smoothly from slide to slide when delivering an electronic slide show	New slide show navigation tools	Chapter 16
Make sure you include all the files you need when you transfer a presentation to a CD	Package for CD	Chapter 16
Quickly access your mail, calendar, contacts, tasks, and other Outlook items	Navigation Pane	Chapter 17
Open attachments without opening the item	Reading Pane	Chapter 17
Access Word s e-mail- related toolbar buttons from one convenient location	Word as your e-mail editor simplifications	Chapter 17
Read and respond to an e-mail message without closing other applications	Desktop Alerts	Chapter 17
Post attachments for group input	Live Attachments	Chapter 17
View your messages in any of 13pre-defined views	Arrangements	Chapter 18
Quickly mark messages for follow-up	Quick Flags	Chapter 18
Assign a different signature to each Outlook account	Unique signature per account	Chapter 18
View your messages in a new way	Arrange by Conversation	Chapter 18
Collect and automatically update related information in virtual folders	Search Folders	Chapter 19
Create and organize rules in an easier way	Rules	Chapter 19
View your Calendar and the Date Navigatorin a new, streamlined format	Calendar View	Chapter 20
View multiple calendars at the same time	Side-by-side calendars	Chapter 20
Easily publish entire Web sites or specificfiles to a local folder or Web server	Remote Web Site view	Chapter 22
Reduce the size of a page file when publishing it, by removing extraneous white space and unnecessary formatting	Optimize HTML	Chapter 22
Switch between page views and site views	Web Site tab	Chapter 22
Work with Web pages in Design view,Code view, Split view, and Preview view	Web page views	Chapter 22
Simultaneously view the layout and HTML code of your Web page	Split view	Chapter 22
Check your Web site against standard guidelines for accessibility	Accessibility checking	Chapter 23
See how your Web site will look in different Web browsers or at various screen resolutions	Browser and resolution reconciliation	Chapter 23
Allow multiple people to work with the same version of a document	Document workspace	Chapter 32
Centralize meeting information in one location through the Internet or an intranet	Meeting workspace	Chapter 33

Other New Features in The Microsoft Office System 2003

Microsoft OneNote

New in Office 2003, Microsoft OneNote helps you document, organize, and use information gathered during meetings, brainstorming sessions, interviews, and more. The notes you create can include text, drawings, images, and audio recordings. OneNote uses a freeform page layout, so you can place and move information wherever you want.

Microsoft InfoPath

Microsoft InfoPath, a new program in Office 2003, helps you collect and work with data by using dynamic, online forms that have a familiar Office interface. Based on the Extensible Markup Language (XML), InfoPath makes it easy to create and use robust forms to more effectively gather and share information throughout your organization.

Collaboration with The Microsoft Office System 2003

With a document workspace, you can store and edit your documents in a shared, central location, along with related tasks, documents, links, and a list of team members . When you collaborate in a meeting workspace, you can share agendas , reference information, attendee lists, and notes. You can also track action items, related documents, and more.