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[egilson]

It`s absurd to have to do something in eight steps that used to involve basically two steps (View header/footer; click on the /of Y/ thing). Sorry, my keyboard is dying.

+1. It's especially frustrating because Excel still has the buttons for adding the [pagenumber] and [numberofpages] fields, just like Word used to. When your word processing program doesn't format headers as easily as Excel does, you're doing it wrong.

[pigou]

It`s absurd to have to do something in eight steps that used to involve basically two steps (View header/footer; click on the /of Y/ thing). Sorry, my keyboard is dying.

You can do it in one step: insert -> page number -> top of page, and select desired format. That's not what the OP wanted to do, however.

[infopri]

It`s absurd to have to do something in eight steps that used to involve basically two steps (View header/footer; click on the /of Y/ thing). Sorry, my keyboard is dying.

Fair enough.  No argument from me about that.

[history_grrrl]

And today's Word 2010 nightmare: trying to make a PPT slide with content and two images. This is no longer a layout option available from the menu. WTF? What moron decided to make, what is it, like six layout options available? Jesus H. Christ on a raft.

And that stupid "ribbon"! The menu names defy logic. I can't intuitively figure out where something I need to do will be. It's like when I moved into my new/old house and tried navigating the worst kitchen layout imaginable. I had to store things in totally random ways -- oh, the olive oil is up in that corner because that's the only shelf tall enough for it, and the cups are . . . where, again? (Frantically flinging open every cupboard to find a damn cup.) That prompted a renovation, stat. Since my laptop has conveniently died, this will be a good time to ensure that I never have to see this version of Word again.

[infopri]

And today's Word 2010 nightmare: trying to make a PPT slide with content and two images. This is no longer a layout option available from the menu. WTF? What moron decided to make, what is it, like six layout options available? Jesus H. Christ on a raft.

And that stupid "ribbon"! The menu names defy logic. I can't intuitively figure out where something I need to do will be. It's like when I moved into my new/old house and tried navigating the worst kitchen layout imaginable. I had to store things in totally random ways -- oh, the olive oil is up in that corner because that's the only shelf tall enough for it, and the cups are . . . where, again? (Frantically flinging open every cupboard to find a damn cup.) That prompted a renovation, stat. Since my laptop has conveniently died, this will be a good time to ensure that I never have to see this version of Word again.

Calm, history_grrrl.

Unless I'm mssing something, it lookslike PowerPoint still enables you to make a slide with content and two images.  In fact, it looks like there are a couple of templates for that.

As for the ribbon, yes, there is a learning curve--but once you learn where thing are, it actually does make some sense.  But there's no reason for you to reinvent the wheel.  If you tell us what, specifically, you're looking for, we can tell you where to find it.

[elsie]

Does anybody know if there's a setting that will allow you to automatically open a file to your preferred page size (in my case, page width)? I'm doing all my grading on the computer now, but my middle-aged eyes prefer page width to 100% (which seems to be the default).

[marigolds]

Does anybody know if there's a setting that will allow you to automatically open a file to your preferred page size (in my case, page width)? I'm doing all my grading on the computer now, but my middle-aged eyes prefer page width to 100% (which seems to be the default).

I'd like to know this for Mac Word 2011.  I wish they would all open at the same zoom level (I like 150%) so that I don't have to click and drag on every single student paper I open.

[elsie]

I figured out that I could add the command to go to page width to the Quick Access Toolbar.  Just right click on Page Width view, and then click on "Add to Quick Access Toolbar." That at least lets me switch views with one quick click. I wish I could just make a default setting, but this is a lot better than the previous situation.

[tee_bee]

And today's Word 2010 nightmare: trying to make a PPT slide with content and two images. This is no longer a layout option available from the menu. WTF? What moron decided to make, what is it, like six layout options available? Jesus H. Christ on a raft.

And that stupid "ribbon"! The menu names defy logic. I can't intuitively figure out where something I need to do will be. It's like when I moved into my new/old house and tried navigating the worst kitchen layout imaginable. I had to store things in totally random ways -- oh, the olive oil is up in that corner because that's the only shelf tall enough for it, and the cups are . . . where, again? (Frantically flinging open every cupboard to find a damn cup.) That prompted a renovation, stat. Since my laptop has conveniently died, this will be a good time to ensure that I never have to see this version of Word again.

Take a deep breath, and Google "Classic Menus for Word" or "Classic Menus for Office." These are plugins that give you the old menus back. Think of them as training wheels for the newer interface. That's what I did. And after three months, I didn't need them anymore, and I say this as someone who was dragged kicking and screaming into the new interface. After a while, you will get used to it, and then when MSFT changes it again, you can reminisce about how great the Ribbon was. The thing is, there's nothing intuitive about any menu system in any program--we just learn them and get comfortable with them. I once could do the DOS version of Lotus 1-2-3 in my sleep. Now, I can do the same with Excel.

[paultuttle]

<--- Looking forward to holographic keyboards so I can type in the air wherever I am. :)

[formerly_the_fiver]

OK, I'm in.

I have Word 2011 for mac, and I like to annotate handouts with little boxes and circles. Inserting shapes is easy enough on the Ribbon, but the default is blue line, blue fill, shadow, and some arrangement that I don't want. I want black line, no fill, no shadow, and arrange in front of text. Is there any way to change the defaults? The best I came up with was to make one how I like it, then copy and paste it, but I still have the "Arrange in front of text" problem.

[infopri]

OK, I'm in.

I have Word 2011 for mac, and I like to annotate handouts with little boxes and circles. Inserting shapes is easy enough on the Ribbon, but the default is blue line, blue fill, shadow, and some arrangement that I don't want. I want black line, no fill, no shadow, and arrange in front of text. Is there any way to change the defaults? The best I came up with was to make one how I like it, then copy and paste it, but I still have the "Arrange in front of text" problem.

Make a template, then attach it to your documents.  Or, if this is something you'll always want available, make the changes in the default template (normal.dotm).

[pigou]

The default zoom level in Word is saved as part of the word file. However, you can create a macro to automatically change zoom whenever you start a new document or open an existing one.

Follow this walkthrough to see how to add a macro to the normal template: http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm

Copy/Paste the following Macro, adjusting the zoom level as necessary:

Sub AutoOpen()
ActiveWindow.View.Type = 3 'print layout
ActiveWindow.View.Zoom.Percentage = 130
End Sub
 
Sub AutoNew()
ActiveWindow.View.Type = 3 'print layout
ActiveWindow.View.Zoom.Percentage = 130
End Sub

Taken from here.

[bookishone]

Sorry if we've moved on from the original question, but I discovered that the Formatting Palette allows me to mix text and auto-fill page numbers. I only ever pull up the Formatting Palette in order to do this, in fact.

<end flashback>

[skeptical]

Switch to a mac. Even microsoft products are easier on macs.