Microsoft continues to enhance your workflow with Office 2010. With the massive improvement to all the included apps, overall interface, and security safeguards, Office 2010 sets no limits to your creativity. Besides, the new web and mobile versions allow users to work from anywhere efficiently no matter the device or location. Much of the hype surrounding Office 2010 is focused on how it integrates with other technologies like SharePoint. The main merit of it is contained in the improved features. In this guide, therefore, we discuss the top 5 features of MS Office 2010.
1. Customizable and Flexible Ribbon Integration across all apps.
When it debuts in Office 2007, the Ribbon was met with much derision. Most users complained that it was hard to work with. It was not customizable and people could not locate some of the common operations easily. However, with Office 2010, all these have changed. Both administrator and users now have the ability to customize and modify the Ribbon to the liking across all the apps. In fact, each of the Ribbon elements can be tweaked, features regrouped, and new tabs can be created or customized.
The customizable Ribbon is a productivity boom. It allows users to bring the desired features to the foreground for easy access. Even more, administrators can now create and distribute custom Ribbons across departments. Thus, giving the organization the means to tailor Ribbons depending on the specific needs of a department. In addition, they can use group policies to prevent people from altering custom deployed Ribbons. a factor that helps reduce help desk calls and simplify user trainings.
2. Document Management Using Backstage View
The previous versions of Office suffered from the labyrinthine and cumbersome menu system. This is especially true when it came to modifying a basic property in a document. For instance, if a user wanted to get rid of meta data from a document, they’d need to traverse different menus to examine the document for any embedded meta data. For different reasons, embedded meta data should not be shared with external users. Removing meta data from a file is step towards preventing data leakage and other related potential problems.
Even more, sharing a document in the early versions of Office was equally cumbersome. Trying to set permission, secure, or create multiple versions of a document was often difficult.
However, MS 2010 Office eliminates all that hassle with a Backstage View. The feature provides a concise look at the basic properties of a documents and simplify changes within any of those elements. Thus, making it easy for users to properly secure the document and remove all the proprietary information. In addition, the feature still allows you to perform he traditional actions of saving and printing, albeit with a plethora of advanced options.
3. Coauthoring Capability
Co-authoring functionality allow multiple users to work on the same file via their SkyDrives. One of the main advantage of this feature is that it boosts collaboration and productivity. What’s more, there’s a synchronization mechanism that helps avoid unwanted sudden changes while different people are working together. Besides, it’s easier for team members to share their ideas concurrently and produce better results. If you have a project oriented work, using OneNote in Office 2010 can make your life easy.
4. Enhanced Security
The previous versions of Office have suffered from different security threats. These threats included embedded vulnerabilities and macro viruses. Often, administrators relied on third-party security applications to help the keep the system safe from threats. However, Office 2010 has included different technologies that enhance security and protect the system from threats.
For instance, Office 2010 has Protected View, which operates by opening files from unknown sources in a sandbox. The digital sandbox is a feature that prevents individuals from editing a file or even executing macros other features. In turn, a user can view the document without any risk and later decide whether they can trust it or not.
Apart from Protected view, MS Office also features Data Execution Prevention, a critical security enhancement. The feature works by preventing execution untrusted macros. It’s a module that checks the file layout structure before permitting them to open. Additionally, the Microsoft Trust Center application also helps in controlling which types of files are allowed to open, saved or be blocked. Furthermore, the Trust Center works well with group policy control; thus, allowing administrators to enforce security policies across all the platforms.
5. Ability to Work from Anywhere
MS Office 2010 provides you with the ability to work from anywhere. With the newly optimized web versions of the applications, you can edit or share files regardless of device or location. Even more, the files are preserved in their original view format without any variance. No matter the device you’re using, you will still view the documents in their original formats. Something which is unique to MS Office 2010.
Final Thoughts
The security feature and coauthoring capabilities are some of the most noticeable features of MS 2010 Office. They help make work easier while at the same time ensuring that your documents and are safe from attacks.
