I.T. Help Desk
New Features in Office 2011 for OS X
Microsoft has released the newest version of the Office Suite for Mac OS X, Office 2011. There are many new features, most of which make the applications more consistent with their PC counterparts. Here, we’ll review some of the biggest changes, and direct you to further resources.
The biggest change you’ll probably notice is that Entourage does not exist anymore. It’s been replaced by Outlook. This version of Outlook for Mac mirrors many of the features users need from the PC version.
At the same time, if you’re used to Entourage, you shouldn’t have trouble diving into Outlook, as it retains a similar look and feel; icons will look familiar, although they may have moved.
Outlook for Mac also retains the “Conversation View” introduced in Office 2010 for PC, where threaded messages are grouped together. This can be easily turned off.
One of the next biggest changes in Office 2011 is the introduction of the Ribbon. If you’ve used Office for PC lately, you will have seen something similar to this.
All the icons and tools you use regularly are organized under specific tabs at the top of the interface; this is designed to reduce clutter and keep only the tools you need for the task at hand. Take a look through these tabs to familiarize yourself with where tools have moved.
Having trouble finding a tool?
Check the links at the end of this document. Microsoft has an excellent online utility to help you find your way.
With Office 2011, Word introduces a full-screen editing mode. This lets you completely fill your computer screen with a distraction-free workspace, perfect for those times you just need to concentrate and write.
These are only a few of the new features introduced in Office 2011! Microsoft has extensive online documentation available, outlining many more new features.
For Word, Powerpoint, and Excel, there is an interactive guide to finding relocated tools! Select the tool in the 2008 interface, and you will be presented with the tool’s location in the 2011 interface.
Below are some links to get you started learning more:
Getting Started with Office 2011
