Where is the lasso feature in 2008? (was informatting palette in 2004)

[tom.s]

Version: 2008 Operating System: Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) Processor: Intel Hi,

In Excel 2004 in the formatting palette in image, there are different selection marquees and lasso's. Where are these features in 2008 Excel? I can't find them anywhere.

thnx

 

[CyberTaz]

Hi Tom;

I can understand that you miss the ol' bitmap editing features but they can
hardly be considered "core features of Office Mac" They were convenience
tools provided when Mac OS supported the PICT image format as its default.

OS X ‹ personal computing in general ‹ is getting away from bitmap graphics
altogether. They're low quality, limited in colors & disproportionately
large relative to their drawbacks. The industry trend is toward more robust
graphic formats such as PNG & PDF which are different structures that
provide significant benefits. Accordingly there are trade-offs. It's
unrealistic to expect software to just keep adding capabilities release
after release. Sooner or later something has to go ‹ out with the old/in
with the new. That's the price of "progress"

In all fairness the expanded capabilities of the new graphics engine eclipse
the old bitmap editor by light years. You might consider taking a closer
look at what you've gained as opposed to what you think you've lost As
you do, keep in mind that Word is a word processing program, not a graphics
design app to begin with. There are plenty of good utilities still available
for editing bitmaps before inserting them into documents & quite frankly
they do a much more accurate & reliable job.

Regards |:>)
Bob Jones
[MVP] Office:Mac

 

[Jim Gordon Mac MVP]

I'm with Tom on this one. If you used these tools extensively they're a
lot more than just a convenience. The reduction in vector graphics is
hardly an improvement.

-Jim

 

[tom.s]

Hi Bob,

If the new graphics engine eclipses the old editor by light years, please tell me then what are the new features that will allow me to accomplish the same tasks with the lasso as before? How can I accomplish this without having to purchase or use yet another software product? Will everyone in our company now have to install and learn another product? 95% of people in an office do not need advanced editing software nor do they understand how it works, it is complete overkill in a normal office environment to force more software on people.

I also should have been a bit more specific in that this is mostly used in PowerPoint. When my CEO or VP gives me a presentation with 60 images that need to be touched up or reworked, what are my options now? I have to ask for the 60 files individually? I have to force my CEO and VP to learn and use new software because the new and improved 2008 decided to eliminate key features as part of an 'upgrade'? This is not progress, but rather a step backwards. When we're sending up to 15 different revisions of the same file between 2-3 people for editing this is going to be a headache and nightmare trying to do some very basic editing that was there before. Am I suppose to export 60 pictures everytime I want to make small adjustments? Does everyone in our group have to do this?

This is really more then just some little feature, it really was a core function for us.

And Word IS used for graphics editing, otherwise they wouldn't include the capabilities and features in Word to do so. Example, our company creates our product spec sheets in Word and it looks sharp as heck... We don't have the time or resources to become graphics editors and learn CS4 or other advanced programs... it's total overkill and makes everything twice as long to do .

I understand your point of view, but it's not realistic. I had a Swiss Army Knife with all the tools necessary to complete my job without using 3rd party software. Since the Swiss Army Knife has been upgraded, I no longer have a screwdriver and am being told that the newer Swiss Army Knife is progress and better, and that it is not designed for screwing and that there are better larger screwdrivers that I can purchase and carry around.

 

[John McGhie]

Hi Tom:

These are questions you need to put to your company's IT Department.

I understand your point: I consider that the graphics editing component of
Microsoft Office is mission-critical in almost all companies. It certainly
is in all the companies I consult to.

However, the loss of these features was clearly called out by Microsoft in
the evaluation material for Office 2008. Corporate IT Departments had a
responsibility to not only know how their users use software and what for,
but also to TEST proposed new versions to ensure they fulfilled all
requirements before rolling them out.

If that wasn't done, your IS Director will have a very interesting morning
tea with the CEO. I am surprised that the Chief Financial Officer hasn't
already torn the IS Director limb-from-limb when he discovered that his
spreadsheets don't work either...

In the meantime, they will have to roll back: the software they have
installed is not fit for use, and they will simply have to correct their
error.

Sorry: There is no other answer.

Cheers

Hi Bob,

If the new graphics engine eclipses the old editor by light years, please tell
me then what are the new features that will allow me to accomplish the same
tasks with the lasso as before? How can I accomplish this without having to
purchase or use yet another software product? Will everyone in our company
now have to install and learn another product? 95% of people in an office do
not need advanced editing software nor do they understand how it works, it is
complete overkill in a normal office environment to force more software on
people.

I also should have been a bit more specific in that this is mostly used in
PowerPoint. When my CEO or VP gives me a presentation with 60 images that
need to be touched up or reworked, what are my options now? I have to ask for
the 60 files individually? I have to force my CEO and VP to learn and use new
software because the new and improved 2008 decided to eliminate key features
as part of an 'upgrade'? This is not progress, but rather a step backwards.
When we're sending up to 15 different revisions of the same file between 2-3
people for editing this is going to be a headache and nightmare trying to do
some very basic editing that was there before. Am I suppose to export 60
pictures everytime I want to make small adjustments? Does everyone in our
group have to do this?

This is really more then just some little feature, it really was a core
function for us.

And Word IS used for graphics editing, otherwise they wouldn't include the
capabilities and features in Word to do so. Example, our company creates our
product spec sheets in Word and it looks sharp as heck... We don't have the
time or resources to become graphics editors and learn CS4 or other advanced
programs... it's total overkill and makes everything twice as long to do .

I understand your point of view, but it's not realistic. I had a Swiss Army
Knife with all the tools necessary to complete my job without using 3rd party
software. Since the Swiss Army Knife has been upgraded, I no longer have a
screwdriver and am being told that the newer Swiss Army Knife is progress and
better, and that it is not designed for screwing and that there are better
larger screwdrivers that I can purchase and carry around.

--

The email below is my business email -- Please do not email me about forum
matters unless I ask you to; or unless you intend to pay!

John McGhie, Microsoft MVP (Word, Mac Word), Consultant Technical Writer,
McGhie Information Engineering Pty Ltd
Sydney, Australia. | Ph: +61 (0)4 1209 1410
+61 4 1209 1410, mailto:[email protected]