Bernard -
I feel like I have to do much more mouse clicking in Excel 2007 than before.
The button I want isn't on a commandbar that's always visible, it's on a
ribbon tab which I first have to click, then click on the button. Two clicks
for one. The dialogs to format shapes and chart elements have many more tabs
than before, most of which are sparsely populated. I can't get to all axes
in one dialog (Chart menu > Chart Options > Axes tab), I have to deal with
them one at a time using the item on the tab. When I format the scale of a
chart axis, clicking the Fixed radio button does not select the number in
the related box, I have to make an extra effort to select it. I can't click
in the box with the number until I've already activated Fixed. What causes
many more mouse clicks is that the behavior of Undo (Ctrl+Y) is erratic, and
the behavior of Repeat Last Action is practically nonexistent when charts
are involved. This causes a major productivity loss.
The lack of easy and quick customization causes delays. I used to be able to
make a throwaway floating commandbar with two or three buttons, float it
near where I was working, then delete it when I didn't need it any more. The
QAT is stuck at the top of the screen. I used to be able to tear off a
formatting menu so I would only need one click to format a shape, but now I
need to make repeated trips to the ribbon.
Some things I can't even do in 2007. I can't independently format X and Y
error bars on the same series. I can't format a series by selecting its
legend key in the legend. I can't plot an XY series on the X axis of an
existing line chart. I can't record a macro while I work with shapes, and
the recorder only captures some of the actions when working with charts.
Have I gotten to 115 yet? Maybe not, but I'm not out to trash 2007. I
actually kind of like it, but it doesn't feel ready for real work yet. I
know they're planning improvements for SP1, and I'm hoping they'll get to
some of my issues.
- Jon
