Suite Life Microsoft's New Software Suite Makes Computing Sweet Indeed.

After spending some time with Office 97, I'm convincedMicrosoft finally has us where they want us. What I mean is, withOffice 97, they've left us very few reasons to ever leave theMicrosoft-controlled environment. Why? Because thatenvironment--complete with a surprisingly unobtrusive cartooncharacter called the "Answer Wizard"--is about aspleasant and functional as a software program can be.

Microsoft has added a new configuration to the Office 97family--the Small Business Edition. Considering how fast smallbusinesses, and particularly the homebased segment--are growing,it's no big surprise that Microsoft is targeting small-businessusers with its most popular software program. What is somewhatsurprising, however, is how Microsoft adapted Office 97 to appealto small-business users.

After numerous focus groups and much BODYing, Microsoftdetermined that small-business users don't require two of thekey Office Professional components: Microsoft Access (database) andPowerPoint (for presentations). That left Word 97, Excel 97 andOutlook 97, the new Microsoft information manager. To make theproduct more appealing to small-business users, Microsoft addedPublisher 97 (desktop publishing), Automap Streets Plus(street-level mapping), and Small Business Financial Manager 97.The result is an extremely interesting and easy-to-use suite ofproducts. (Macintosh and Windows 3.1 users are out of luck when itcomes to Office 97--this is a Windows 95/NT product only.)

Full Disclosure

Before reading on, you should know that the Office 97 SmallBusiness Edition is going to eat up a lot of space on your harddrive--more than 100MB. Of course, if you're already an Officeuser, that number may not be daunting.

Because this program won't be shipping until the time thismagazine reaches you, I reviewed a beta version. To my surprise, Ididn't encounter any bugs. The upgrade program for Office 97 isvery liberal, and most users will qualify for the $249 upgradeprice rather than the $499 full price.

The Outlook Is Good

Microsoft Office is already the most popular suite on themarket--and for good reason. This program has always made it easyfor users to share information between modules: for instance, toembed a spreadsheet into a Word document and be assured that as thespreadsheet gets updated, so will the Word document.

All this and more holds true for Office 97. That's becauseof Outlook 97 (below), a new desktop information manager thatbrings even more integration to the Office suite. Outlook 97combines the functionality of an e-mail application and contactmanager (address book, appointments and the like) with a documentmanager. Users can do all their work directly from Outlook,simplifying the process of organizing data, events and evenpeople.

I found the Journal a particularly interesting feature. HereOutlook keeps track of all the activities you've performed inOffice applications, letting you track your daily activities andopen current files and e-mail messages directly from Outlook. Ifyou rely on your calendar, you'll appreciate Outlook'ssimple but comprehensive calendaring function. Here you can planrecurring meetings from now until forever and also organize dailytasks.

Additionally, Outlook provides much of the Internetfunctionality in Office 97, including exchanging messages withassociates via e-mail or internal mail. What's nice is thatcontact information listed in Outlook includes space for e-mail andWeb site addresses. Sending messages is a one-click procedure, asis visiting a contact's Web page. Without any reconfiguration,Outlook was able to dial up my Internet service provider anddownload my e-mail messages. Word fans will love WordMail, acapability that lets you use the features and formatting of Word 97for e-mail messages.

Usability Is Key

Readers of this column know if a program isn'tuser-friendly, it's not going to receive high marks. As anexisting Office user, I may be biased, but, in my opinion, Office97 is probably the most user-friendly program there is. Of course,Microsoft only had to improve on a good thing, and the developershad plenty of user feedback to make sure they got it right. ButMicrosoft went beyond the call of duty to improve this program toensure its top spot in the category.

First, there's the Office Assistant--an animated character(you can choose from nine; I liked Scribble the cat) that residesin a small box outside your work area. The Office Assistant helpsusers get through the basic tasks of Office 97 and unobtrusivelyprompts you to learn more about certain functions.

There's also something called IntelliSense that consists ofhelpful tools that make it easier to work. For example, AutoTextguesses what you're about to type--such as a month, salutationor any word you choose to add to the AutoText dictionary--and fillsin the rest of the word when you hit Enter. There's also animproved AutoCorrect for fixing typos as you work.

A new Document Map view in Word is great for people who typelarge documents and need an easy way to navigate them. The DocumentMap uses a split screen and displays an outline of the document onthe left side, letting users click on subheads to navigate throughthe document.

If you've ever struggled with laying out a table in Word,you'll love the way tables work now--just draw them to the sizeyou want. No more guessing how to add a row or column.

There are also plenty of Wizards in Office 97, which make iteasier to work by pre-formatting pages, such as letters and faxcover sheets in Word and publication templates in Publisher.

Why Didnt I Think Of That?

One extremely handy addition to the toolbar is a highlighterpen. Working like a traditional highlighter pen, this tool lets youhighlight text in whatever color you deem appropriate. Because itworks in every Office product, you can send and receive documentsand e-mail messages with certain phrases highlighted, making iteasy to exchange ideas and text changes.

An even more exciting "Why didn't they think of thatsooner" product is not even directly related to Office 97,although it's being included with all versions: It's apiece of hardware, the new IntelliMouse. Who would have thought amouse could be awesome? But the IntelliMouse is.

This new device, which hit retail shelves long before Office 97and is already being supported by numerous software developers,makes pointing and clicking easier than ever. A wheel located ontop of the mouse makes scrolling around a screen incrediblyefficient, too--you just roll it with an index finger or hold itdown and move the mouse to view other areas of the screen. No moreclunky scroll bars to navigate! One software program that benefitsimmensely from the IntelliMouse is Streets Plus because users caneasily scroll around large images of maps.

But Wait! Theres More!

Because Streets Plus (right) is unique to the Small BusinessEdition, a closer look is merited. Microsoft purchased this programfrom a company called AutoMap. Though I haven't seen an AutoMapprogram in some time, I was extremely impressed with this version(which is also available as a stand-alone program). Streets Plus ispretty much what it sounds like--maps of highways, streets androads to help users get around their world a little easier.

Using Streets Plus is fairly intuitive. You can hone in on anaddress, route your trip, calculate the mileage, zoom in or out tosee the area surrounding the location and so on. There's also adatabase where you search for "Points ofInterest"--restaurants, museums, lodging, bed and breakfasts,and the like. The only drawback is Streets Plus doesn't includeany reviews of the facilities it lists or give any insight into thecities you may be visiting. Streets Plus relies on the Web forthat. Click on Web links, and you can search for cities or statesand be linked directly to pages that contain pertinent links tosites of interest.

Because the Internet is Microsoft's next big frontier,Office 97 has plenty of Internet capabilities. Type in a Web siteaddress in any of the Office 97 programs, like www.entrepreneurmag. com; the programs recognize the Web address formatand will convert it into a live hyperlink that, when clicked on,opens your Web browser of choice and goes to the site.

Another great Web feature is the ability to save files in HTMLformat. This means virtually any Office 97 document (Word, Excel,etc.) can be published on the Web. Word even has a built-in WebPage Wizard for designing professional-looking Web pages.

Unfortunately, the Small Business Financial Manager wasn'tavailable in time to be included in this review. According toMicrosoft, this module will help small-business owners betterunderstand their company's financial state. You will be able toimport data from popular accounting packages, such as QuickBooks,and create reports that can be customized to analyze all yourfinancial data.

New Look And Feel

With all these new features comes an entire face lift. Officeusers will still recognize the interface. Lots of the pull-downmenus are the same, and the toolbars at the top of the screen havethe same functionality--and then some. But a closer look willreveal that these new Command Bars are consistent across the entireline of Office 97 components (with one exception: Publisher 97).That means users will see the same icons in every application,making computer work easier than ever.

Microsoft has done it again. They've created a program userswill want to upgrade to. (Plus they've developed a newMicrosoft mouse that makes it easier to work.) Though you can livewithout Office 97, you'll wonder how you ever did.

Report Card

4: Excellent

3: Good

2: Fair

1: Poor

Rating: 4

Microsoft Office 97

Small Business Edition

$249 (upgrade)

Microsoft Corp.

(800) 426-9400

(http://www.microsoft.com/office)

Hot Disks

Smart Business System: Two new products in the SmartBusiness System family should help small-business owners run andgrow their companies. By providing strategies for motivating yourstaff, Smart Manager helps you maximize employee efficiency,increase morale and decrease turnover. Smart Marketing guides usersin maximizing sales by providing sales analyses and offeringinformation on direct mail, market research and other sales tools.For more information on these and other American Institute forFinancial Research products, call (800) 578-9000.

CyberViewer: Cruising the Web can be confusing. A siteyou visited moments before can suddenly be hard to find. That'swhy there's CyberViewer, a free utility that can be added toNetscape Navigator (Macintosh only), which displays pages a userhas accessed as a graphical thumbnail. The thumbnails can be put inyour bookmark folder for easy retrieval. Visit (http://www.extensis.com/products/CyberViewer/).

Contact Sources

American Institute for Financial Research, 900 PerimeterPark, Ste. G, Morrisville, NC 27560, (http://www.smartonline.com);

Extensis Corp., 55 S.W. Yamhill, 4th Fl., Portland, OR97204, (503) 274-2020;

Microsoft Corp., 1 Microsoft Wy., Redmond, WA 98052-6399,(206) 882-8080;

Cassandra Cavanah is a former executive editor of PC Laptopmagazine and has reported on the computer industry for eightyears.