Office 2016 excellent for mid to power users; scary for novices.
October 24, 2019
Office 2016 excellent for mid to power users; scary for novices.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Microsoft Office 2016
We have a network of Freelance translators where we interact with each other frequently by sharing documents for mutual updates.
Our Professionals network is worldwide and has no specific timezone. So, we have updates anytime.
Clients mostly sent Word documents for translations, while PDF and PowerPoint come second but not close.
Excel is mostly used for intra-network invoices and in some cases to bill a final client.
Office products like OneNote and Publisher are hardly used by translators for information sharing.
If Skype for business would ever be marketed as a tool for communication within freelance networks, having many tools to interchange files, it could really be a hit, but nowadays, the team relies on WhatsApp groups for simple and fast communications.
Our Professionals network is worldwide and has no specific timezone. So, we have updates anytime.
Clients mostly sent Word documents for translations, while PDF and PowerPoint come second but not close.
Excel is mostly used for intra-network invoices and in some cases to bill a final client.
Office products like OneNote and Publisher are hardly used by translators for information sharing.
If Skype for business would ever be marketed as a tool for communication within freelance networks, having many tools to interchange files, it could really be a hit, but nowadays, the team relies on WhatsApp groups for simple and fast communications.
- Consistent functionality across the several Office components. This consistency is a great advantage for adoptions of other unused Office components. For example, if you want to publish a book that you have done with Word, you don't need to relearn new menu positions, new file-related actions, new reviewing procedures, etc.
- Functionality extensions with Add-ins. This has always been a nameplate for Microsoft and Office keeps its tradition. I remember the renowned Bill Gates phrase when Visual Basic has been presented to him, he said: "Make it extensible". So, for example, I use Grammarly to improve my translations and there are thousands of Add-ins that you can purchase to increase your productivity.
- Continuous improvement of online Office 365 allows for comprehensive usage from any platform, like Apple or Android tablets, Mac or Windows, cell phones and more. Every day and regular user's functions are there. And if you need extensive reviewing capabilities or programming, you can always rely on the desktop version.
- Spelling and translate for multiple languages are now included in the online version. I should indeed rely more on the online version.
- Copy and paste between different Office components have been the same for decades. This functionality is simply not user-friendly as it uses the tech lingo, and it says absolutely nothing about the actual output. For example: What is the meaning of HTML format or Formatted text (RTF) or Device Independent Bitmap? IF you are not born in India, you will not get it. A better approach is used by Excel when it says Copy Values and Number formatting. So, please revisit this mold function and help the mortal end user.
- Office tables in Word are maybe the slower and frustrating functionality in Office. Many Power users and MVP, already highlighted that a bigger (not immense) Word table, can take several minutes to get updated for any single action like inserting a column or changing borders or shades. The issue is so infuriating, that most times I need to shut down the application in order to start later when the machine is idle and I have nothing else to deliver. Even worse is the CPU usage, which constantly absorbs around 28-30%.
- The VBA object model for Word table should resemble the most efficient and better conceptualized Excel object model for tables. This would dramatically increase the productivity of many VBA developers that develop in both products and it would also be able to develop in new office components without a significant learning curve.
- Consistent look and feel and templates. Even with a badly designed and confusing workbook/document/ presentation, it still a lot more productive when the components are all under the same GUI and under many common functionalities.
- Collaboration. Using the Review options that exist in nearly all Office components eliminate the burden of who-has-done-this-darn-thing. However, I believe Microsoft never highlighted this function in an ad. They should do it.
- A negative or a possibility for improvement is the mix of simple and complex functions (the default configuration) under the same areas in the ribbon. So, users that are about to use Office for the first time ever, will see a fearsome visual where you don't know where to put your first step. A breakthrough could be achieved if Office 2016 would have a standard ribbon (with basic to intermediate functions) and an advanced ribbon where additional more complexes functions would show up. So, a beginner would prefer the basic to intermediate ribbon, yet "invited" to see the advanced ribbon at his/her convenience.
Do you think Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued) delivers good value for the price?
Yes
Are you happy with Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued)'s feature set?
Yes
Did Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued) live up to sales and marketing promises?
Yes
Did implementation of Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued) go as expected?
Yes
Would you buy Microsoft Office 2016 (discontinued) again?
Yes