Office 2013 Is Not User Friendly - Sharing my frustration at the changes (at least some of them) and feedback for the next version--soon, I hope.

It must be "better", MS tells us it is "new & improved". <sigh>

The ribbon is "user friendly", but only for NEW users (aka "new customers" aka "NEW MONEY"!). Sorry, it was not intended to be be "friendly" to existing users.

In 2013, click on the picture. This will display the "Picture Tools" contextual menu.  Look at the right end of the "Picture Tools > Format" tab in the "Size" group.  Click on the "Crop" drop down button. This will display the crop marks you are looking for.

Thanks; I found the crop marks 

But there used to be a way to place a "3x5" card over the photo and move it around so you could select what you wanted to keep and get rid of extraneous sky or road or people on the sidelines.  I can't find that anymore.  You could actually find the best position BEFORE doing the crop and you could make it large or small.  Where would I do that now?

I wasn't aware of that functionality, but I did a little testing in 2010 and 2013. Exactly what ste s are you taking to do this?

In 2010, when I defined the Crop window size (by clicking and dragging) it showed an overlay over the picture (my "p" key isn't working ... <sigh>). I could then click anywhere on the icture inside of the cro window and drag the icture around under the window.

I found I could do the same thing in 2013, but the way it looks is different, not as user friendly (to me) as the old way.

Office 2013 is the poorest version of Office I've ever used. I especially abhor Outlook. The program is repugnant junk and it really stinks. It's difficult to navigate visually due to the poor layout and formatting, which isn't flexible or adequately customizable. I will be reverting to the previous version of Office, which worked great. 

Microsoft, this is a failure. It is a terribly poor effort. 

What on earth is Microsoft playing at. Do that want to be out of business in a few years time?

Having switched from Windows XP to Windows 8 a while ago and recoiled in horror at an OS I found so difficult to use, I quickly upgraded to 8.1. Marginally better but still far too complicated and user-unfriendly.

My frustration was then compounded when I migrated from Office 2000 to Office 2013. What a crock of sh*t this is. Things that were simple and straight-forward in 2000 are now unbelievably and unnecessarily complicated in 2013. Also very buggy.

Come on Microsoft. Pull your finger out. You can do better than this.

They are chasing "fashion" changes in UI design.  Unfortunately many of their users don't agree with / like these changes. Yes, they can do better, but the problem from our point of view is that they think they already are doing "better" ... <sigh>

You may not like this work around but one way to get back at least partially to an environment you find more friendly is the "retro" approach.

If you buy / upgrade to Windows 8.1 Professional, it includes the FREE right to "upgrade" back to Windows 7.  This will be much closer to XP than Win 8/8.1.

Office 2003 is the last version that used the same menus as 2000. 2003 is no longer supported at all by MS so it is TOTALLY a NOT GOOD idea to use it. You may want to give Office 2010 a try. It uses the "new & improved" <heavy sarcasm> Ribbon in place of the "good ole" menu but many users find the 2010 version more usable than 2013.

Bottom line, if you decide to stay with Win 8.1 and Office 2013/365 you are going to have to invest a lot of time learning these 2 new user interfaces. It does take some / A LOT of time to get used to the new interfaces but it can be done.  I have been using Win 8 (not 8.1) since it was released on my 2005 (aka OLD!, laptop).  I have things setup so I almost never use the "Metro" / tile user interface.

For Win 8.1, the big trick is to learn how to create "shortcuts" to your 2013 programs on the old style "desktop".  You NOW can also set Win 8.1 to boot directly to the "desktop".

There are many web sites with "how-to" and learner/dummy level tips on how to get comfortable with these new user interfaces.

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FYI:

If you can't find any of these links/pages, try the "wayback machine" to find an archived version that you can still use:

We’ve covered Archive.org’s Wayback Machine extensively in the past. Not only is it a way to view a website that won’t load, it’s a way to travel back in time and view what websites used to look like. This tool is indispensable if you’re trying to access a website that’s been down for a while, or view a specific page that’s been removed.

Visit the Archive.org homepage, plug in a website address and click Take Me Back.

The Wayback Machine presents you with snapshots taken on various dates. You can view the most recent snapshot, or even view the oldest one.

Here’s what MakeUseOf looked like back in 2006, an almost-empty page with a “Hello world!” post. Ah, websites – they grow up so fast.

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Office 2000 is roughly similar to 2003.  So by extension, you can approximately say: "Upgrading from 2000 to 2013 is roughly similar to going from 2003 to 2007 and/or 2010".  So it is valid for you to use 2007/2010 instructions as long as you remember that there are some slight discrepancies.

MS used to provide "how to upgrade from 2003 to 2007/2010" instruction guides, but they didn't bother with 2013.

Here are links to some of the 2010 resources that you can use

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/office-2010-migration-guides-HA101982272.aspx -  2010 PDFs to help with ribbon

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/learn-where-menu-and-toolbar-commands-are-in-office-2010-HA101794130.aspx - Mapping 2003 to 2010 commands for all Office apps. Silverlight applets and spreadsheets

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One tip to remember when you are investing time in learning the new Office user interface. There are LOTS of pages/resources for versions of Office 2007 and 2010, more than 2013.  The good part is that other than minor changes in the look of the ribbon, these "old" resources are still valid for Office 2013.  During your search if you find tips for 2007 or 2010 they will almost certainly apply to 2013 too. So don't be afraid to spend time on these older tips/pages!

Word 2007 2010: Intro Ribbon tutorial

http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/management/word-2007-and-word-2010-ribbon-tutorial.html

Microsoft Word 2007 and Word 2010 don't have the toolbars at the top of the screen that we are all familiar with. Toolbars have been replaced by the Ribbon.

This page describes how to use the Ribbon and how it differs from the toolbars we are all used to.

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http://www.scribd.com/doc/29093109/Stop-Clicking-Exploring-Excel-Ribbon-Like-Newbie - Stop Clicking and Exploring Excel (Word) 2007 like a Newbie  go to this page, and download the PDF " Although it is focused on Excel, the basic concepts apply to all ribbonized apps.

Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog - http://blogs.msdn.com/b/jensenh/archive/2008/03/12/table-of-contents.aspx This is an organized Table Of Contents to a large collection of links to MS Dev Team Blogs about the design and building of the 2007 ribbon. A LOT of reading, but interesting to understand the underlying (il)logic of the change from the menu to the “Ribbon”.

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Here is a link to a searchable web page, and a macro you can add to the "QAT" (Quick Access Tab) to help you find the (approximate) new locations of commands on the ribbon.

Office Watch Word Command List  - http://new.office-watch.com/2011/word-2010-command-finder-from-office-watch-com/

They also have a similar command search page for Excel

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http://www.gmayor.com/Toolbars_in_word_2007.htm

Here are some 2013 learning resources you can try:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/office365-suite-help/office-365-learning-resources-HA104141179.aspx

Are you brand new to Office 365? Want to ramp up quickly and easily?

Office 365 is a suite of online services that includes email, document storage, file sharing, and more. Use our free videos, learning guides, and quick reference cards to help get you started.

Click (or tap) an area below to learn about Office 365.

   
Work with emailWork with your calendarStore and share documentsSet up and join online meetings

 
Manage contactsCollaborate with othersUse a team siteManage projects and tasks

   
Use Office 365 on mobile devicesWork with databases in AccessVisualize and explore data in Excel

Secure and protect content

http://aka.ms/o365kit

4_Quick_Start_Guides/Learning%20BoM.XLSX

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc326108.aspx 

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh220610%28v=office.14%29.aspx

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Published: July 16, 2012

In this section, you will find technical documentation about Microsoft Office products and technologies.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh220610%28v=office.14%29.aspx

http://office.microsoft.com/en-ca/word-help/training-courses-for-word-2013-HA104030981.aspx

http://shaunakelly.com/word/concepts/introduction.html

https://learn.dummies.com/proed/index

Here are several places you can go to find help. Many of the pages point to the same resources.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj871004.aspx

http://www.gcflearnfree.org/office

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/training-FX101782702.aspx

• Get to know the new Office
• Freeze and lock Excel panes
• Work with photos in Office
• Set margins in Word
• All about PowerPoint Slide Masters
• More …View all

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2407349,00.asp

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/mssmallbiz/archive/2014/07/07/largest-collection-of-free-microsoft-ebooks-ever-including-windows-8-1-windows-8-windows-7-office-2013-office-365-office-2010-sharepoint-2013-dynamics-crm-powershell-exchange-server-lync-2013-system-center-azure-cloud-sql.aspx

Microsoft IT Academy:  http://www.microsoft.com/education/itacademy/Pages/benefits.aspx - “

ITA enables you to offer training not only on fundamental technology skills but also technical courses for your students, faculty and staff who are interested in pursuing a career in IT after graduation.”

Microsoft Virtual Academy: http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/ - “Successful technologists never stop learning and great technology never stops evolving. Microsoft Virtual Academy (MVA) offers online Microsoft training delivered by experts to help technologists continually learn, with hundreds of courses, in 11 different languages.”

Microsoft IT Learning/Training:  http://www.microsoft.com/learning/en-us/training.aspx  “Whether you’re an established professional or new to the field, our training will give you the expertise you need in a specific product or technology. When you learn from our Microsoft Certified Trainers, you can be confident that what you’ll learn will be accurate, complete, and up to date.”

Microsoft Partner Training:  https://mspartner.microsoft.com/en/us/Pages/Training/Training-overview.aspx.  “Sharpen your skills with training for the latest Microsoft technologies.

Partner learning paths specify the training courses that can help you reach particular goals.”

Microsoft Learning Microsoft Training Catalog:  http://learning.microsoft.com/Manager/Catalog.aspx.  “The Training Catalog is a comprehensive collection of Microsoft Learning resources, including online training, books, classroom training, exams, and more.”

https://blogs.msdn.com/b/mssmallbiz/archive/2012/03/16/microsoft-office-365-virtual-labs-available-to-you-online-plus-many-more-office-365-resources.aspx?Redirected=true

Many links for online training and other information Good resources.

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj871004.aspx

Users who are new to Office with Windows 8 on a touch screen can learn about touch and gestures in the text version of the Office Touch Guide. ( http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkId=272428 )

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/support/office-2010-touch-guide-FX102821959.aspx 30-sec videos

I absolutely agree regarding the folder shortcut that you have selected not being highlighted.  I use folder shortcuts all the time as I have a separate email folder for each customer, and I modify shortcuts to show the active customers.  But why is the selected shortcut not even remotely highlighted in Outlook 2013?  In Office 2007 you could easily see which folder was selected, but no indication at all in 2010 and 2013.  This really increases the possibility of errors.

Also the bland undifferentiated view of Outlook 2013 is very frustrating - it is difficult to see what is going on.  Really disappointing.

File-save as now takes me extra clicks to get to where I need to go. My current install, new as of yesterday, won't even let me open excel files via double click.

The visual aspect of the new release is awful!  Hurts my eyes. 

What MS Office need to do is really simplify  the whole product range , so anyone can walk in from the street 

and start using it, with just basic IT skills. 

They already have, its called Office Online (the dumbed down version of Office). 

There is also WordPad.

How is it possible to "simplify" any of the office programs without stripping out most of the functionality?