I hope I'm missing something in Excel 2007. In Excel 2003, the chart wizard
gives you access to lots of options when you create a graph--graph type, data
range, the various series (including the X axis labels), the chart title and
axis titles, gridlines, legends, and others. It doesn't take long to create
the graph with most of the options you want and then tweak it pretty quickly.

In Excel 2007, it seems that every option is a separate button/menu/choice.
Setting the chart title, the x-axis title, and the y-axis title are three
different operations. Ditto for pretty much everything except specifying the
data range.

I haven't timed this but my gut feeling is that it takes me at least half
again as long to create a graph in Excel 2007 as in Excel 2003, maybe double
the time. I surely hope I'm missing something simple.

Thanks for any advice!

liz

Liz -

It's not just you. In general I find the new Office 2007 interface less
efficient than in 2003. For charting, though, I find it terribly
inefficient. Everything, as you state, is a separate button or control, so
it takes much more clicking to get anything done. I'm tempted to develop a
Chart Options substitute as an add-in, just to regain some of my lost speed.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com
_______


"Elizabeth Swoope" wrote in
message ...
I hope I'm missing something in Excel 2007. In Excel 2003, the chart wizard
gives you access to lots of options when you create a graph--graph type,
data
range, the various series (including the X axis labels), the chart title
and
axis titles, gridlines, legends, and others. It doesn't take long to
create
the graph with most of the options you want and then tweak it pretty
quickly.

In Excel 2007, it seems that every option is a separate
button/menu/choice.
Setting the chart title, the x-axis title, and the y-axis title are three
different operations. Ditto for pretty much everything except specifying
the
data range.

I haven't timed this but my gut feeling is that it takes me at least half
again as long to create a graph in Excel 2007 as in Excel 2003, maybe
double
the time. I surely hope I'm missing something simple.

Thanks for any advice!

liz

Jon,

Thank you for your response. I was hoping I was missing something. I don't
like Office in the first place, but Office 2007 is an abomination. I cringe
every time I think of the kazillion lost hours of productivity spent trying
to get anything done with this software. Fortunately, I don't have to USE it
for my own work most of the time, I just have to teach it.

I really appreciate you MVPs and the info you provide, especially on the
MVPS web site. I spent lots of time there several years ago when I was told
that I had to teach Office so I could learn the right way to use the software.

liz

"Jon Peltier" wrote:

Liz -

It's not just you. In general I find the new Office 2007 interface less
efficient than in 2003. For charting, though, I find it terribly
inefficient. Everything, as you state, is a separate button or control, so
it takes much more clicking to get anything done. I'm tempted to develop a
Chart Options substitute as an add-in, just to regain some of my lost speed.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com

I couldn't agree more -- charting in Excel 2007 is a gruesome, time-consuming
task that seems to be a giant leap backwards from Excel 2003. The true
functionality of 2003 seems to have been replaced by 4704 different
beveling/lighting/material choices -- not a good trade-off.

"Elizabeth Swoope" wrote:

Jon,

Thank you for your response. I was hoping I was missing something. I don't
like Office in the first place, but Office 2007 is an abomination. I cringe
every time I think of the kazillion lost hours of productivity spent trying
to get anything done with this software. Fortunately, I don't have to USE it
for my own work most of the time, I just have to teach it.

I really appreciate you MVPs and the info you provide, especially on the
MVPS web site. I spent lots of time there several years ago when I was told
that I had to teach Office so I could learn the right way to use the software.

liz

"Jon Peltier" wrote:

Liz -

It's not just you. In general I find the new Office 2007 interface less
efficient than in 2003. For charting, though, I find it terribly
inefficient. Everything, as you state, is a separate button or control, so
it takes much more clicking to get anything done. I'm tempted to develop a
Chart Options substitute as an add-in, just to regain some of my lost speed.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com

This is awful. Excel 2007 is awful. I'm just trying to create some scatter
plots (with lines) of data. And it's impossible. I've been using Excel for
years....and it's taken me an hour and I still don't have a SIMPLE graph
done.

Where's the x axis and y axis? How the #*#*#* are we supposed to create
multiple data series? I feel like throwing my computer through the window. I
can't believe that I can't create a graph...that Excel isn't intuitive and
that no one around me can figure it out either.

I will be uninstalling 2007 and asking for a refund. The entire suite of
2007 is slow and a huge step backwards...just like Vista.

"Cassie" wrote:

I couldn't agree more -- charting in Excel 2007 is a gruesome, time-consuming
task that seems to be a giant leap backwards from Excel 2003. The true
functionality of 2003 seems to have been replaced by 4704 different
beveling/lighting/material choices -- not a good trade-off.

"Elizabeth Swoope" wrote:

Jon,

Thank you for your response. I was hoping I was missing something. I don't
like Office in the first place, but Office 2007 is an abomination. I cringe
every time I think of the kazillion lost hours of productivity spent trying
to get anything done with this software. Fortunately, I don't have to USE it
for my own work most of the time, I just have to teach it.

I really appreciate you MVPs and the info you provide, especially on the
MVPS web site. I spent lots of time there several years ago when I was told
that I had to teach Office so I could learn the right way to use the software.

liz

"Jon Peltier" wrote:

Liz -

It's not just you. In general I find the new Office 2007 interface less
efficient than in 2003. For charting, though, I find it terribly
inefficient. Everything, as you state, is a separate button or control, so
it takes much more clicking to get anything done. I'm tempted to develop a
Chart Options substitute as an add-in, just to regain some of my lost speed.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com

Thank you all for this. So it's not just me.

I have Office 03 and 07 installed on the same PC and I have actually timed
myself making the same bar graph with a secondary axis line graph. Took me
10 minutes in 03, 2 hours later and I still don't know how to figure it out
in 07. And I teach 03, moving to 07 in our new SOE.

No joke Microsoft, dumping the chart wizard is a freakin' disgrace. 07
compares favourably if you click finish on the first screen of the 03 wizard
- very simple charts are just as quick (no improvement), but complex ones are
made unnecessarily difficult. And what about the right click options? In 03
we could go to any of the wizard screens to make our changes. Not so in 07.
And the source data dialog is hopeless. I'd love to see the UAT signoffs on
that one.

I'm reminded of Shrek: "I'm only trying to help!"
"What you're doing is the opposite of help."

Please Microsoft, give us the 03 chart wizard as a downloadable add in.
I'll make sure it gets added to the SOE before our 3000 staff start freaking
out.

"joe" wrote:

This is awful. Excel 2007 is awful. I'm just trying to create some scatter
plots (with lines) of data. And it's impossible. I've been using Excel for
years....and it's taken me an hour and I still don't have a SIMPLE graph
done.

Where's the x axis and y axis? How the #*#*#* are we supposed to create
multiple data series? I feel like throwing my computer through the window. I
can't believe that I can't create a graph...that Excel isn't intuitive and
that no one around me can figure it out either.

I will be uninstalling 2007 and asking for a refund. The entire suite of
2007 is slow and a huge step backwards...just like Vista.

"Cassie" wrote:

I couldn't agree more -- charting in Excel 2007 is a gruesome, time-consuming
task that seems to be a giant leap backwards from Excel 2003. The true
functionality of 2003 seems to have been replaced by 4704 different
beveling/lighting/material choices -- not a good trade-off.

"Elizabeth Swoope" wrote:

Jon,

Thank you for your response. I was hoping I was missing something. I don't
like Office in the first place, but Office 2007 is an abomination. I cringe
every time I think of the kazillion lost hours of productivity spent trying
to get anything done with this software. Fortunately, I don't have to USE it
for my own work most of the time, I just have to teach it.

I really appreciate you MVPs and the info you provide, especially on the
MVPS web site. I spent lots of time there several years ago when I was told
that I had to teach Office so I could learn the right way to use the software.

liz

"Jon Peltier" wrote:

Liz -

It's not just you. In general I find the new Office 2007 interface less
efficient than in 2003. For charting, though, I find it terribly
inefficient. Everything, as you state, is a separate button or control, so
it takes much more clicking to get anything done. I'm tempted to develop a
Chart Options substitute as an add-in, just to regain some of my lost speed.

- Jon
-------
Jon Peltier, Microsoft Excel MVP
Tutorials and Custom Solutions
Peltier Technical Services, Inc. - http://PeltierTech.com