WC1228: An Overview of New Components and Features

Last reviewed: September 30, 1997
Article ID: Q136484

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Office for Windows 95, version 7.0

The Application Note "An Overview of New Components and Features" (WC1228) is now available from Microsoft Product Support Services (PSS).

You can obtain this Application Note from the following sources:

  • Microsoft's World Wide Web Site on the Internet
  • The Internet (Microsoft anonymous ftp server)
  • The Microsoft Network (MSN)
  • Microsoft Download Service (MSDL)
  • Microsoft Product Support Services

For complete information, see the "To Obtain This Application Note" section at the end of this article.

THE TEXT OF WC1288

  Microsoft(R) Product Support Services Application Note (Text File)
          WC1228: AN OVERVIEW OF NEW COMPONENTS AND FEATURES
                                                  Revision Date: 10/95
                                                      No Disk Included

The following information applies to Microsoft Office for Windows(R) 95, version 7.0.

 INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT AND ANY SOFTWARE THAT MAY
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 Application Note may not be distributed for profit.

 Copyright (C) 1995 Microsoft Corporation.  All Rights Reserved.
 Microsoft, MS-DOS, PowerPoint, and Windows are registered trademarks
 of Microsoft Corporation.

                           Table of Contents
                           =================

Introduction

The Shortcut Bar

   Positioning the Shortcut Bar
   Customizing the Shortcut Bar
      To show or hide a toolbar
      To customize the colors of the toolbars on the Shortcut Bar
      To change a toolbar icon
      To change the ToolTip for a button on a toolbar
      To change the location of Office for Windows 95 templates
   Features of the Office Toolbar
      Open A Document Button
      Start A New Document Button

Office Binder
   The Components of Office Binder
   Using Office Binder to Manage Files
      Working with Multiple Sections at One Time
      Working with Individual Sections
      Using Templates with Office Binder
   Using Office Binder with Electronic Mail
   Using OLE Drag and Drop in a Binder
   Using Windows 95 Briefcase and Binder
      To use Office Binder and Windows Briefcase over a network

The Office Answer Wizard

Find Fast Indexer

   Using Find Fast
      To run Find Fast
      To manually create an index
      To delete an index
      To update an index
      To disable Find Fast

Microsoft System Information

Microsoft Office Fast Start

                             INTRODUCTION
                             ============

This Application Note contains an overview of the new features in Microsoft Office for Windows 95, including: the Shortcut Bar, Office Binder, the Answer Wizard, Find Fast Indexer, Microsoft System Information Program, and Office FastStart.

                           THE SHORTCUT BAR
                           ================

The Shortcut Bar, called the Microsoft Office Manager (MOM) in earlier versions of Office, has many new features. The new Windows 95 interface enhances both the usability of and the ability to customize the Shortcut Bar.

POSITIONING THE SHORTCUT BAR

The shortcut bar is docked along the right side of your screen by default. However, you can dock it to any side of your screen, or you can drag the Shortcut Bar onto the desktop so that it floats in your workspace. This allows you to access the Shortcut Bar from the location that is most comfortable for you.

CUSTOMIZING THE SHORTCUT BAR

To customize elements of the Shortcut Bar, use the right mouse button to click the background of any toolbar in the Shortcut Bar and click Customize.

To show or hide a toolbar

A toolbar must always be displayed on the Shortcut Bar. By default, the Office toolbar is displayed on the Shortcut bar. To display other toolbars, do the following:

  1. Use the right mouse button to click the Shortcut Bar.

  2. Click Customize, and then select the Toolbars tab.

  3. Select the check box next to the toolbar that you want to be displayed or click the Add Toolbar button to create a custom toolbar.

When you create a toolbar from an existing folder on you hard disk, the buttons on the toolbar are created from the actual files and folders instead of from shortcuts to the items.

To customize the colors of the toolbars on the Shortcut Bar

You can adjust the way color is displayed for all toolbars on the Shortcut Bar. To do this, click the View tab in the Customize dialog box, and either select the Use Standard Toolbar Color check box (which will display the toolbars with the Windows 95 color scheme) or select the Gradient Fill check box and the Smooth check box. Gradient fill means that the color on the toolbar fades to the right. The Smooth check box is only available if your computer has a high-resolution monitor. Because this feature requires more memory, you may want to use this option only if you are using a high performance computer. (Note that shading is most obvious when the Shortcut Bar is "floating.")

To display the Shortcut Bar with a solid color, clear the Gradient Fill check box. Note that you can customize the colors of the individual toolbars, but the way these colors are displayed will be the same for all toolbars on the Shortcut Bar.

To change a toolbar icon

You can change the icon for any shortcut on the Shortcut Bar. To change the icon for a button directly from the Shortcut Bar, do the following:

  1. On the toolbar that contains the icon, use the right mouse button to click the icon that you want to change, and then click Properties.

  2. Click the Shortcut tab.

  3. Click Change Icon. In the list of icons, click a new icon, and click OK.

If the new icon is not displayed on the Shortcut Bar, use the right mouse button to click the Shortcut Bar, and click Refresh Icons.

To change the icon for a button from Windows Explorer (note that the button must be for a shortcut), start Windows Explorer and locate the shortcut that is displayed on the toolbar (these shortcuts should be located in the Msoffice\Office\Shortcut Bar\<folder>, where <folder> is the Office folder or a custom folder that contains shortcuts). Use the right mouse button to click the shortcut, and then click Properties. Follow steps 2 and 3 (under "To change a toolbar icon") to select a new icon for the shortcut.

To change the ToolTip for a button on a toolbar

You can change the name (ToolTip) that is displayed for a button on the Shortcut Bar by running Windows Explorer and renaming the appropriate shortcut, folder, or file that appears on the Shortcut Bar. To change the name of a button on a custom toolbar, the folder that contains the item to rename is

   Msoffice\Office\Shortcut Bar\<folder>

where <folder> is a custom folder that contains shortcuts. Select the appropriate toolbar folder and shortcut in that folder (the default Office Toolbar and any custom toolbars that you create are stored in this folder), and then press F2 to activate the name to be changed.

To change the location of Office templates

The Settings tab in the Customize dialog box contains two items that allow you to change the location for the templates used by Office:

  • User Templates Location. This item contains the full path to the local template folder. This location is set when you install Microsoft Office.
  • Workgroup Templates Location. This item may contain the path to shared template files on a network server. You can use a universal naming convention (UNC) path for this option (for example \\<computername>\<sharename>) or a fully qualified path. Although you can use this setting with a local installation of Microsoft Office, this setting is most beneficial for administrators who want to keep the templates for the Office programs on a network drive. Templates stored in the workgroup location appear on the General tab in the New dialog box when you click the Start A New Document button on the Shortcut Bar.

To have either of these items point to a different location, select the item, click the Modify button, and enter the new location.

By using both of these template location settings, you can access your custom templates and the Office 95 default templates from different locations.

FEATURES OF THE OFFICE TOOLBAR

The Office toolbar is the default toolbar on the Shortcut Bar.

Open A Document Button

The Open A Document button allows you to use the Office toolbar as a central location for opening your documents. When you click the Open A Document button, the Open dialog box is displayed. The default folder that appears in the Open dialog box is the My Documents folder, which allows you to have a central location to store all of your documents, worksheets, presentations, and so on. You can look in other folders by clicking the arrow in the Look In list and selecting a different folder.

The Open dialog box also contains an advanced file searching feature called "Advanced Find." You can create an advanced search to help you locate files you frequently use by clicking the Advanced button. This button displays the Advanced Find dialog box.

After you create an advanced search, you can save the search by clicking the Save Search button and entering a name for the search. You can use this information later by clicking the Advanced button in the Open dialog box, clicking Open Search, and then selecting the saved search. Note that you can also select a saved search by clicking the Commands And Settings button and clicking the Saved Searches command. Buttons in the Open dialog box make it easy to view and access information about files.

 This button      Does this                           Shortcut
 --------------------------------------------------------------

 List             Displays a list of the files in     ALT+4
                  the current folder.

 Details          Displays the details for the files  ALT+5
                  in the current folder.

 Properties       Displays the properties for the     ALT+6
                  selected file.

 Preview          Displays a preview of the selected  ALT+7
                  file.

 Commands And     Allows you to use additional        ALT+8
 Settings         options when you open a file.
                  These additional options include
                  Open Read Only, Print, Properties,
                  and Saved Searches.

Start A New Document Button

When you click the Start A New Document button on the Office toolbar, the New dialog box (which contains all of the templates for the Office for Windows 95 programs) is displayed. This dialog box allows you to select the type of document that you want to create from the assortment of file types that are available in the Office programs, including Office Binder. This dialog box, like the Open dialog box, provides a central location from which to start new documents. This feature makes it easier to use all the Office programs, and it brings the Office templates to a single location. Each Office program contains a similar New dialog box; however, each Office program displays in its New dialog box only the templates used by that program.

                             OFFICE BINDER
                             =============

A good way to picture a Binder is as an "online" three-ring notebook. A Binder is a collection of programs rolled up into one "notebook." For example, instead of opening Word, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint(R) individually to create files, you can open a Binder and add a new Word document, a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet, and a PowerPoint presentation. When you save the Binder, the documents in the Binder are saved together in one file.

To start Office Binder, click the Binder button on the Office toolbar. (If the Binder button is not visible on the Office toolbar, use the right mouse button to click the background of the toolbar, click Customize, click the Buttons tab, and then select the check box next to Microsoft Binder).

THE COMPONENTS OF OFFICE BINDER

Office Binder has four major components: the left pane, the right pane, the File menu, and the Section menu.

NOTE: The button in the upper-left corner (next to the File menu) allows you to hide/display the left pane.

 Section      Description
 ----------------------------------------------------------------

 Left pane    The left pane is where the icons for the individual
              sections of a Binder are displayed. To activate the
              section you want to work on, click its icon.

 Right pane   The right pane displays the actual section in the
              Binder (for example, the Word document or the
              Microsoft Excel worksheet). The section functions
              much like the individual program (for example, Word
              or Microsoft Excel).

 File menu    The File menu contains the Binder file management
              commands.

 Section      The Section menu includes the individual section
 menu         management commands that you can use, for example,
              to rename, to print, or to hide a section in your
              Binder.

              For more information about the Section menu, see
              "Working with Individual Sections" below in this
              Application Note.

USING OFFICE BINDER TO MANAGE FILES

Working with Multiple Sections at One Time

Using Office Binder makes many different aspects of managing your work easier. Using Office Binder, you can save related work in one file. Opening multiple files can be a very time-consuming process. However, when you store related files in a Binder, opening multiple files is as easy as double-clicking the Binder file.

Office Binder also makes printing multiple documents easier. All of the sections within a Binder can be printed together with two mouse clicks. This is much easier than opening the individual programs and printing each of the files separately. Additionally, sections in a Binder file can be printed with consecutive page numbers. You can set the first section in the Binder to be printed with the page number you want and the numbers will continue throughout all the sections in the Binder. For example, if your Binder contains a Word document that is five pages long and a Microsoft Excel worksheet that is two pages long, the page numbering can start with 1 in the Word document and end with 7 on the last page in the Microsoft Excel worksheet.

To break the Binder up into individual files, do either of the following:

  • To save one section at a time: click Save As File on the Section menu to save the active section as an individual file instead of as part of the Binder. Although the section is still in the Binder, a copy of it is saved as an individual file.
  • To save all of the sections in a Binder as separate files at one time: use the right mouse button to click the Binder file in Windows Explorer (not an open Binder) and click Unbind. The individual sections in the Binder are saved as separate files in the folder that contains the Binder file.

    NOTE: When you use either of these methods to save the Binder sections as individual files, the original Binder file stays intact.

As in the other Office programs, Office Binder has properties that you can view on a comprehensive scale (for a Binder file) or for each section in a Binder. By clicking the Properties command on the File menu, you can view the comprehensive properties for the Binder. The individual sections in a Binder have the same property areas as the entire Binder; however, the property values for the section may be different from the Binder properties.

Working with Individual Sections

When you work with an individual section in a Binder, use the Section menu. The commands that are available on this menu allow you to add, delete, duplicate, rename, rearrange, hide, and print individual sections in the Binder.

Also, the View Outside command allows you to view a section in the program that was used to create the section (rather than viewing it in Office Binder program). This command is especially important when you work with macros, because you cannot edit a macro in a Binder (although you can run a macro in a Binder).

The Page Setup command on the Section menu can be used to set print options such as headers, footers, and orientation for an individual section.

To view the properties for an individual section, select the section, and click Section Properties on the Section menu. The Properties dialog box allows you to enter information that is useful for storing and identifying either the entire Binder or the individual sections.

NOTE: To activate a section in a Binder using a keyboard shortcut, press CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+PAGE UP to activate the previous section or CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+PAGE DOWN to activate the next section.

Using Templates with Office Binder

Office Binder also allows you to create custom Binder templates. A Binder template is useful, for example, when the template you use must contain information from a Word for Windows 95 document as well as from a Microsoft Excel for Windows 95 worksheet or a PowerPoint for Windows 95 presentation. When you create a Binder template (by saving it in the Templates\Binders folder in the Office folder with the .obt filename extension), you can use it later to create Binder files.

USING OFFICE BINDER WITH ELECTRONIC MAIL

You can send a Binder to another person using any 32-bit electronic mail (e-mail) program. If a 32-bit mail program is installed on your computer, Office Binder adds the Send Binder and the Add Routing Slip commands to the File menu. The e-mail recipients must also have Office for Windows 95 (and Office Binder) installed on their computers in order to open the Binder file. You can also send a Binder as an attachment in an e-mail message. The only restriction to this functionality is the size of the Binder in relation to the size limitation for an attachment in your e-mail program.

USING OLE DRAG AND DROP IN A BINDER

As in Windows 95 and the Office for Windows 95 programs, there are many different ways to use drag and drop functionality in Office Binder. You can drag a file to a Binder (to add the file as a section) from any location that Windows 95 allows (including the Desktop and Windows Explorer). You can also drag Scraps from a program (if the program uses Scraps) to a Binder.

The limitation for using the drag and drop method in Binder is that Binder must be "aware" of the program files that you are dragging. For example, Office Binder does not recognize Schedule+ files; therefore, you cannot use the drag and drop method with Schedule+ files in Binder. Binder is aware of Scraps on the Desktop, other Binder files, Microsoft Excel worksheets, Word documents, and PowerPoint presentations.

USING WINDOWS 95 BRIEFCASE AND BINDER

To use Office Binder and Windows Briefcase over a network

  1. Copy the Binder file to a folder on the network that users can access.

  2. Instruct each user who will work on the Binder to copy the Binder file to that user's local Briefcase.

    Each user now has a local copy of the Binder in his or her Briefcase that can be opened and edited.

  3. To synchronize the local copy of the Binder with the network copy, each user should click Update All on the Briefcase menu in Briefcase.

This command copies the changes the user made in the local copy of the Binder to the copy on the network and copies any changes in the network copy to the copy in the user's local Briefcase.

                       THE OFFICE ANSWER WIZARD
                       ========================

The Answer Wizard for Office for Windows lets you find answers for questions about shared components (such as the Open dialog box, the Shortcut Bar, Binder, and so on) and using Office programs together.

To access the Microsoft Office Answer Wizard, click the Answer Wizard button on the Shortcut Bar. After the Answer Wizard tab appears, you can enter a request in the box and click Search. The request you enter can be anything from a "How do I" question to a "Tell me about" request, or it can be the exact topic that you need information about. After you click Search, the available topics are displayed in the topic list. When you click a topic and then click Display, the selected Help topic is displayed.

                           FIND FAST INDEXER
                           =================

The Find Fast Indexer is installed in the Startup folder and the Control Panel in Windows 95 when you install Office for Windows 95. If your computer has more than 8 megabytes (MB) of RAM, Find Fast creates an index of local disk drives on your computer to make it easier for you to manage files. Specifically, Find Fast enhances operations that you perform in the Advanced Find and Open dialog boxes. Find Fast creates an index of all words, titles, and OLE properties of files on your local drives. This utility runs approximately every two hours to update the index.

Find Fast installs a hidden index file on the root of each of the drives for which Find Fast creates an index. Find Fast also creates a file called Ffastlog.txt in the Windows\System folder when it creates an index. When you click Show Indexer Log on the Index menu in Find Fast, the Ffastlog.txt file is opened in Notepad so that you can view the indexing details: when each index was created or updated, and whether or not the creation or update was successful.

USING FIND FAST

To run Find Fast

  1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. Double-click Find Fast.

To manually create an index

  1. In Find Fast, click Create Index on the Index menu.

  2. In the In And Below box, enter the location where you want the index to be created (such as C:\) or click Browse to select the specific folder for which you want to create an index.

    NOTE: In the Create Index dialog box, you can select the type of files that you want to index as well. The default file type is Office Files. Additional items that you can control in this dialog box include Continue To Update Automatically and Speed Up Phrase Searching.

  3. Click OK to create an index in the selected folder.

To delete an index

  1. In Find Fast, click Delete Index on the Index menu.

  2. In the In And Below list, click the location of the Find Fast index that you want to delete, or click Browse to delete an index that doesn't appear in the In And Below list. You can select any folder or disk for which you created an index.

    NOTE: Information about the Find Fast index that you select to delete--such as the date last updated, the number of documents indexed, and the size of the index--appears in the Delete Index dialog box.

  3. Click OK to delete the index.

To update an index

  1. In Find Fast, click Update Index on the Index menu.

  2. In the In And Below list, click the location of the Find Fast index that you want to update, or click Browse to update an index that doesn't appear in the In And Below list. You can select any folder or disk for which you created an index.

    NOTE: To display information about the Find Fast index selected in the In And Below box (such as the date last updated, the number of documents indexed, and the size of the index), click Information. You won't have to update indexes in the future if the Continue To Update Automatically check box remains selected.

  3. Click OK to update the index.

To disable Find Fast

Caution: Removing the Find Fast icon from the Startup Group without using the following steps may cause errors and incorrect search results in the Advanced Find and Open dialog boxes in Office for Windows 95.

  1. On the Windows Start menu, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.

  2. Double-click Find Fast.

  3. To delete any existing indexes, click Delete Index on the Index menu.

  4. To completely quit Find Fast, click Close And Stop on the Index menu.

  5. Remove Find Fast from the Startup group or folder.

For more information about removing a program from the Startup folder, click the Index tab in Windows Help, type the following text

   programs menu, removing

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "To Remove a Program from the Start or Programs Menu" topic.

                     MICROSOFT SYSTEM INFORMATION
                     ============================

Microsoft System Information (Msinfo32.exe) is a program that is installed with Office for Windows 95 in the "Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Msinfo" folder. Microsoft System Information displays detailed information about your computer in specific categories, such as the following:
  • System
  • Display
  • Printing
  • Applications that are currently running

To run this program, click About <Program> (where <Program> is the Office program that you are running) on the Help menu in your Office program, and then click the System Info button. You can also run the Microsoft System Information program by double-clicking the Msinfo32.exe file (located in the MSInfo folder) in My Computer or Windows Explorer.

                      MICROSOFT OFFICE FAST START
                      ===========================

Microsoft Office Fast Start is copied to the Windows 95 Startup Folder when you install Office for Windows 95. This utility increases the overall performance of the Office programs. When you start your computer, the utility loads OLE files that remain in memory for your entire Windows session. Fast Start dramatically improves the performance of the following actions in the Office programs:
  • Starting an Office program
  • Opening an Office document
  • Saving an Office document
  • Using Copy/Paste commands between Office documents (using OLE objects)
  • Printing

TO OBTAIN THIS APPLICATION NOTE

The following file(s) are available for download from the Microsoft Software Library:

 ~ WC1228.EXE (size: 115536 bytes) 

For more information about downloading files from the Microsoft Software Library, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q119591
   TITLE     : How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

  • If you are unable to access the source(s) listed above, you can have this Application Note mailed or faxed to you by calling Microsoft Product Support Services Monday through Friday, 6:00 A.M. to 6:00 P.M. Pacific time at (425) 635-7056. If you are outside the United States, contact the Microsoft subsidiary for your area. To locate your subsidiary, see the Microsoft World Wide Offices Web site at:

          http://www.microsoft.com/worldwide/default.htm
    


  • Additional query words: 7.00
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    Version : 7.00
    Platform : WINDOWS


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    Last reviewed: September 30, 1997
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