Fourth time is a charm, at least for Microsoft’s latest upgrade to its ubiquitous Office suite. Since 1997, computer users worldwide have trusted their work to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. A decade of editions – from Version 97 to the latest Office 2007 has promised to be easier, faster and cooler. And each time, some functions – like previewing printouts before wasting paper - got a little easier, while other features – like the dreaded mail merge – became almost impossible. Maybe this time, Microsoft got it right? Well, let’s just see.

Since Outlook is the program most of us spend the most time using every day, let’s look at how Outlook 2007 hopes to improve our day. For starters, the single most exciting thing about the new version is that it installed and converted my Outlook XP data flawlessly. That’s a huge success for Microsoft: if a user has to deal with hassles just installing an upgrade, they are usually tainted before even using its new features. But the installation was simple and perfect: Outlook 2007 transferred my mail server settings, setup preferences and every folder without a single hitch.

The main screen of Outlook 2007 is essentially the same as the previous version: the “Today” screen previews your calendar, task list and mailbox summary, with a list of folders along the left side of the screen. This “leave well enough alone” approach helps users leverage their previous experience in basic navigation without too much relearning – which is good because when they start their first email or appointment entry, it’s going to require the rest of their attention. For most of us, the normal pattern is to go from Today to the Inbox view. Seems like someone at Microsoft finally listened to its users, because Inbox got two much-appreciated changes. The ToDo Bar now sits along the right column and features a mini-calendar that also displays the next few upcoming appointments (even if they span the next few days). This virtually eliminates the constant switching back and forth between Inbox and Calendar that plagued the previous version – a great time saver when you’re on the phone with a contact who asks if you’re available later in the day or tomorrow. With a glance, you know exactly where your schedule stands. And just below, the ToDo Bar features a new interactive Tasks window, which likewise puts your daily and overdue tasks right in view. No more forgetting tasks simply because they were hidden on a separate screen. Tasks also get a few nice changes: they can be color coded and grouped more easily. And the Follow Up button is much more effective than the last version: it features quick-picks like Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, and custom date selections that make it fast to schedule follow ups on appointments, emails and task entries.

Many things stay the same in Outlook 2007. The various modules like Calendar, Contacts, Notes, remain as buttons in the lower left under the folder tree. Likewise, the folder tree retains most of the functions users are familiar with, including the Favorite Folders window at the top and Search Folders which can be customized to monitor any kind of message criteria, no matter what folder they are stored in (my favorite is a larger than 500kb search folder which quickly finds all those pesky messages with large attachments that are clogging up my storage). Search boxes remain in the button bars across the top. And all windows can be arranged, sorted and filtered just like in the past.

So where’s the new stuff? Well, just pick any function and you’ll get an eyeful of changes. For example, the new email interface looks like someone squished Word and Internet Explorer into the email window. For starters, all functions now feature a tabbed interface. So “menus” are disappearing in favor of “tabs” which change the button bars entirely and display all options across the bar (rather than a drop-down menu). With the tabbed approach, Microsoft has more space to place BIG buttons in your view, which is especially nice since common features like Attach File now appear as a LARGE paperclip with the words beneath it. Microsoft hopes this will eliminate the kinds of technical support calls that start with “I can’t find how to…” for common functions like attachments, signatures, spelling and follow-up. Of course, putting so many functions and tabs on the screen could cause the opposite effect, as users get cross-eyed trying to absorb it all, but heck – that’s what technical support is for, right?

The coolest features are in the new email body options. Essentially, it’s Word in there, so users will find their words auto-corrected as they type, bullets and numbering automatically respond if you start creating a list and text enhancements like fonts, alignment and colors use the familiar Word buttons. The Options tab takes the “look and feel” of messages one step further, by letting users preview and apply entire themes of colors and fonts to the message with one click. The Insert menu also has a few goodies to make life easier. Finally (finally, finally, finally!) there’s a big button marked Picture which embeds an image directly into the body of the message with little fuss. And the photos are automatically setup for anywhere placement, which means you can click and drag an image to any location in the body of the text (not just stuck on the “line” it was inserted on) - definitely a plus for anyone trying to make a quick listing announcement or insert their company logo. There are even instant “photo formatting” buttons that add shadows, frames, borders and other effects to images with a few simple clicks. The coup de grace comes when users try the new Insert Smart Art button. Microsoft has created a library of graphical metaphors – like three-item lists, arrows and circles, process diagrams and other imagery that users can customize with clipart and text right in the body of the message. Imagine a mortgage broker using a “three step” Smart Art image to create a quick marketing message for first-time buyers – then emailing it to his prospect list by adding a distribution list to the BCC: line. E-Marketing will never be the same – and it’s about time.

But wait: there’s even more! Click the Calendar to see your schedule any way you want. Do you like to see three days at a time? Four? Two? Choose your own layout – plus add the task-pane at the bottom of the days, so you really see your workload, not just your appointments. A very cool Search Calendar box instantly finds every appointment and tasks for any search string you enter – for the entire calendar year – and displays it in a simple tabular list. Move over to the Contacts folder and it’s even easier to work with your database. Common tasks like following-up, creating appointments and assigning tasks to contacts are all buttons: no more hunting through the old Actions menu. And all of the graphics and text features are retained for the “notes” section of each contact – so you can enter shapes, diagrams and lists into each record as you make notes during calls and meetings. And lastly, a cool feature added to the Notes (which still look like electronic post-its) lets you attach a Contact to a sticky-note, so it can be found from the contact record later by clicking the Activities button.

In all, the new Outlook 2007 definitely delivers an improved user experience. More organized views, customized searches and powerful graphical features for email messages make it much easier to do most of your daily work directly from Outlook without using other programs. Even behind the scenes – like creating signature files or setting up junk mail filters – Outlook 2007 simplifies functions even while adding new options. It has been more than four years since Microsoft last updated its Office suite. Having used it now for a couple of weeks – I’d say it’s been worth the wait.