Introducing Office XP

Five New Suite-Wide Features

Many of Office XP's new tools aren't tied to any one application--they pervade the suite. Here are our takes on five major changes.

1. Smart Tags: Context-sensitive icons that help with formatting, grabbing data from the Web, and other tasks.

The verdict: Promising but need work. Smart Tags are clever, useful, and customizable--third-party companies may develop them for all sorts of purposes. But in their initial incarnation, Smart Tags have problems; for instance, you can't always undo their changes.

2. Document/Application Recovery: As an app crashes, users (sometimes) have an opportunity to save their work.

The verdict: Necessary, unfortunately. Office is still far from crashproof, so the chance to get up and running again is useful. But wouldn't a super-reliable suite be better?

3. Task Panes: Context-sensitive windows that give quick access to commands and information otherwise buried in menus.

The verdict: Mixed. The panes offer convenience, especially for casual users, and help with fancy formatting in Word and PowerPoint. But advanced users may find that the benefits aren't worth the screen clutter.

4. Speech Recognition: Lets you dictate and issue voice commands in most Office applications.

The verdict: Fair. It's a good introduction to voice technology, but too keyboard-intensive. Serious users will still want a stand-alone speech recognition application.

5. Product Activation Wizard: Takes a "fingerprint" of your PC configuration and turns it into an ID number that you must submit to Microsoft; prevents you from installing Office on more than two PCs.

The verdict: Obnoxious. Could disable the suite when you upgrade your PC or buy a new system, requiring you to call Microsoft for the reactivation.

On to Microsoft Word 2002.