Updated: July 9, 2020 (April 19, 2010)

Office Improvements by Product and Version

Michael analyzed and wrote about Microsoft's operating systems, including the Windows client OS, as well as compliance and governance. Michael... more

This chart shows new features and improvements in the six core Office 2010 applications—Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word—with exceptions for specific applications noted in the Office 2010 column. It also explains how the feature (or its equivalent predecessor) worked in previous Office versions.

Feature	Office 2010	Office 2007	Office 2003
Ribbon	Available and customizable in all Office applications.	Available in Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word, with limited customization.	Not present; commands in menus and toolbars.
Backstage	Available and customizable in all Office applications.	Some tools were behind Office button, other related commands scattered across various Ribbon tabs or dialog boxes.	Some tools on File menu, other related commands on other menus or dialog boxes.
Protected View	At-risk documents are automatically opened read-only in a sandboxed version of the application. Available in all

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