In December 2023, I finalized the 8th edition of my book, “Rock Your Code: Coding Standards for Microsoft .NET,” spanning an impressive 560 pages. Regrettably, the release of this book was hindered by persistent issues I encountered while using Microsoft Word—an experience I aim to elucidate in this article.
For quite some time, I have asserted that Microsoft Office is lagging roughly two decades behind contemporary technological standards, urging it to catch up with the 21st century. The landscape of computing and software has evolved significantly in the past 20 years, marked by the advent of faster processors and advanced graphic cards. However, Word and its Office counterparts have undergone minimal transformation during this period, with particular emphasis on PowerPoint, a subject I will delve into in a separate article.
While Word has introduced a handful of features such as 3D models, stock images, a new Editor, and the Read Aloud functionality—an invaluable tool in my writing process—it has essentially maintained its status quo. Notably, since the shift to the docx file format in 2007, substantial changes seem elusive. One glaring deficiency is its failure to support Markdown documents, widely adopted in the tech industry, indicative of its growing obsolescence.
At times, I find myself questioning the size and engagement of the Word development team. It seems as if there are only a handful of engineers left on the team. Moreover, I ponder why Microsoft seems to have diverted its attention away from Office. Although an online offering exists, its usability and lack of features deter my preference.
This article serves a dual purpose. Firstly, I implore someone within Microsoft or the Office team to heed the feedback and concerns of users. Despite consistently submitting feedback on critical issues, it feels as if my messages vanish into a void, with no response from the team. In each submission, I indicate a willingness to be contacted, yet no communication has ensued, even on platforms like Twitter.
Secondly, this article stands as a cautionary tale for teams falling behind technological advancements. Neglecting user needs can lead to an exodus to alternative solutions, resulting in a decline in company revenue. Microsoft Office must evolve to remain relevant, and user feedback is the compass pointing toward necessary innovations.
Streamlining Office Installation for a Hassle-Free Experience
When it comes to Office products, I opt for the installed apps over the online version. However, a persistent issue that frustrates me is that upon installation, the notifications from the free Office apps already installed in Windows remain active. It’s baffling—why would I want to receive duplicate notifications for every new email or appointment reminder? The redundancy is both inconvenient and perplexing.
Line Numbers for Paragraph Style
In my coding books, I consistently employ a paragraph style similar to this:
In code examples such as this, why is it not possible to configure the style to include line numbers? The inclusion of line numbers is crucial, as it allows me to direct readers to specific lines or enables them to identify and communicate issues they may have found on a particular line.
All my blogs use WordPress. When creating articles with code, I depend on its SyntaxHighlighter Code block, which not only formats the code correctly but also automatically includes line numbers. I wonder, why doesn’t Word offer a similar feature?
Read Aloud Issues
One of the standout features in recent iterations of Word, for me, is the addition of the Read Aloud feature nestled under the Review menu. Strangely, I find that listening to my writing helps me detect more issues compared to traditional reading. While this feature seamlessly works in smaller articles, its performance in my coding standards book is less reliable.
In the context of the book, Read Aloud often reads a few sentences and then abruptly stops, necessitating repeated restarts. The challenge magnifies when dealing with a document exceeding 130,000 words—especially halting at headings and encountering difficulties with words flagged by the spelling or formatting lines. Occasionally, it becomes “stuck” on a specific word, refusing to proceed further.
A more extensive discussion on this issue, particularly concerning the compatibility with the Grammarly add-in for editing, will follow later. Integrating Grammarly into Word renders the application nearly unusable, compelling me to disable the service every time I reboot my computer. Unfortunately, this predicament forces me to forgo Grammarly, despite its efficacy in uncovering more issues than Word alone.
Bullet Icon Background Issue
In this edition of my coding standards book, to align with the musical theme, I’ve introduced a music note icon as a distinctive element to complement my Note style.
However, as evident, the background of the note doesn’t match the grey shading of the paragraph. Despite my attempts to address this issue, I couldn’t find a solution.
Challenges with Shortcut Keys
Within my book, I frequently utilize several styles, and to expedite the formatting process, I’ve assigned them to shortcut keys. However, I discovered a significant drawback—the assigned shortcut keys do not function when the caps lock is turned on, leading to an unexpected inconvenience.
While working on another book, I occasionally encounter issues where the shortcut keys fail to function. In some instances, I find it necessary to press them multiple times before the formatting is applied. At other times, the shortcut keys simply do not work at all.
Navigation Changes
Within the Review menu, there are settings that dictate how document changes are displayed. Upon opening a document, the default setting is always All Markup.
As I seldom collaborate with others using Word, I prefer to view the Original mode exclusively.
Unfortunately, Word doesn’t retain this preference within the document, and I haven’t found a way to set it permanently to always display the Original view. Using the All Markup view presents challenges, particularly when utilizing the Read Aloud feature.
Auto Save Issues Causing Word Freezes
Word comes equipped with a configurable Auto Save feature, a function I appreciate. However, during the creation of my extensive 560-page book, I encountered several instances where, during an auto-save while actively working on the document, Word would freeze, necessitating a program restart. Regrettably, this recurrent issue resulted in document corruption and the subsequent loss of changes, contributing significantly to the delay in completing my book.
While Word does retain versions of the document, allowing some restoration of lost work, a considerable amount was still unrecoverable.
Editing Chart Data
Within one of the chapters of my new book, I incorporate Excel charts. Typically, when updating the book, I also update the data for these charts directly within Word. However, in this edition, I encountered a hindrance as the ability to edit the data within Word ceased to function. The only viable workaround I found was to edit the data directly in Excel.
Issues with Index
At the rear of my printed books, an index is included. However, in my coding standards book, I encountered an issue with the formatting of two headings, namely “Application” and “Memory Management,” as illustrated in the graphic below.
The problem is evident as the “Memory Management” heading is improperly repeated numerous times. Despite seeking assistance from Office, my inquiries went unanswered, compelling me to release the book in this less-than-ideal state. This has been a source of great disappointment.
Search and Replace Index Entries
Generating a thorough index for a sizable book is a time-consuming task. In the process, I frequently find the need to either modify the words in the marked entry (as shown below) or perform a search and replace for the entire marked entry.
Regrettably, the search and replace functionality for these marked entries is ineffective. Moreover, I encounter the limitation of being unable to copy these marked entries to the clipboard. This limitation has resulted in a considerable amount of manual work to achieve the desired appearance of the index.
Changing a Bullet in a List Causes Word to Freeze
During the final stages of editing my coding standards book, I decided to address the bullet background issue I had mentioned earlier in this article. When attempting to click on a bulleted paragraph to modify the bullet, Word would unexpectedly freeze every single time, necessitating a restart of the application and potentially leading to the loss of unsaved work.
Turning Off Spell Checking for Styles
During the final stages of editing my book, I utilized the Word Editor for spell-checking. In instances where code is displayed in my books, the majority of spelling errors arise from the code examples. This results in the need to click “Ignore All” hundreds of times, making it cumbersome to identify actual spelling issues in the document.
It would significantly expedite this process if Word allowed configuration options to exclude specific Styles from spell-checking. This feature, tailored to my books, could considerably reduce the time spent on spell-checking. Additionally, the inability of Word to “remember” the words I’ve previously ignored, particularly in code, forces me to review the same terms every time I run the Editor.
Picture Format Menu Fails to Respond
In my books, which extensively feature images, I often need to format them using the Picture Format menu. However, I frequently encounter a frustrating issue. During the process of working on my book, when attempting to format an image by clicking on it, the Picture Format menu fails to appear, rendering it impossible to make the necessary format adjustments. The only workaround I have discovered is to close and then reopen Word to restore the functionality of the Picture Format menu.
Border Formatting Issues
In this edition of my coding standards book, I opted for a Sketched border for the majority of the images, as illustrated in this example.
However, on numerous occasions, while working on my new book, upon opening the document, I noticed that the borders of most images had inexplicably changed, as depicted in the image below.
This issue resulted in a substantial amount of additional work, as I had to manually revisit each image and restore the intended border formatting.
Printing to PDF
Printing to PDF posed another challenge for me, particularly when using Microsoft Print to PDF. I required a PDF format for submitting my book to Amazon. However, every attempt to print to PDF necessitated two tries. The initial attempt appeared to initiate the process but abruptly halted without any notification. Only upon selecting Microsoft Print to PDF for the second attempt did the process succeed. This proved to be quite frustrating.
Word and OneDrive Issues
A recurring problem I encountered numerous times while working on my new book was the unexpected loss of changes made the previous day when reopening the document. This was an unprecedented experience for me, given my decades of using Word. Upon opening the document, I would receive a message prompting me to save the document, without clear reasons for the occurrence.
While I managed to recover some of the lost work through Word’s version history feature, there were instances where I had to redo portions of the work, leading to delays in the book’s release. The root cause of this issue remains unclear, but my speculation is that it may be related to synchronization with OneDrive.
Unfortunately, OneDrive itself has numerous issues, and regrettably, this does not come as a surprise. Like the Office team, the OneDrive team appears unresponsive to user reports and lacks adequate support. Despite the frustrations, the dilemma persists, as considering alternative storage solutions might sacrifice the convenience of OneDrive’s auto backup feature.
Grammarly Causes Issues in Word
For years, I have relied on Grammarly for Windows to check spelling and grammar in my writing, as I find it more effective than the Editor in Word. For those unfamiliar with Grammarly, here is a brief description:
Grammarly offers a writing assistant application that is compatible with various platforms, including Windows. It is designed to help users enhance their writing by identifying and correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style issues. Grammarly provides real-time suggestions and feedback as you type, contributing to the clarity and correctness of your text.
ChatGPT
However, the recent changes in how Grammarly operates within Word have posed challenges while working on my new book. In the past, Grammarly functioned similarly to the Word Editor, requiring the user to click on the Grammarly button in Word to initiate spell checking. I preferred this on-demand spell-checking method as it allowed me to write more efficiently.
Unfortunately, Grammarly has recently undergone changes, removing the option for on-demand spell checking and now conducting spell checks continuously while working on a document. Additionally, the Grammarly button in Word has been eliminated, making it impossible for me to turn off the tool. This continuous presence of Grammarly in a 560-page document has proven to be highly problematic.
I have previously discussed how I had to disable the Grammarly service to use the Read Aloud feature in Word, but it has also caused various other issues, such as Word freezing or becoming so slow that it becomes practically unusable. It took me some time to identify Grammarly as the culprit.
Therefore, when working on my books, I am forced to stop the Grammarly service. This is frustrating because I do appreciate the benefits Grammarly brings to my writing. I am unclear as to why Grammarly removed the spell-check-on-demand feature or did not provide users with the option to choose. I have communicated this concern to Grammarly via Twitter, and they have opened a ticket to address the issue. At least they are responsive to user feedback. Once I finish this article, I plan to work with them to resolve these issues.
Issues with Lists and Tables
Explaining this problem is challenging, as I’m still grappling with a clear understanding of what transpired. While working on my book, I encountered persistent issues where lists and bulleted lists would inexplicably transform into an odd block of text that failed to span across pages. To rectify this, my only recourse was to copy the text and reintegrate it into the document, followed by deleting the problematic text block.
Additionally, tables suffered from anomalies, such as losing only the header rows, which would then manifest as a separate table. Given that the header failed to extend across pages, I had to recreate the entire table from scratch.
My suspicion is that these glitches may be linked to document corruption issues, resulting in a significant loss of time and productivity.
Image Formatting
In my book writing process, I consistently employ a uniform format for images. Specifically, for the majority of images in my new book, I implement the following formats:
- Center the image on the page.
- Apply shadow.
- Add a sketched border of 1 pt.
I have a style named “Normal Image,” but unfortunately, the only one of the aforementioned formats that I can set within the style is centering the image. The others must be applied manually, presenting a significant ease-of-use challenge within Word. Numerous formatting options cannot be incorporated into a style, compounding the issue.
Furthermore, Word and other apps like PowerPoint do not retain my preferred styling choices for items in my documents. For instance, I do not favor the default settings for image shadow, necessitating manual adjustments for each image in my book. Due to the considerable effort involved, I opted for the Word default settings in this edition of the book, making the overall Word experience more cumbersome. This highlights a need for improved ease of use and customization features within the Word application.
Summary
I hope I have shown just some of how Word is so far behind the times. Other Office apps such as PowerPoint are also behind the times that I will be discussing in other articles. The Office apps are powerful and widely used throughout the world but to me, it seems Microsoft has given up on Office and is just letting it limp along. This saddens me since I have been using Office ever since it was released in 1989.
Again, most of these issues I have detailed in this article do not happen in smaller documents. For example, on average, the articles I write for dotNetTips.com are around 2,000 words and I don’t experience these issues except for the formatting ones. This tells me that Word definitely has issues with large documents. I am baffled why the Word team does not use large documents when testing a new release.
If the Office team does not join the 21st century, start adding more powerful features and listening to its users then they will lose more and more users to alternatives such as Google Docs, LibreOffice Writer, and others. Heck, I am a Microsoft MVP and am always willing to help with their products even if it’s not my specialty since I use those products. So, I hope the team will contact me about these issues so we can make Word and other Office products better and a world leader!
I have a suggestion for the Office team and other application release teams at Microsoft: consider adopting the feedback mechanism employed by the Visual Studio team. This approach not only allows users to submit feature requests and report issues but also provides real-time visibility into the status of those issues. Users can easily determine whether the reported problems are scheduled for resolution in an upcoming release of Visual Studio, as illustrated below.
In my experience, when I submit issues, the support team often reaches out promptly, seeking additional information on the reported problem or feature idea.
Do you encounter any frustrating issues with Word? Feel free to share your experiences by leaving a comment below. I’m interested in hearing about the challenges you’ve faced.
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