Mirrored Gradient in PPT

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Unhappy

I belong to several forums and registering to this one has been the most
difficult, unfriendly & annoying of all. It even doesn't have a JOIN or
REGISTER link in the same page, which sharply contrasts with the wordy &
lengthy disclaimers. You virtually have to navigate several pages and links
until you figure out a way to get in. I guess many other people just gave up,
and hope those who registered would ask a similar question. Probably under
the same philosophy the new Office 2007 was built. You have to actually
figure everything out, it's like a never-ending puzzle. All the context
windows disappeared (WTF is windows anyway?). Before, you knew that if the
Context Window didn't have the feature you wanted, it didn't exist. And you
moved on. Now, you never know: it might be hidden there, maybe you need to
install it, maybe you should make new friends in a forum to answer a silly
question, maybe it isn't there at all and you are just wasting your time.
Maybe it's somewhere in the overhead... bunch of icons that display, with the
same priority, features that you never use with those that you use often.
Well, it's just that, a lot of overhead. --- the new office is a disgrace to
be under Windows. It underutilizes them!!! No windows, lots of overhead.

<italics. To the question </italics>, in Powerpoint 2003 it was a snap to
make a mirrored gradient. Since I can not post a f**ng picture in this
text-only no-font friendly Microsoft smartly designed little window, I'll
have to figure out a way to describe it. A mirrored gradient is that which
starts on one side, decreases at the middle, then increases back again
reaching the maximum intensity at the other extreme. [bold] How can I do it
now? [/BOLD] Before it was EXTREMELY simple.
 
You appear to have some third-rate software for reading newsgroups. There is nothing to
do to "join" or "register" to microsoft.public.powerpoint. You just post messages. Forte
agent (www.forteinc.com) works well for this. I can't help the fact that you seem to have
some complex, ineffective, and unsuitable piece of software that you are trying to use. So
why complain? Get decent software and it works with NO effort.

I have never had to "register" or "join" a newsgroup. You are clearly using the wrong
software.
joe
I belong to several forums and registering to this one has been the most
difficult, unfriendly & annoying of all. It even doesn't have a JOIN or
REGISTER link in the same page, which sharply contrasts with the wordy &
lengthy disclaimers. You virtually have to navigate several pages and links
until you figure out a way to get in. I guess many other people just gave up,
and hope those who registered would ask a similar question. Probably under
the same philosophy the new Office 2007 was built. You have to actually
figure everything out, it's like a never-ending puzzle. All the context
windows disappeared (WTF is windows anyway?). Before, you knew that if the
Context Window didn't have the feature you wanted, it didn't exist. And you
moved on. Now, you never know: it might be hidden there, maybe you need to
install it, maybe you should make new friends in a forum to answer a silly
question, maybe it isn't there at all and you are just wasting your time.
Maybe it's somewhere in the overhead... bunch of icons that display, with the
same priority, features that you never use with those that you use often.
Well, it's just that, a lot of overhead. --- the new office is a disgrace to
be under Windows. It underutilizes them!!! No windows, lots of overhead.

<italics. To the question </italics>, in Powerpoint 2003 it was a snap to
make a mirrored gradient. Since I can not post a f**ng picture in this
text-only no-font friendly Microsoft smartly designed little window, I'll
have to figure out a way to describe it. A mirrored gradient is that which
starts on one side, decreases at the middle, then increases back again
reaching the maximum intensity at the other extreme. [bold] How can I do it
now? [/BOLD] Before it was EXTREMELY simple.
Click to expand...
Joseph M. Newcomer [MVP]
email: (e-mail address removed)
Web: http://www.flounder.com
MVP Tips: http://www.flounder.com/mvp_tips.htm
 
Thanks Echo S & Joseph Newcomer for the advice. I still haven't found out how
to do the 'mirrored gradient' in Office 2007, a feature that was apparently
dropped from Office 2003. I still don't understand why would anybody remove
formatting features in a version that's supposed to be full of format
options? Fortunately, my computer at home has Office 2003, so I'll do the
formatting there.

Joseph, you're right that I'm not using Forte Agent as my newsgroups
messaging software (thanks for the link), nor I'm computer savvy as many of
you guys. But if I have to use more software than the one already installed
in my computer (WinXP), that proves how incompetent Microsoft is: you need
somebody else's top software to read complaints people are having with
Microsoft software!!

As for the registration/joining into this newsgroup, certainly POSTING is
something not anybody can do by just visiting the internet site. At some
point, you have to log-on, sign-in, or be admitted in some fashion. Since
there's no link to it at top/bottom of the page, the newsgroup host is taking
for granted that everybody knows how to sign-in, that everybody knows about
the Passport.net thingy. The forums I belong to use vBulletin, and I can post
pictures and format my text. I don't see anybody doing that here. Instead,
what I see is everybody describing and troubleshooting Office tools &
features but such pictures are NOT available in the very Microsoft newsgroup.
"A single picture is a thousand words". If I'm wrong, please post a picture
of the screen as you see it in your computer, with all the features that I'm
missing, because what I see is just text as if I had just logged on into a
website that hasn't been updated since the 80's. Thanks.



Joseph M. Newcomer said:
You appear to have some third-rate software for reading newsgroups. There is nothing to
do to "join" or "register" to microsoft.public.powerpoint. You just post messages. Forte
agent (www.forteinc.com) works well for this. I can't help the fact that you seem to have
some complex, ineffective, and unsuitable piece of software that you are trying to use. So
why complain? Get decent software and it works with NO effort.

I have never had to "register" or "join" a newsgroup. You are clearly using the wrong
software.
joe
I belong to several forums and registering to this one has been the most
difficult, unfriendly & annoying of all. It even doesn't have a JOIN or
REGISTER link in the same page, which sharply contrasts with the wordy &
lengthy disclaimers. You virtually have to navigate several pages and links
until you figure out a way to get in. I guess many other people just gave up,
and hope those who registered would ask a similar question. Probably under
the same philosophy the new Office 2007 was built. You have to actually
figure everything out, it's like a never-ending puzzle. All the context
windows disappeared (WTF is windows anyway?). Before, you knew that if the
Context Window didn't have the feature you wanted, it didn't exist. And you
moved on. Now, you never know: it might be hidden there, maybe you need to
install it, maybe you should make new friends in a forum to answer a silly
question, maybe it isn't there at all and you are just wasting your time.
Maybe it's somewhere in the overhead... bunch of icons that display, with the
same priority, features that you never use with those that you use often.
Well, it's just that, a lot of overhead. --- the new office is a disgrace to
be under Windows. It underutilizes them!!! No windows, lots of overhead.

<italics. To the question </italics>, in Powerpoint 2003 it was a snap to
make a mirrored gradient. Since I can not post a f**ng picture in this
text-only no-font friendly Microsoft smartly designed little window, I'll
have to figure out a way to describe it. A mirrored gradient is that which
starts on one side, decreases at the middle, then increases back again
reaching the maximum intensity at the other extreme. [bold] How can I do it
now? [/BOLD] Before it was EXTREMELY simple.
Click to expand...
Joseph M. Newcomer [MVP]
email: (e-mail address removed)
Web: http://www.flounder.com
MVP Tips: http://www.flounder.com/mvp_tips.htm
Click to expand...
 
Unhappy said:
(...) But if I have to use more software than the one already installed
in my computer (WinXP), that proves how incompetent Microsoft is: you need
somebody else's top software to read complaints people are having with
Microsoft software!!
Click to expand...

if you have Windows XP you can read and write postings with Outlook Express;
with Vista you have Windows Mail for that purpose. Both programs are already
installed with Windows. No third party program is needed.
 
Sorry for what I said. I'm just new to MS-newsgroups. I understand I could
use MS-Outlook to keep up with this and many other newsgroups. But I simply
do NOT want to mix my work-related email with the other stuff (or even to run
the risk to do so). It's possible that I'm using 3rd rated software when
navigating and posting through other forums but I have to tell you that those
are fun. And by fun, I mean pictures and all kinds of font/text manipulations
that I do NOT see in this newsgroup (But since I'm not using Outlook now ,
I'm not sure whether this newsgroup is only TEXT-based or I simply do not see
pictures and nice features with my current configuration). Additionally,
everytime I visit those forums I'm pretty sure about the log on-log off
session, so I'm confident that I'm not sending email to my work contacts
about my hobbies (cars, bikes, etc). I feel more free to say what I want if I
do it under a screen name other than my real name.

For example, I'd like to make this message with Georgia font, and French
paragraphs and possibly post a picture showing how my screen has a SIGN OUT
link at the top right but lacks a SIGN IN one. Maybe I'm missing something,
but I see tons of questions posted about the same topic, and the fact that
this newsgroup is unmoderated makes it less fun. I'd like to see at least an
additional column with the tool icons (just the icons, not the actual tools)
we normally see in Office applications so that people use them to make
'more-to-the-point questions' and get 'more to the point' answers, and cut
the 'less to the point' questions & answers. I already posted a suggestion to
Microsoft in another post, linking to it would be painful due to huge size
and randomness of an unmoderated forum. Thanks.
 
You might like Woody's Lounge, then. http://www.wopr.com/ There's not quite
as much eye candy as you want, but there is a lot of it.

These Office groups started out as text-only NNTP groups, which are pretty
much text-based. They started way back when everybody had dial-up
connections, and so attachments were frowned upon. When they did allow
attachments through the web interface
(http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx -- which is
just another interface to the NNTP groups), there were way too many
virus-laden files uploaded.

Personally, I like having no attachments because 9 times out of 10, a verbal
description of the problem or error message is perfectly adequate. When it's
not, someone will usually ask for a picture to be posted to a website or
emailed. In addition, I didn't appreciate the HUGE attachments that would
slow down the site's response time -- many people don't understand file
sizes and will attach incredibly large images of an error message, for
example, when it wouldn't take much more than a minute to type it out into
a plain text message. I mean, hey, your description of a "mirrored gradient"
was perfectly fine. I am pretty sure you want a gradient that goes from dark
to light to dark again. You didn't need mega pixels to communicate that.

If you really must add attachments, you can use NNTP -- for which you'd need
a newsreader, as others have already discussed. However, I suspect you'd
find the lack of eye candy there even worse than what you have available on
the web interface. Plus, be aware that you won't make many friends by adding
large attachments to your newsgroup posts, no matter where they come from.

You are correct that there is no Sign In/Sign Out button on
http://www.microsoft.com/office/community/en-us/default.mspx , and yes, it's
annoying. I know Microsoft is aware of it (because I personally reported it
to a contact at Office Online), but I am glad I'm not holding my breath
waiting for them to fix it.
 
Echo S said:
In addition, I didn't appreciate the HUGE attachments that would slow
down the site's response time
Click to expand...

that's my point of view, too. During the last two years I stayed in a lot of
hotels in Eastern Europe and I can tell you that the connections to the
internet are far away from being fast. And they are far away from being
cheap... I'm so glad about newsgroups which load quick and can be read
offline. Being present in a forum is absolutely impossible for me when I'm
abroad and that is most of my time.

OT: I've been to Moscow two weeks ago, of course on business but with some
time for sightseeing. It was marvellous! I'm looking forward for the next
visit in summer - and I hope I'll stay in a hotel with a really slow
dial-up-connection. Good reason and a clear conscience not to go online :-)
 
Echo S.
Thanks for your response. Much of what you say is reassuring. Your
description of the mirror gradient is even better than mine. However, the
best way to fix the gradient back in my computer has been to reinstall Office
2003. A bit redundant but at least I can use again those features. If Office
insists on removing classical tools like the black & white pattern fill +
gradient, my longterm goal is to move away from MS-Office and focus more on
especialized engineering & scientific software like SIGMAplot or SIGMAstat
(or SSPS for statistics), which I have used in the past. Removing classical
tools would probably make Microsoft lose a piece of the marketshare
especially among engineers and scientists who found Office products
general-purpose practical but judging from the disappointment people are
expressing with the new 'upgrades', I guess they'll follow a similar trend.

Pia Bork, some of the desires you express are those of somebody too much
attached to a forum, a mix of addiction and the desire to get away from it
because it's a timewaster and maybe you are also tired of answering the same
questions over and over again. Which I fully understand. A single explanation
posted in a STICKIE (at the top of the list) even if megabyte-laden, suffices
for most practical purposes. Thus, the number of duplicate questions are
avoided, and so are the number of answers. A more dynamic, picture friendly
forum (using as pictures the same icons we see everyday in our Office
applications) certainly slows down the website as you say. It might also have
another serious drawback: it could speed up product development, as people
would not only visit the forum to express frustration but also to offer free
ideas. But I consider it a drawback, otherwise we would be seeing the next
Office version in just a few months, and I don't have that money. Thanks.
 
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