Our favorite Microsoft Office 2010 top 10 features that make your documents, spreadsheets, presentations, notebooks and everything else look  "sparklier."

So why will you want to replace your Office installation with the latest version?  Here are the top ten of the best reasons why this is the version of Office that can’t be missed:

Number 10 - Sparklines

Excel 2010 introduces Sparklines and slicers that lets you show data trends in a one data cell. It’s a very useful feture when you’re analyzing numbers over time across a number of time periods.  There are many forms sparklines can take from lines to columns to more yes/no type options for win/loss data.
 

Number 9 - Copy/Paste

In current versions of Microsoft Office, you often end up using paste, look, undo, paste special, etc.  In Office 2010, there’s copy and paste live preview. This lets you preview how different paste options will look without having to undo, paste, undo paste.
 

Number 8 - Office Backstage

“Office Backstage”: The replacement for the old “File” menu, which was recently tucked away under the Office button within the application is quickly shaping up to be a “love it or hate it” feature.  Instead of launching a menu of choices, Backstage pops-up a window-like view where you can quickly perform tasks like saving and printing files and configuring preferences.  If you can get past the new full-screen feel for what was once a simple menu, you might find you like Backstage even more. For example, you can preview a document right from the “Print” settings so you don’t have to go to a separate “Print Preview” area anymore.
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Number 7 - PowerPoint Broadcasting

PowerPoint 2010 has a new broadcasting feature that lets you share PPT presentation. You can either use a public “PowerPoint Broadcast Service” (you need a Live ID and it’s free) or an internal SharePoint server. This lets you email a URL to a group of people and they can watch you deliver your PPTX from their browser.
 

Number 6 - Video editing

In PowerPoint 2010, you can now insert and edit video. Not only can videos be inserted, but they can be modified. You can trim the video, set the image cover for the video, add borders, add other effects like reflection as well as other special effects.

PPTX files will increase in size (dramatically, I assume) when you add images and videos.After trimming the video correctly in PowerPoint 2010, you can compress the media size to improve performance and reduce the size of the file.
 

Number 5 - Outlook User Experience

More Social, Smarter, and Efficient: There are many User interface enhancements in Outlook 2010. For example, when you receive meeting requests, you can see your other scheduled appointments inline. You also have tips throughout Outlook 2010 that tell you if you’re above your quota, you’re going to send an email outside your organization, maintain multiple email accounts etc.
 

Number 4 - Image Background Removal

Previously we had to use other applications to make the background transparent but can now do this within applications like PowerPoint 2010.
 

Number 3 - Screen clippings

Insert screenshots of applications that are open right from within Office. This saves having to use Snagit or other screenshot applications.  If you just want a basic screenshot app, this is very useful.
 

Number 2 - Office Web Applications

For many online enthusiasts, the arrival of the web version of Office is probably the most exciting thing about the new suite. The web applications will work in multiple browsers (IE, Firefox, Safari) and even in most mobile browsers, too, including, the browser on the iPhone.

Although some advanced functions will be powered by Silverlight technology, it’s not a requirement. The web apps will be tied in with their desktop counterparts and will use SkyDrive to host the online files. For consumers, web apps will be free, but no decision has been made on future plans to monetize them elsewhere. One of the best things about the web apps, besides their very “webiness” is the fact that documents will look exactly the same no matter whether you’re viewing them in the Office Suite itself or within the web browser.
 

And the Number 1 Top Office 2010 Feature: 

The Microsoft Office 2010 Promotion Movie!  We love it.  Farewell Clippy!

We'd love to hear what your favourite features are. See that comment box down there? Go download Office 2010 and fill it up with your thoughts.

Microsoft Office 2010 order yours today!