Citations Manager in Word 2008

[R. Mansfield]

I wonder if anyone has tried using the new citations manager in Word 2008? From what I can tell, there is no explanation on how it works in the Help files. And since software no longer comes with bound manuals, the user seems on his or her own to figure it out.

 

I would wonder how it compares to using a program like Endnote with Word or even Bookends with Mellel? How mature is this implementation compared to some of the programs that have been out a while?

 

There also seems to be a method for creating a separate master citations list external to a specific document.

 

If I had the time, I would just reformat a paper in Word 2008 using the citations manager, but that kind of time isn't a luxury I have right now; so I'll be interested to hear the evaluations of others.

 

Since this feature is available in both Word 2007 for Windows and Word 2008 for Mac, I wonder what that will do to cut into the business of some of the other companies. Obviously, Mellel users will still depend upon something like Bookends or Sente, but Endnote is primarily used with Word. I would think that it couldn't be good for the future development of that software.

[R. Mansfield]

Now that a few months have passed, I want to put the question I asked in the message above back in front of everyone. Has anyone put the citation manager in Word 2008 to the test yet?

[ToddPeperkorn]

Now that a few months have passed, I want to put the question I asked in the message above back in front of everyone. Has anyone put the citation manager in Word 2008 to the test yet?

 

I wasn't even aware that it existed. I have yet to find a citations system for Mac that is really native and effect. I am highly doubtful that something from Microsoft would fit that bill. But I could be wrong....

[Calvin Lindstrom]

Generally speaking, I have not liked Word 2008. I most often use Word 2004 because of its excellent macro features. However, I have used Word 2008 because of its citation manager for a report for seminary. It performed quite well. It doesn't have the automatic lookup features that other citation manager programs have, but once you have entered in the data yourself, you can be off and running. The citation manager is helpful for both footnotes and final bibliography. I am sure that there are better programs out there, but this worked for me.

[R. Mansfield]

Calvin, can bibliographical lists be shared with more than one document, or would the same references have to be entered again with each new Word file created?

[Calvin Lindstrom]

Calvin, can bibliographical lists be shared with more than one document, or would the same references have to be entered again with each new Word file created?

 

Lists can be shared with documents. A master list is created and these references can be brought into the document that you are working in.

[R. Mansfield]

That's really excellent to know.

 

I'll place my cards on the table-- after using both Mellel and Pages quite extensively over the last two to three years, and trying to use Word less, I'm really inclined to simply go back to Word for most uses.

 

I use a Mac because I believe it to be a better platform than Windows. But I've never found it necessary to be anti-Microsoft. For biblical studies, the biggest problem with Word has been the inability to use Unicode Hebrew. Therefore, I've been writing my dissertation in Mellel. But I've never really warmed to Mellel. As powerful as it is in some areas, it's simply lacking in others. The same is true in Pages. It's quite powerful, but I regularly come across something that I wish I could do that is easier in Word.

 

Part of it is familiarity. Like many folks, I've been using Word in one form or another for nearly two decades. And I was quite pleased that Word 2008 on the Mac didn't adopt the ribbon interface in Word 2007 for Windows--at least not in totality.

 

Another issue is ubiquity. Two individuals from two separate educational institutions sent me files in Word format today. I don't think that this kind of universality is going to change anytime soon. Granted Mellel and Pages both read Word files, but everything doesn't always format exactly the same.

 

As for the Unicode Hebrew issue in Word, supposedly that's on the list of updates for the next version (can't remember at the moment where I heard that). And it's not something that affects my work 90% of the time. If I simply need to paste a Hebrew passage from Accordance, Word handles Yehudit just fine (most of the time). So if it's for my own use, it's not such a big deal.

 

Keynote/PowerPoint is another issue. Microsoft neglected PowerPoint on the Mac for so long that Keynote seemed like a breath of fresh air. I've used it exclusively for at least three years now. But the MacBU beefed PowerPoint up quite a bit in the 2008 version. And the presenter screen in Keynote has never been as powerful as the one in PowerPoint in my opinion--especially for moving from slide to slide and reading presenter notes.

 

My greatest complaint about the most recent version of Office is how slow it was. However, between upgrading to much more powerful Mac and some of the recent updates released by Microsoft, it's starting to look usable again.

 

This built in citation manager may be Microsoft's Trojan horse for getting me back to Word for most of my use. The fact that it's built in seems to be a greater advantage over Bookends, Endnote, and Sente--all of which are separate programs.

[Ingo Sorke]

I'm thinking along the same lines, Rick. For the sake of efficiency, I'm trying to eliminate those dozens of 3rd party softwares that all do this little thing better and that little trick nicer, but that need updates, compatibility tweaks, learning curves, comparisons to other products, etc.; in short, too much TLC. I'm not on Mac (yet), but have recently moved from WordPerfect X4 (love those Reveal Codes) to Word 2007 and find it quite pleasant (with some exceptions). Same with Powerpoint - some nice graphic touches in 2007/8. And my school uses a screencapture software that only works with Powerpoint right now, so there went my Keynote dreams. In short . . . the problem with all-you-can-eat buffets is . . . you can't eat it all.

 

Less is more.

 

Ingo