Office 97 Small Business Edition

If you have a pulse, then seeing the words "Small Business Edition" tacked onto the Microsoft Office 97 box will make it quicken. Finally, there's an office suite that's tailored to the specific needs of most smallbusiness owners.

Office 97 Small Business Edition is one of four new versions of Microsoft's revamped Office. Office 97 SBE includes the familiar heavyweights: Word 97, Excel 97, Publisher 97, Small Business Financial Manager 97, Automap Streets Plus, and Outlook 97, Microsoft's new contact manager and e-mail package. Unlike previous versions, the new Office 97 SBE doesn't include PowerPoint or Access for presentation and database chores. Frankly, we're bothered by that omission. If you absolutely need to create electronic slideshows as well as perform advanced recordkeeping, you'll need the Professional Edition of Office 97.

Taking a cue from Corel, Microsoft has equipped Office with a bundle of extras. The Office 97 bonanza includes the Avery Wizard for label printing; Draw 97, a flowchart and illustration program; 150 TrueType fonts; and a utility for distributing Publisher documents to the Web.

Office 95 users will immediately notice some differences in Office 97 SBE, starting with installation. Curiously, each application must be installed individually rather than all at once, suggesting that Microsoft rushed a bit to get this product out the door. Office 97 also doesn't include Binder, the clever tool used to keep related documents together. Fortunately, Outlook has a document-grouping feature that compensates in a pinch.

The core applications-Word, Excel, and Outlook-look so polished they practically gleam, with common toolbars and menus throughout. Word and Excel are, hands down, the most powerful and easyto-use word processor/spreadsheet combo available. New to each is Of ficeArt, a set of drawing and graphics tools meant for creating everything from basic shapes to 3D objects.

Word has added real-time grammarchecking to its roster of proofing tools, and Excel now offers multilevel undo, automatic formula correction, and color-coded change tracking. Both applications deliver unparalleled Internet integration; just type a URL and Office 97 automatically creates a hyperlink. Click on the Web address and the program launches your browser to take you to the Web page.

Outlook's debut in Office is noteworthy. This robust contact manager handles faxes, e-mail messages, and client information with the...