OfficeTab -- Add Document Tabs to Word, Excel, and Powerpoint

Early versions of Microsoft Office used a multi-document interface. That is, if you had multiple documents open in Word, Excel, or Powerpoint you could switch between them using a tab bar within the Microsoft Office Application. Microsoft research apparently found that this confused new users who looked to their taskbar to switch between documents, so starting with Office 2003 Microsoft changed things so each document opened in a separate instance of the application and you switched between documents using the taskbar.

While this always annoyed me, I did not learn to hate it until I switched to Windows 7. While I love the Windows 7 superbar for most thngs, it made switching between multiple instances of one program harder. You have to hover over the grouped icon, then select the instance you want from the popup display. If you are switching back and forth between several Word documents as I often do, this gets old quick.

I found it so annoying that I was willing to look at commercial software able to solve the problem. I found OfficeTab from ExtendOffice. For US$25, OfficeTab gives you document tabs in Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. They work well and make Office programs much more usable for anyone used to document tabs. They work just like tabs in your browser. There are a number of options you can set like tab colors and where to put the tab bar, but the program just works as installed. You don't need to set any options unless you want to. If you only use one program, you can buy a version of OfficeTab for just that program for less. OfficeTab works with Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010 (32-bit) -- although apparently not Powerpoint 2010. It works great in my copy Office 2003.

Rating: 5.0
Operating System: Windows XP or later
License: Commercial
Price: $25.00
Version Tested: 6.0
Web Site: http://www.extendoffice.com/en/product/office-tab.html