CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	12 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2012	Jul. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2010
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 2,671,656	$ 2,517,195	$ 2,185,679
Cost of sales	1,291,558	1,232,283	1,064,133
Gross profit	1,380,098	1,284,912	1,121,546
Selling, general and administrative expenses	843,221	790,279	716,654
Research and development	82,932	80,506	68,796
Restructuring and other charges, net	66,858	26,505	17,664
Interest expense, net	20,177	18,903	14,324
Loss on extinguishment of debt	0	0	31,513
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes	366,910	368,719	272,595
Provision for income taxes	85,963	89,522	70,142
Net earnings from continuing operations	280,947	279,197	202,453
Earnings from discontinued operations, net of income taxes	38,362	36,299	38,795
Net earnings	$ 319,309	$ 315,496	$ 241,248
Earnings per share from continuing operations:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 2.42	$ 2.40	$ 1.72
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 2.39	$ 2.36	$ 1.70
Earnings per share from discontinued operations:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.33	$ 0.31	$ 0.33
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.32	$ 0.31	$ 0.33
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 2.75	$ 2.71	$ 2.05
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 2.71	$ 2.67	$ 2.03
Average shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	116,061	116,521	117,437
Diluted (in shares)	117,663	118,266	118,846