Office 2007 Ribbon vs Menu

[joea608]

How long before IE10 gets this fucking godawful 'interface'?

[friendofthediva3]

I have found that the best way to use the Ribbon is to memorize all the Tabs and their Group names. Even more effectively memorize all the of the Fields under each Group name. Especially important is memorizing the Fields. Until I did this I found the Ribbon annoying, but now I find it much easier to use. I suggest doing this with Word, Excel, Power Pt and Outlook as well. Try it folks, you will be surprised at the amount of confidence you will have using the various Ribbons.

[dragonknight026]

I uninstalled Office 2007 and reinstalled Office 2003 I will upgrade it again when I upgrade my XP to Vista or 7

[otterboxiphone]

Ribbon is one big step backward. I hate this stupid feature so much.

[Zoowey07]

I'm a collage student and got Microsoft Office 2007 for free and after using it for a bit I went out and bought 2003... I'll let go of my pride for a bit and say that I agree with Chris, if you use the Ribbon Interface for a while you'll likely actually fall in love with it but eh, I just don't see the spark.

[ratanegrahjk]

Ribbon vs menu

normal user

common users already had everything at one click distance, now at two click distance.

advanced user:

Where the fuck is everything?

.odt should replace .doc in the future and people should use .pdf when possible.

[ratanegrahjk]

.ods was what i tried to write

[ratanegrahjk]

ods - OpenDocument spreadsheet

and

odt - OpenDocument Text Document

[JohnstonIowaJim]

My company, which is still using Word 2003, better not switch to Word 2007 when we finally upgrade. I have spent two days trying to get used to 2007's ribbon bar and have given up. I can't imagine trying to get our staff to learn this. The extra training time and lost productivity would cost at least one million dollars. I will make sure that my company either goes to OpenOffice (as I have done for my house computers) or sees if the rumor that Microsoft will go back to menus proves correct.

[YUPnNOPE]

i wish they would add the ribbon to MAC OFFICE! i think it is a very nice way of working in Word, Powerpoint, and Excel. Like Chris and alot of other people, i thought it was garbage until i tried it, but after a few minutes I saw clearly the reason why Microsoft chose to do it. It makes everything a lot easier, and is involves less sifting through commands and menus (amen).

[KawazoeJapan]

No that would be bad since it would be the only app using a different interface. What would be nice is if OS X could totally replace it's current menu interface by a minimized ribbon-like interface. That way, every application could use the ribbon and it would always be at the top, just like the actual menubar. There should also have a backward compatibility feature where older app that doesn't use it still work with the traditional menus.

[YUPnNOPE]

u know what, your totally right. having the menu bar replaced by a ribbon bar in os x would be really nice!

[robw1031]

I gave the ribbon a year and to this date I am still not anymore productive than I was a year ago In fact I am less productive. I used to use excel 4 to 5 hours a day and became very familiar with the old drop down menus and toolbars. In my current position I only use the program may be 10 hours a week and I am struggling to find the commands that I normally use on a day to day basis.

Personally, I think the new G U I makes the program looks cartoonish and not very professional.

[Cifrocco]

The ribbon will go the way of the paper clip and the Bob thingy, or whatever it was called. Nothing has ever diminished my productivity like this ribbon thing. It's really like "User Interface for Dummies". Any cool, power user does not use this thing, or uses it very reluctantly, relying on even more keyboard shortcuts than ever before.

Disclosure: I don't own any Microsoft stock.

[Cifrocco]

What a tool. Any power user or geek worth his salt knows the Ribbon is garbage.

[woweeez]

I love the ribbon I am a power user and most of all I am a geek. The ribbon is more efficient, cleaner and more user friendly. Most of all the ribbon isn't implemented for the use of geeks and power users, it is for people who don't give a shit about computers but need to use office tools for work or school. If it is really so shitty then you can stick with office 2003 forever, since it is never going to come out again with menus.

[moniker127]

BS. The ribbon interface rocks.

[rossMIE]

you can get normal/standard menus for free, look harder!

[manueldaman]

I disagree with you Chris. My eyes now need to move long distances left and right to locate commands, whereas with traditional menus I can visually scan a whole menu with very small vertical eye movement. Let's not forget, in addition, that the ribbon does not look the same in all screens. For example, on my small laptop it gets compacted down so it fits on the screen, so you can't ever get used to it.

[KawazoeJapan]

So you're saying that you can scan a whole menu, even if it is 3 folders deep, in only ONE eye movement? I totally don't believe you. There's a 1h video on youtube about how Microsoft developed the ribbon. You should take a look, you'll learn how much better it is when you'll see the broad picture.

[manueldaman]

Well, for example in Word 2007 now i cannot see the styles properly because the ribbon only shows the first few letters. It might be a million times better, but why do u think I still use XP and Office 2003? Simple, because I want to get the job done. IF i were to use the new software I would have to spend a lot of hours to relearn a user interface, to accomplish the tasks that I could already do in 2003. I wonder, mate, how long have u been using Office????? You sound like you are a newbie

[Whatatay]

Doesn't do me any good when I can't see what you are talking about from 10 feet away. Why so stupid and lazy that you can't show us what you are seeing on the screen? Finally someone dumber than the morons who developed Office 2007.

[MaicoMoon]

The ribbon menu sucks donkey balls! Why did they have to make everything more complicated? They totally failed in trying to succeed in making it more user-friendly by making it look "cooler". Fucking Microsoft faggots.

[MaicoMoon]

I can get more shit done faster when all the buttons I need are on the screen, instead of having to tab through different bullshit ribbons just to try to find what I am looking for.

[LOTRzagorath]

I love the new Ribbon. It puts all the things that you need right there, and when you select something, such as a picture, it puts all the things you need for the picture right there.

[Seaoftea]

I've had that stupid ribbon and it still sucks. I can't find anything, I always have to open help. Pretty soon they'll change all the shortcut keys so f1 will close my program.

[jaygatsbylive]

I've used it for 3 months now and I absolutely hate it! I have reinstalled 2003 because I can't handle using the stupid ribbon. It's so freaking frustrating trying to find stuff, especially features that you don't use that often.

[jaygatsbylive]

The Ribbon bar without the NORMAL menus that is standard in ALL OTHER FREAKING programs DOESN'T WORK!

I am a freaking HUGE fan of Microsoft stuff, but I won't use the new Office until they add the classic menus back.

[xangodango]

The ribbon is DREADFUL for power users who've learned literally hundreds of paths to things and all those paths have now moved. There are also some commands which simply arent there any more. This novice dweeb gices no evidence as to why it's better, just rants on and on about why it is. Utter drivel.

[fmiller747]

SHOWING the ribbon instead of yakking about it would've made this video *useful*.

[darkalligator]

I just hate office 2007, i already reinstall 2003 and all my pcs. :)

[itspatric]

well. i own both... so if i decide to hate one, i reinstall the other.

[schubudha]

To quote Jay, the Ribbons "lick balls".

If I had known how much of a let down 2007 office was, I would never purchased it with my computer.

I have found two items that grate me.

1) You can no longer insert a picture directly from a scanner

2) Excel no longer reads lotus files.

I have had office 2007 for a while and the ribbon still bugs me.

[themobsadvocate]

ANYONE that give the ribbon a try will never go back. Yes it takes a while to get used to- but once you do you will wonder how you ever managed without it! Hell i cant even use the old 2002/3 layout anymore

[originalperthling]

Not ANYONE. I've been trying for over 6 months. I've decided to go back to Office XP. Very poor how MS has made a statement in FAQs "There IS NO WAY to restore the menus" - yet another developer has managed to do it! Mind you, for $30. Come on Microsoft, you make enough money, give us a fair go!

[PaulSedwick]

MS is a cranial suker - why reinvent the wheel? What was wrong with the old help menu?

Today's mentality - relearn the same 'basic' routines over and over until nothing new and advanced is accomplished. Give more cash to MS.

Think for yourself, not what Microsoft thinks you want!

Put these powerful machines to good use...invent something good and helpful for mankind, not fluff we don't need nor want!

Sorry, the ribbon is ridiculous!

[willschollar]

i like ribbons , they help u get to things tht u want instead of a plethura of menus and lists

[originalperthling]

Can't argue with your experience. However, heaps of us have used Office for many many years, and memorised the menus. New ribbons very awkward for this kind of user. MS should give the option.

[SLRob10]

I applaud Microsoft for thinking outside the box, but condemn them for forcing everyone to work the way some committee decided is best. They should have allowed users the option to use the ribbons and/or menus and allowed users to customize either them and have more than one row of Quick Access Icons.

[packoftwenty]

@SLRob10 Yes, but if the idiots who came up with 'The Ribbon' had actually given people the CHOICE to switch back to the old menus, MOST of them would have done so, and it would have been bloody obvious how USELESS the idiots who work at Microsoft are. So, in order to cover their own talentless, sorry asses, they FORCED 'the Ribbon' onto us. In computer programs, giving MORE choice, and MORE ways to do the same thing, is better, as the user can then choose the method they like the best.

[packoftwenty]

Jensen Harris is the idiot behind 'the Ribbon'. He should be blamed for all this crap.

The arrogance of these latte-sipping idiots is beyond belief - they sit in their 'focus groups', getting paid a fortune for coming up with the most stupid 'interfaces' ever known to mankind, then scrub them and start a new one, then scrub that and start another one (just watch Jensen Harris's presentation videos on Youtube...) and STILL get paid for being useless, and then we get... 'The Ribbon'.

Utter crap.

[KurtisICT]

**gulps** Loosing menus in WinVista? They already have gone. You need to mess about getting it back up again. You can do a lot more in the classic menu bars, than you can with a ribbon (just my opinion) - ESPECIALLY, within an OS. Internet Explorer is hard to use without the menu bar as well.

[rugcutter284]

Microsoft Office is *not* the system - Microsoft needs to abide by the system. All non-microsoft apps all follow this standard. Snagit. Textpad. Mozilla Firefox. Adobe Reader. Users will use these other apps and come to Office *expecting* a menu bar that is absent. This is a horrible bug.

Does Microsoft really think they absolute sovereignty to change the way people use the menu bar that has been in place for 20+ years?

I'm ready to uninstall 2007 and reinstall 2003.

[raliwag120]

haha 'they cant even get they branding straight' lol rofl

[MarijnStevens]

I enjoy your video's, dude.

And.. Nice rig you have there :D

[myblondegirl]

On my computer Microsofot has the correct branding...what are you looking at. Microsoft Office Word 2007 and it also says this when you boot up the program. Anyways, I love the ribbon and not only has the user interface changed it's much easy to create dynamic PPT's and Word documents. You'll get the hang of it! Give it a chance.

[rlholo]

Finally, Office 2007 annoyingly and incessantly prods you to save documents in formats that cannot be read by the installed base of pre-2007 office products - so if you aren't watching like a hawk to DESELECT the default document format, your customers may not be able to easily read what you send them!!! Unforgiveable!!!!!!!! What a fart of a decision to release this. Enjoy my $400 Bill, it's the last money you'll ever get from me.

[rlholo]

There is no option to use classic menus, no way to customize toolbars, drag & drop for industry standard image formats f*n broke, and keyboard shortcuts in use for more than a decade are just *poof* gone. I CANNOT get my job done on this dummed-down prettied-up version of office. I literally have to do some of my work on my wife's old PC at home now just to get the job done.

[pieteckhart]

i think its a good thing microsoft did.

think about your childrens children when they start lets say office for the first time and dont asks there dad or somone else to help them any 10 seconds to locate a certain menu item.

but i agree it will slow us down now untill we get used to it. using classic menu patches solves nothing, i dont think they will be there for ever (Like in Office 2012 of something ;) like that)

[technomikelyons]

I have been using (and programming) computers since the early 1980s, and I have to say that the Office 2007 Ribbon has got to be one of the worst user interface designs I have ever had the displeasure of trying. The fact that so many people are confused, frustrated, and disgusted with it to the point Microsoft spends an inordinate amount of time and money defendng and justifying it bears that out. I tested it on a test server at work, and couldn't really get anything productive done with it.

[Ninoschrijver]

Ribbons are more beautiful than the menu,

and is see better for people who have less good eyes

[iapad]

I think that the ribbon has made people consider to leave Microsoft Office for good! I feel that I have wasted my money in buying an upgrade from office 2003 to 2007. I feel fustrated and hampered in my work by this ribbon. OpenOffice? May be this is the solution ....

[ownagepur3str787]

The link isnt workin so can sm1 send me plzzz

[dj5dog]

Office 2007 Ribbon is really good

[wakyman1995]

office 2007 is awsome but the ribbon is only for excel, word, and powerpoint. The documents are can be made really pretty really easy.

[Entropy56]

Did Microsoft do this before Apple?

[SerenadeEver]

If the ribbons were actually visible on your face or ASS for that matter, then this video might have been worth putting on here.

A-hole!

[iMike360]

The first tiem i saw it i thought it was the first innovayed thing Micrsoft has done in 5 years, extculding X box.

[haikubutterfly]

The problem with ribbons is that they depart from the CUA standard. I remember back when each program had a different interface and learning new programs was a problem. After CUA was established in Windows it became easier to learn new programs as common commands were the same across applications. I can see where the ribbon may be easier to learn, but then what happens when people use IE or Acrobat or Photoshop -- well it's learn all over again.

[CristiZ]

i love 2007 but in school we use 2003 and all of our exams are on 2003. so.. i kinda have to wait for them to upgrade and all.

[gone2dogz]

The ribbon bar is terrible. The old configurable tool bar was good. You can get pretty close by disabling all the ribbons and just using the custom ribbon or something. So I have all my frequent commands in one bar. Now if there were just a nice text way to get at less common commands - -like . . oh - - some words across the top of the screen and if you make them drop down they'd show you more words . . oh, like FILE and EDIT and TOOLS then that would be really cool and easy to use.

[rlholo]

What a great idea... we could call them "Menus" and they could logically group the commands that we often use. You could even make them customizable! I don't want to pay to go backward to 2003. I'd rather go forward with a company that respected power-users... otherwise I'll have to pay AGAIN to downrev to 2003. What a huge concession to the casual user and a snub to the power user. Microsoft becomes less of a 'real' business solution with every release.

[Akebeth]

Why don't they just have a classic option? >.> It would solve some complaints..

[mark99k]

believe it or not, MS claims they didn't have the resources (!) to implement a classic-interface option. the real reason, i think, is because they realized halfway through that their "innovation" would hit heavy resistance, so it wouldn't help promote 2007 if they kept the classic menu available.

Office 2007 is a nightmare for power users and anyone who has customized the interface.

The 3 third-party classic-menu-restoring packages are nice tries but each is inadequate for power users.

[udonotknowme1]

I'm not that frustrated with the ribbon bar but I do like having all the options I want available immediately to me instead of having to go through the tabs.

[AccordionManiac]

the ribbon bar is great but sadly it makes you have to re-learn word.

[silverojo]

Yeah, right...make people use the mouse continually, so we can get plenty of people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome.

Bill Gates seems to have forgotten his pledge of making Windows ACCESSIBLE to people with physical limitations....

[akbartwin]

what the fuck they both fucking suck! i hate computers ^_^

[imduffy15]

sorry just noticed there that you answered my question there i posted the comment before watching the video sorry

[imduffy15]

is there anyway i can get rid of them for free they really annoy me