I can see how on larger or dual monitors how determining the active window
can be a challenge. I tried the color schemes to see which worked the best
and the Black scheme seemed to make the inactive title bar stand out since
it turns gray. But if you aren't big on black then that may not work either.
I suspect a VBA solution could be used. Perhaps one that adds "Active
Window" or something along those lines to the title bar to help identify the
active/inactive window?? I do know the fact that Office 2007 doesn't adhere
to the Windows color schemes is a fairly big complaint.
The rationale behind the new UI is rather extensive. One of the primary
reasons was because they were running out of room in the applications.
Originally, the menus were designed to hold four menu items and the
applications had a single toolbar. (This was around the late 80s.) By Word
97 a total of 18 toolbars were available and cascading menus were finally
added because they were running out of room. They added the
adaptive/personalized menus and toolbars (abbreviated menus and showing the
Standard and Formatting toolbars on the same row) in Office 2000 as an
attempt to cut down on the screen clutter but that concept didn't go over
very well. Office 2002 saw the introduction of the task pane (another
attempt to find room for newly added features). By Word 2003, there were 31
toolbars, 19 task panes, and menus overflowing with commands. If you want
more in-depth information on the rationale behind the changes then here's a
link to Jensen Harris' blog that is very informative (it's where I got my
info. ;-) ):
http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/archive/tags/Why+the+New+UI_3F00_/default.aspx
I'll note I didn't like the new UI very much initially (okay, I hated it)
but once I started learning more about the new functionality the
applications had to offer I adapted and made the switch. Now I wonder how I
ever lived without some of them.
While this isn't related to the title bar, here are a few tips and
resources that may help in general:
- Learn more about the Quick Access Toolbar (the small toolbar next to the
Microsoft Office Button that has Save and Undo on it by default). It's easy
to customize and add those commands you frequently use. To add a command,
right-click the command, either on the Ribbon or those found under the
Microsoft Office Button, and then click "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". To
add an entire group, such as the Font group on the Home tab, right-click the
group name instead of a command in the group. To remove a command,
right-click it and you'll see the Remove command. To reorganize commands,
right-click the Quick Access Toolbar and then click "Customize the Quick
Access Toolbar". I set mine up in the beginning so it looked exactly like
the first part of the old Standard toolbar and the first part of the
Formatting toolbar. What a difference that made!
- Right-click *everything*. Unlike previous versions, some commands can only
be found by right-clicking a command. This includes the thumbnails found in
the Galleries as well.
- Use Interactive Guides to help you find commands you're unable to locate.
They can be found in Help or by using these links:
Excel :
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel/HA101491511033.aspx
PowerPoint:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/powerpoint/HA101490761033.aspx
Word:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word/HA100744321033.aspx
- Spend a little time on Office Online. It contains a wealth of resources
from tips and tricks to training.
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
