I HATE the "Kindergarten" look of Office 2007

[Spin]

Gurus,

While I love a lot of Microsoft products including Office 2003, I HATE the
Kindergarten look of Office 2007 (as well as IE 7 and basically anything
with a "7" in it's name). Is there *any way* one can take a program like
Office 2007 and go back to an Office 2003 "look and feel", in terms of
getting the old toolbars back across the top and what not. If not, I am
definitely abandoning Office 2007 and all version going forward for Google
Docs.

 

[Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]]

http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/download.htm
http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/download.php (free version)

But of course you tried the Office 2007 trial first, right?

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact.
How to ask a question: http://support.microsoft.com/KB/555375


After furious head scratching, Spin asked:

| Gurus,
|
| While I love a lot of Microsoft products including Office 2003, I
| HATE the Kindergarten look of Office 2007 (as well as IE 7 and
| basically anything with a "7" in it's name). Is there *any way* one
| can take a program like Office 2007 and go back to an Office 2003
| "look and feel", in terms of getting the old toolbars back across the
| top and what not. If not, I am definitely abandoning Office 2007 and
| all version going forward for Google Docs.

 

[Spin]

http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/download.htm
http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/download.php (free version)

But of course you tried the Office 2007 trial first, right?

Thanks Milly! It's too bad one now has to "pay" for a third-party tool to
revert the look of Office back to it's original "view". How does M$ get
away with sending this crap out the door?

 

[Ben M. Schorr - MVP (OneNote)]

You didn't have to pay for Office 2007 to begin with - that's what the
Trial Version is for. Surely you knew what the product looked like
before you bought it, right?

And despite what some users will try to tell you there are a lot of
users who LIKE the new interface. Not all. But a lot.

In any event, if you don't like it then don't use it. There are
alternatives: Office 2003, OpenOffice, WordPerfect X5, etc.

--
-Ben-
Ben M. Schorr, MVP
Roland Schorr & Tower
http://www.rolandschorr.com
http://www.officeforlawyers.com
Author - The Lawyer's Guide to Microsoft Outlook 2007:
http://tinyurl.com/5m3f5q

 

[Telstar]

Thanks Milly! It's too bad one now has to "pay" for a third-party tool to
revert the look of Office back to it's original "view". How does M$ get
away with sending this crap out the door?

Stupid remark. WINDOWS HAS CHANGED. Get used to it...or get something
else. One thing is for sure: You can get out of here.

 

[Spin]

I don't disagree that new features aren't good. I'm nor rejecting those OR
even the new interface, so long as there to go back to a "classic
interface". You don't agree with this? Then why did MS inside Windows XP
put the ability to go back to the "Windows Classic Shell"? Why did Office
look so similar all these years before finally radically changing? If there
are users who like the new look, then why not try to capture the best of
both worlds by having the new look AND providing ability to go back to the
old look *while* keeping new features? I'm sure new features will function
quite the same regardless of how/where they're accessed.>

 

[Spin]

I never bought it. My company had already rolled it out before I started
working there.

 

[Gordon]

I never bought it. My company had already rolled it out before I started
working there.

Then complain to the IT dept, not here. And BTW, I shouldn't even TRY to
install any third-party skin for it without the permission of your IT
dept...

 

[Spin]

Since I'm the one who has to use it, I WILL install it, as our IT dept is
useless. We call them the "Helpless Desk".

 

[Gordon]

Since I'm the one who has to use it, I WILL install it, as our IT dept is
useless. We call them the "Helpless Desk".

Then you are probably looking at a sackable offence....

 

[Harlan Grove]

And despite what some users will try to tell you there are a lot of
users who LIKE the new interface.  Not all.  But a lot.

....

Specifically with regard to Excel, there seems to be a majority of
Excel users who prefer the 'classic' UI.

http://www.exceluser.com/explore/surveys/ribbon/ribbon-survey-results.htm

As for Access, as long as older versions' runtimes are available,
it'll be possible to write Access applications that avoid the ribbon.
Myself, I don't really care about any of the other Office applications.

 

[Harlan Grove]

One thing is for sure:  You can get out of here.

As could you or me or anyone else. It's pretty obvious which are the
bitch, whine and moan threads. How hard is it not to read them?

 

[Meebers]

I just wish that I could customize the ribbon for my own use in Excel. I
constantly go between the "home" tab and "data" tab in my daily work.

 

[Bob I]

That would be "Alt H" and "Alt A"

 

[Meebers]

Tried your suggestion, don't know if that is "easier". Something I have
never stumbled across before, when doing alt h, (home), I get additional
boxes coming up i.e. clipboard cut=x, copy=c and format painter=fp and under
Font B=1, I=2 and U=3 ? hummmm.

 

[Harlan Grove]

That would be "Alt H" and "Alt A"

....

The latter isn't [Alt]+D because that's used for compatibility mode
keystrokes for the old classic menu's Data menu. It must not have
occurred to MSFT to provide a configuration switch to disable
compatibility mode keystrokes and thereby allow all the claimed users
who find the ribbon more usable to use keystrokes more sensibly linked
to the ribbon to access it. That WASN'T a problem back in the Excel 4
to Excel 5 conversion. Why not? Because MSFT provided TWO menus back
then, with different keystrokes tied to each menu. What a concept!

The new UI is a hodgepodge of inconsistencies made worse by MSFT's
apparent unwillingness to give users many customization options.

 

[Gemini]

LOL, Spin! I know how you feel. I know several people in exactly your
situation who are captive Office 2007 users.

Now that you've stated you don't like the Ribbon UI, expect to hear from
those who are absolutely infatuated with it and those who will claim the
Ribbon is a success (of course, they have no data to support that claim).

BTW, since you're using Office 2007, you form part of the Ribbon's "success"!

You're right, it was an arrogant decision on part of MS not to provide a
classic UI alternative. You may want to let MS know your opinion. You can do
so from their website (the Office 2007 section).

Jensen Harris is the blue-eyed boy who led the design team which produced
the infamous Ribbon. Here's a link to his blog. You may want to let him know
as wel.
http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh/

You will find lots of stuff from JH, claiming all kinds of success for the
Ribbon. You will also notice he has maintained a solid silence when posters
have posed specific questions about the data used to design the Ribbon as
well as the data that substantiates the Ribbon's "success".

BTW, if memory serves me right, the keyboard shortcuts don't quite work as
expected with the add-on installed.

Good luck!

-- Gemini

 

[Gemini]

Gordon, obviously you don't know much about how things work over here in the
US. Installing an additional piece of software is NOT a sackable offense. If
that's a sackable offense at your company, they sure keep their employees on
a very short leash.

Seems there's quite a bit you don't know about this side of the pond, rather
along the lines of the "power user" thing.

-- Gemini

 

[Gemini]

"You can get out of here"

How about you lead by example? Of course, we'll do our best to cope with the
loss of your juvenile, rude and downright silly responses.

-- Gemini

 

[Bob I]

Yes, just as the "letters" of the choices in previous menus were
Underlined. Press keys as indicated to navigate without a mouse.