New Features in Office 12

[Laura Fochtmann]

I just read an article talking about the new "ribbon" approach being taken to
menu in the next version of Office, so that users will see a set of menus
that vary with the context.

I hope that Microsoft will permit end-users to turn off this
context-dependent menu display feature.

I am a frequent and experienced user of Office products and am often called
by friends and family members to help them learn how to do infrequently used
task. Sometimes I know the menu items they need to use from memory, other
times I have to go to my computer and talk them through the steps. However,
to be able to replicate menus or commands on 2 different computers with the
new feature sounds impossible.

I hope that the feature will not also apply to toolbars since I have my
toolbars customized already to display the features that I use the most and
since I know the exact position of those commands on each toolbar through
repeated use. If the commands or toolbar items move around, I am certain it
will dramatically decrease my efficiency in using Office products.

As things stand now, I have the menus set to always display the full menu
since clicking on the drop down arrows is a tremendous waste of time. Plus,
I never install that annoying ClipIt, which is also a distracting waste of
time for experienced users.

In conclusion, I can not emphasize how distressed I am to learn of
Microsoft's plans for the new version of Office. I only hope that you will
take the above views into consideration.

Thanks!

----------------
This post is a suggestion for Microsoft, and Microsoft responds to the
suggestions with the most votes. To vote for this suggestion, click the "I
Agree" button in the message pane. If you do not see the button, follow this
link to open the suggestion in the Microsoft Web-based Newsreader and then
click "I Agree" in the message pane.

http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...-0eaa00a25d41&dg=microsoft.public.office.misc

 

[Bob Buckland ?:-\)]

Hi Laura,

While it's a bit early to know how the feature set of
the 'finished' products will come out for Office 12
(not due out by current MS reports until later 2006 <g>) you
may find this video interesting, showing and discussing the 'ribbon'
actions and other User Interface issues in a first look/prototype
version.
http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=114720#114720

Additional information from Microsoft on Office 12 can be found on
http://microsoft.com/office/preview

=======
I just read an article talking about the new "ribbon" approach being taken to
menu in the next version of Office, so that users will see a set of menus
that vary with the context.

I hope that Microsoft will permit end-users to turn off this
context-dependent menu display feature.

I am a frequent and experienced user of Office products and am often called
by friends and family members to help them learn how to do infrequently used
task. Sometimes I know the menu items they need to use from memory, other
times I have to go to my computer and talk them through the steps. However,
to be able to replicate menus or commands on 2 different computers with the
new feature sounds impossible.

I hope that the feature will not also apply to toolbars since I have my
toolbars customized already to display the features that I use the most and
since I know the exact position of those commands on each toolbar through
repeated use. If the commands or toolbar items move around, I am certain it
will dramatically decrease my efficiency in using Office products.

As things stand now, I have the menus set to always display the full menu
since clicking on the drop down arrows is a tremendous waste of time. Plus,
I never install that annoying ClipIt, which is also a distracting waste of
time for experienced users.

In conclusion, I can not emphasize how distressed I am to learn of
Microsoft's plans for the new version of Office. I only hope that you will
take the above views into consideration.

Thanks! >>
--
Let us know if this helped you,

Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP

*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*

For Everyday MS Office tips to "use right away" -
http://microsoft.com/events/series/administrativetipsandtricks.mspx

Information from Microsoft on "Office 12"
http://microsoft.com/office/preview

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

One should also keep in mind the distinction between adaptive (which I call
peek-a-boo menus, since various commands choose to hide if you don't use
them frequently) and context-sensitive. The former, as Laura notes, are
quite unpredictable. The latter, however, are quite predictable. I don't
know any of the details about Office 12, but I would expect that adaptive
menus, if part of Office 12, would be a user-tameable choice, just as it is
now both in Office as well as in Windows XP.