Office 2007 toolbars look stupid IMO

[Kevin]

This isn't meant to be a trolling post, this is seriously a genuine question
but I do have to joke about this a bit:

I just installed Office 2007; maybe I'm getting old-fashioned already (big
whopping 30 now!), but I find the new toolbars to look completely retarded.

Is there anyway to make these look more like Office 2003 toolbars? i.e. turn
off all the text & make the buttons a little smaller and more compact?

So far, I don't find any options to do this; Thanks!

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

There is nothing built-in to do that. You can take a look at my
RibbonCustomizer add-in (link below) to either get some sort of 2003 UI
in 2007, or customize the 2007 one.
Be warned though...there are a lot of things you cannot do, because
Microsoft didn't make that possible.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

 

[Kevin]

That looks nice, thank you very much.

I guess I don't understand why this isn't part of Office 2007 though.

Oh well, I might give it a shot to see if I get used to this new style. No
harm in that!

There is nothing built-in to do that. You can take a look at my
RibbonCustomizer add-in (link below) to either get some sort of 2003 UI
in 2007, or customize the 2007 one.
Be warned though...there are a lot of things you cannot do, because
Microsoft didn't make that possible.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

This isn't meant to be a trolling post, this is seriously a genuine question
but I do have to joke about this a bit:

I just installed Office 2007; maybe I'm getting old-fashioned already (big
whopping 30 now!), but I find the new toolbars to look completely retarded.

Is there anyway to make these look more like Office 2003 toolbars? i.e. turn
off all the text & make the buttons a little smaller and more compact?

So far, I don't find any options to do this; Thanks!

 

[JoAnn Paules]

The ribbon takes some getting used to. I think it's easier if your skills in
the beginning aren't that developed. Kind of hard to break old habits if you
don't have any old habits, right? I am trying to learn to adjust to the
ribbon myself. I use the F1 key a lot.

--

JoAnn Paules
Microsoft MVP - Publisher

How to ask a question
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375

That looks nice, thank you very much.

I guess I don't understand why this isn't part of Office 2007 though.

Oh well, I might give it a shot to see if I get used to this new style. No
harm in that!

There is nothing built-in to do that. You can take a look at my
RibbonCustomizer add-in (link below) to either get some sort of 2003 UI
in 2007, or customize the 2007 one.
Be warned though...there are a lot of things you cannot do, because
Microsoft didn't make that possible.

Patrick Schmid [OneNote MVP]
--------------
http://pschmid.net
***
Outlook 2007 Performance Update: http://pschmid.net/blog/2007/04/13/105
Office 2007 RTM Issues: http://pschmid.net/blog/2006/11/13/80
***
Customize Office 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/customize
RibbonCustomizer Add-In: http://ribboncustomizer.com
OneNote 2007: http://pschmid.net/office2007/onenote
***
Subscribe to my Office 2007 blog: http://pschmid.net/blog/feed

This isn't meant to be a trolling post, this is seriously a genuine
question
but I do have to joke about this a bit:

I just installed Office 2007; maybe I'm getting old-fashioned already
(big
whopping 30 now!), but I find the new toolbars to look completely
retarded.

Is there anyway to make these look more like Office 2003 toolbars? i.e.
turn
off all the text & make the buttons a little smaller and more compact?

So far, I don't find any options to do this; Thanks!

 

[Nicholas Hall]

Kevin if you want your copy of office to look like office 2003 then why not
just run office 2003?

NIK

 

[Beth Melton]

The Ribbon does look funny at first but like with most things, you do grow
accustomed to it. Interestingly, when I look at previous versions the old
menus/toolbars they seem a little dated - it's a lot like looking back at
DOS programs I used to have. ;-)

A few pointers:
- Use your Quick Access Toolbar (the small toolbar above the Ribbon) to add
your frequently used commands. It can be placed below the Ribbon which makes
it feel a little more like a toolbar
- Right-click any command and use Add to QAT to add it to your Quick Access
Toolbar, right-click a group to add an entire group
- Right-click a command on the QAT and use Remove from QAT to remove it
- Right-click the QAT and use the Customize QAT to rearrange commands, add
commands that aren't in the Ribbon, add separators, etc. (Initially, my QAT
looked a *lot* like the old Standard toolbar and part of the Formatting
toolbar.)
- You can minimize/restore the Ribbon by double-clicking the active tab, or
by pressing Ctrl + F1

Most importantly, right-click *everything*. Unlike previous versions, there
is a lot of added functionality that can only be found by right-clicking the
command.

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Co-author of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/