Office 2007 UI : customise, revert to 2003, anything....

[Oliver Sparrow]

The new UI has cost us two weeks work. Ten years of process skills have been
thrown away. Instead, we get blurred, oversized and duplicated icons that may
be fine for learners but defeat professionals.

Given the ribbon is an XML product, can one:

1: Customise the ribbon contents (eg omit underline, bold, other keystroke
garbage.)

2: Change the icon resolution, and particularly remove the oversized design
elements that only beginners use anyway.

3: Match the look of Office to the overall desktop theme. I would be
infuriated if Photoshop insisted on a graduated background to the workspace,
so whuy is this acceptable in POwwerpoint, for example?

MS should at least allow users who want to keep the look and feel of
previous versions to maintain this. Software with chrome training wheels -
the UI of 2007 - is all very well with beginners, but a major hindrance to
experienced users. It is costing us money, and I am on the verge of
uninstalling this product and starting again with Office 2000.

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

1. Yes. You can't remove directly like you are thinking about, but you
can create a new group that omits the items you want. The thing you have
to look at is RibbonX (http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribbonx). If you
don't want to bother with the XML yourself, or need a tool to create it
for you, take a look at my RibbonCustomizer add-in (link below my name).
2. If you are asking whether you can make buttons like Paste smaller
(similar in size to Cut), yes. If you are asking whether you can reduce
the screen real estate taking up by the Ribbon itself no. You can only
minimize the Ribbon, but a non-minimized Ribbon cannot be made any
smaller.
3. No.

You can try and restore a resemblance of the 2003 menus with RibbonX
(someone posted here the other day with an add-in that does this), but
it will always be a half-baked thing. I personally advise everyone who
wants to keep the 2003 menus & toolbars to stay with 2003 (or earlier
versions).

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

 

[Paul Ballou]

The new UI has cost us two weeks work. Ten years of process skills have

been
thrown away. Instead, we get blurred, oversized and duplicated icons that
may
be fine for learners but defeat professionals.

===========================================
I find that hard to believe ...

http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/
This addin adds a menu tab with the main menu bar, standard toolbar, &
formatting

http://pschmid.net/index.php
you can find a ribbon customizer
--
Paul Ballou
MVP Office
http://office.microsoft.com/home
http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/
http://www.ballousgiftshop.com

 

[Oliver Sparrow]

: <stuff>

....for which many thanks. My post was perhaps intemperate, but driven by
mounting frustration. We generate over a gigabyte of powerpoint a year, and
not to be able to find items on a one click basis - and to have unwanted
"styles" shoved at us - is deeply frustrating. Unhappily, this sits on a
migration path which means that subsequent generations of Office will be
rooted in the UI, and so we have to take a 'strategic' decision as to whether
to go with tis or not, and thus ultimately with Microsoft or not..

As most of the staff are in foreign offices, I have been evaluating the
product centrally. I do not see advantages in training people to take so
great a break in their work practice. If I can make something recognisable
using the ribbon editor, however, then we may upgrade; and if not, then we
won't.

 

[Patrick Schmid [MVP]]

If your main focus is PowerPoint, then I highly suggest that you post in
the PPT newsgroup. There are some features in PPT 2007, mainly related
to templates & Office Themes, that are pretty hard to understand, but
once you get it are quite powerful in a corporate setting. The PPT
newsgroup would be the best place if you want to find out more about
this aspect.
As to your strategic decision: Yes, you can assume that subsequent
versions of Office will use only the Ribbon UI. If you are looking at
alternatives, OpenOffice and the Google Client Apps come to my mind, but
I don't know how either one's presentation module compares to PPT.
An important question when considering the new UI is really how advanced
your users are. It has been my experience that the more advanced a user
is in earlier versions of Office, the harder it is to migrate to 2007.
Most of the time, the people evaluating 2007 (IT mainly), are experts
and hence are the toughest ones to migrate. I highly suggest that you
find a typical/average user in your company and have them evaluate it to
see how much training they would need.
You also might want to look at the resources MS offers. There is a
Getting Started add-in for PPT that might help your users
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=831F0AE9-FC50-4074-96D3-D02FD98CB041)

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

 

[Joyce]

I really want to know whether they have a tool for cutting for word 2007. I
see that they have a paste tool, but i couldn't find the cutting tool

--
Joyce Johnson

1. Yes. You can't remove directly like you are thinking about, but you
can create a new group that omits the items you want. The thing you have
to look at is RibbonX (http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribbonx). If you
don't want to bother with the XML yourself, or need a tool to create it
for you, take a look at my RibbonCustomizer add-in (link below my name).
2. If you are asking whether you can make buttons like Paste smaller
(similar in size to Cut), yes. If you are asking whether you can reduce
the screen real estate taking up by the Ribbon itself no. You can only
minimize the Ribbon, but a non-minimized Ribbon cannot be made any
smaller.
3. No.

You can try and restore a resemblance of the 2003 menus with RibbonX
(someone posted here the other day with an add-in that does this), but
it will always be a half-baked thing. I personally advise everyone who
wants to keep the 2003 menus & toolbars to stay with 2003 (or earlier
versions).

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

The new UI has cost us two weeks work. Ten years of process skills have been
thrown away. Instead, we get blurred, oversized and duplicated icons that may
be fine for learners but defeat professionals.

Given the ribbon is an XML product, can one:

1: Customise the ribbon contents (eg omit underline, bold, other keystroke
garbage.)

2: Change the icon resolution, and particularly remove the oversized design
elements that only beginners use anyway.

3: Match the look of Office to the overall desktop theme. I would be
infuriated if Photoshop insisted on a graduated background to the workspace,
so whuy is this acceptable in POwwerpoint, for example?

MS should at least allow users who want to keep the look and feel of
previous versions to maintain this. Software with chrome training wheels -
the UI of 2007 - is all very well with beginners, but a major hindrance to
experienced users. It is costing us money, and I am on the verge of
uninstalling this product and starting again with Office 2000.

 

[Echo S]

I really want to know whether they have a tool for cutting for word 2007. I
see that they have a paste tool, but i couldn't find the cutting tool

It's on the Home tab, clear over on the left in the Clipboard group -- look
for the scissors icon that may say "cut" beside them (depending on your
screen resolution). You must have something selected before the Cut
tool/icon is activated.

 

[PC Pete]

===========================================
I find that hard to believe ...

I don't find it hard to believe at all, not for an instant. And like the
original poster, it's suprprising how many other long-time office users feel
exactly the same way - only worse.

I had to "upgrade" to Office 2007 to support some of my clients who were
forced to "upgrade" by their license commitment and government requirements.
As a sole proprietor, that's a pretty big investment in time and money.

In the 3 weeks I've had Office 2007 installed, I've spent more time trying
to find where commands that used to be on the menu (and therefore instantly
available at all times) and finding where they are now "collected" than I've
spent editing and working with the actual data!

That's not an exaggeration, by the way. I spend more than 35% of my actual
document working time (that is, more than 20 minutes spent scrambling around
looking for my functions in every hour spent creating and updating documents)
trying to find and remember where the commands I use most frequently are now
collected and concealed within the astonishingly complex and limiting UI
monstrosity that is the Ribbon. What a stunted, horrific concept that is! And
I'm now finding that I'm "grouping" my editing needs, so I can do everything
I have to with the current ribbon set, then postponing other commands and
changes until I need to apply more than one font style or paragraph indent.

And that doesn't even begin to cover the significantly degraded and
hyper-simplified UI that I'm having real trouble using! I can't actually
_see_ where MDI child forms start and end, regardless of the "theme" applied.
How, exactly, is that improving how I work?

For newbs and people with _extremely_ simplistic and limited, function-based
editing requirements, I'm sure Office 2007 is an excellent product suite.
They certainly can't do anything wrong, you spend all your time trying to
find out how to do things the "new way".

And all the hyper-hyperbole with instant displays of font changes and
styles, well, that's a sure sucker for graphics horsepower and not actually
useful unless you're heavily into formatting existing data but not doing any
addition. Kind of like a palimpsest toolset in that way. If I want to format
a newly-pasted item, I'll format it, after all, the format menu items are
only a mouseclick away... oops, WRONG, they're not any more unless I modify
the Ribbon thing or add the commands to the "quick access toolbar". (I wonder
why that wasn't embedded into the Ribbon concept?) If I wanted it formatted
for me, I would have got someone else to do it.

Getting transparent tool windows chasing after every mouse movement just
makes me want to stop using the mouse! It certainly doesn't do anything
useful for me, it just gets in the way of actual useful work.

Yes, I'm an old-time user of Office, and yes, I'm stuck in my ways. But I
like being stuck in front of an application that lets me do what I want, when
I want it, not one that tells me how much better it would be if I just....
That kind of in-your-face annoyance went out with Clippit. But it seems
Clippit has returned from the grave (and he's not happy).

The very fact that so many toolsets have sprung up to help everyone avoid or
replace or limit the ribbon bar and UI theme is answer enough that MS is
driving on the wrong side of the road - again. And declaring that the new
product is now the basis for future versions means just one thing - Open
Office for everyone!

I just can't believe how much money and time I've wasted trying to get O2007
to allow me to work the way I need, instead of the way some marketing shlock
at Microsoft decided it would be best/prettiest.

Sorry for my tone, I've gone way beyond frustration. And like the original
poster I've given up nearly a month of my incredibly valuable resources
trying to work with the new editors - and as of today, I'm going back to
something that actually works.

I just wish it hadn't cost me so much money to begin with and time to
finish with. What an utter horror of an editing suite. I do hope the
marketing monkeys get put back in their cages for the next "unstoppable
release".

 

[Gordon]

I don't find it hard to believe at all, not for an instant. And like the
original poster, it's suprprising how many other long-time office users
feel
exactly the same way - only worse.

I had to "upgrade" to Office 2007 to support some of my clients who were
forced to "upgrade" by their license commitment and government
requirements.
As a sole proprietor, that's a pretty big investment in time and money.

In the 3 weeks I've had Office 2007 installed, I've spent more time trying
to find where commands that used to be on the menu (and therefore
instantly
available at all times) and finding where they are now "collected" than
I've
spent editing and working with the actual data!

Because people learned by rote and not any other way. I'm FED up with all
this winging. I am an Advanced Office user since Office 95. I've used
WordPerfect, Lotus, etc etc as well.
I find the Ribbon FAR easier than the multi-level obscure menus in prior
versions.
If it took you THAT long to learn it then your application skills are
APPALLINGLY low.

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Some like the ribbon, some hate it but whichever camp you fall into, we
all pretty much have to use it, like it or not.

I think you can take it as written that MS has gotten an earful about
this and is considering ways of improving things, but that'll have to
wait unti the next version rolls out.

Meanwhile, you might want to look into the various add-ins that mimic
the previous toolbar; you probably won't be able to customize them to
the extent you could before, but at least familiar commands will be
where you're used to finding them.

And if you're not already using styles to do your formatting, you owe
it to yourself to learn. That alone will save you dozens/hundreds of
trips to the ribbon or menus. Per day.

 

[PC Pete]

Because people learned by rote and not any other way. I'm FED up with all
this winging. I am an Advanced Office user since Office 95. I've used
WordPerfect, Lotus, etc etc as well.
I find the Ribbon FAR easier than the multi-level obscure menus in prior
versions.
If it took you THAT long to learn it then your application skills are
APPALLINGLY low.

Whoops, you hit the 'flame' button instead of the 'helpful reply' or
'discussion' button on your Advanced Keyboard by mistake!

I'm not entirely certain that anyone's application skills are what was being
discussed here. Speaking personally for a moment, I find it quite difficult
to know what someone else's programming, learning, or "winging" skills
actually are.

I'd probably be disinclined to let anyone know that I was the one who used
Wordperfect and Lotus (I assume you meant that you used Ami Pro for word
processing in the Lotus suite, and possibly Notes as well?) and etc, etc, but
that's just a personal preference.

I'm quite touched that you enjoy and benefit from the new user interface, I
think that says it all, really.

But thanks for taking a stand against rote learning. I'm definitely with you
on that one!

 

[PC Pete]

And if you're not already using styles to do your formatting, you owe
it to yourself to learn. That alone will save you dozens/hundreds of
trips to the ribbon or menus. Per day.

Thanks for the tip, Steve. I do understand styles, so I wholeheartedly
agree, style application and modification is one of the nicer abilities in
the later Office products.

The keyboard commands are still available, so that's one workaround I guess,
but I'm more of a visual developer, so I like my options to be in a very
simple format. Maybe one of the menu-adaptations of the ribbon bar would work
for me.

With screen real estate at a premium (even with a multi-monitor desktop and
helper launchers and other tools), I found more use in a textual menu than a
grouped/bunched/gathered/clutch of icons.

The ribbon bar is really only half the problem for me. The theme is
difficult to get used to in terms of finding where MDI child windows start
and end, and trying to find a way to overlap and synchronise multiple child
windows still eludes me, after visiting the tutorials and reading through the
help.

I admit, that's more of a personal preference rather than a technical issue,
but still, if I have to peer carefully at where I'm trying to use the UI,
it's actually defeated its purpose (for me, anyway).

I've seen enough upgrades and new releases since I started in the industry
22 years ago that I know I'll eventually have to upgrade at some point, but
that point isn't now. Tried it, didn't like it, couldn't get it to work for
me, got the flame posts to prove it. Now, back to some paying work....
-PCPete

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Thanks for the tip, Steve.

My pleasure. As was reading one of your other replies, which had me chuckling
out loud. I *so* love a nice bit of rapier-like parry and thrust.

I do understand styles, so I wholeheartedly
agree, style application and modification is one of the nicer abilities in
the later Office products.

I had a pretty strong hunch that you were way ahead of that one.

You might want to have a look at this

http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/index.php

Patrick's one Very Smart Fella. I don't use the product myself ... for support
purposes, I need to make sure my Office installs show me the same thing as the
average user's seeing. But I helped him test this early on and was quite
impressed. Kind of a nuisance to install all the .NET support cruft, but other
than that, I liked it.

The ribbon bar is really only half the problem for me. The theme is
difficult to get used to in terms of finding where MDI child windows start
and end, and trying to find a way to overlap and synchronise multiple child
windows still eludes me, after visiting the tutorials and reading through the
help.

Changing the setting in Options, Advanced, Display area, Show all windows in the
Taskbar may help juggle multiple windows. Other than that, I don't have any
bright ideas.

I've seen enough upgrades and new releases since I started in the industry
22 years ago that I know I'll eventually have to upgrade at some point, but
that point isn't now. Tried it, didn't like it, couldn't get it to work for
me, got the flame posts to prove it.

;-)

 

[PCPete]

You might want to have a look at this

http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/index.php

You're right, I did look at that. Excellent idea. Might save me from
uninstalling yet...

*Sigh*

I know I've lost the battle, hell, I've been around just long enough
to know that when technology like this changes, like it or lump it,
you're gonna have to get used to it sooner or later.

I don't know if anyone reading this knows of or remembers (or cares
about!) Woody's Office Watch newsletters in the 90's, but he basically
took the battle with the stupid technology MS was cramming inside
their products to the world - and lost.

The benefit we got was an insight into making the new technology work
for us, and how you just can't tilt at windmills, especially not
windmills the size of Microsoft. For better or worse, they're a
one-way-only technology company.

Patricks's tool is a patch for a problem, nothing more. But I've
already bought the patch, because
a) I'm going to have to use the "new, improved, 99% comfort-free"
interface or lose touch with my customers;
b) I already have a lot of the .NET cruft (I do some software
development so .NET is a necessary evil), and
c) In the latest MS developer's newsletter, I saw a free ribbon API
tool development download - for the Windows 7 ribbon API. If it's
gonna be in Windows, I haven't got an "Equals'" chance at a Weight
Watcher's convention.

But thanks for hitting the "Intelligent Discussion" button, I hope
Gordon found out how that button works too.

Mind you, I've got a temper worse than a cartoon villain - I look a
lot like Yosemite Sam when Bugs has just eaten the carrot and tied the
fuse to Sam's leg - so I know exactly where he's coming from. Mea
maxima culpa.
-PCPete

 

[Steve Rindsberg]

Mind you, I've got a temper worse than a cartoon villain - I look a
lot like Yosemite Sam when Bugs has just eaten the carrot and tied the
fuse to Sam's leg

Remind me to avoid you until you've had yer java, podner. ;-)