Show 2003 style menu's

H

Harry

Is there anyway to get rid of the annoying (and huge) icon bar in Office
2007, and have it show the standard windows menu bar "File", "Edit", "View",
etc, that can be triggered using "ALT" codes? Hooefully using the Office XP
shortcuts.

I'm a touch typist, and I find this trend of forcing users to use a mouse to
perform tasks extremely annoying. Mouse clicks require 5 or 10 times more
effort and time to accomplish what a 1 second >Alt<-Key can do instantly.

Arg!

Thanks in advance
 
L

LVTravel

Harry said:
Is there anyway to get rid of the annoying (and huge) icon bar in Office
2007, and have it show the standard windows menu bar "File", "Edit",
"View",
etc, that can be triggered using "ALT" codes? Hooefully using the Office
XP
shortcuts.

I'm a touch typist, and I find this trend of forcing users to use a mouse
to
perform tasks extremely annoying. Mouse clicks require 5 or 10 times more
effort and time to accomplish what a 1 second >Alt<-Key can do instantly.

Arg!

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

Almost all of the Alt+key combinations that were in Office XP or Office 2003
are useable in Office 2007.

There is no Microsoft supplied way to get rid of the ribbon bar but there is
add-on programs you can purchase that will do what you want. You will need
to Google for them.
 
H

Harry

Thanks

I downloaded the mentioned menu add-on, but it's worse than the ribbon bar.
You have to manually click on the "Add-on" tab to reveal the 2003 Menu.
Then, you have to click on the menu option since all shortcuts are evidently
disabled.

I absolutely hate when devepers completely change how user's interact with
their application. It totally screws up their regular, long time, customers.
I was in application development for 20 years, and that was an absolute No-No.

Thanks for the suggestion.
 
S

Someone

well that’s the only one that is free...

its better than nothing.

The big no no was that microsoft forced the ribbon on the 2007 UI without
having a backwards option to have the classic toobars..

And in the new Windows7 they plan on having more and more of this (its
already on paint and wordpad).. in fact they want EVERYONE (even third party
software) to use the ribbon!

The ribbon speed of use is questionable.. some like it and some absolutely
hate it.
 
G

Gemini

"The ribbon speed of use is questionable.. some like it and some absolutely
hate it. "

Correct! It certainly appears as though novice users like it and
power/longtime users don't, by and large. The latter group is very used to
accessing the menu options via keystrokes, rather than a mouse, which is
always a slower alternative. I truly feel sorry for the captive users, who
are forced to use it because their employer "upgraded" to Office 2007.

Bill Gates made it quite clear some time ago that future versions of
Windows would be using the Ribbon extensively. However, I must say the Vista
team was smart enough to provide the classic option for the Start menu. The
above comment about the access speed applies to the Start menu as well.

"The big no no was that microsoft forced the ribbon on the 2007 UI without
having a backwards option to have the classic toobars.."
Correct once again! That was an arrogant and ill-advised move. That, and the
fact that now Office doesn't come bundled with new computers, has prompted
long time users to look into other alternatives, such as OpenOffice. MS
couldn't have done a better job of promoting alternative office suites.
However, had MS provided a classic menu alternative, they would not be able
to claim widespread adoption of the Ribbon interface, never mind the captive
users.

-- Gemini
 
G

Gemini

Harry, there are other alternatives to the one posted thus far. You should be
able to find them via Google and/or searching this newsgroup. You aren't the
first one to be asking about this.

Sorry I can't help any more. After using the Office 2007 trial version for a
few weeks, I decided to go back to Office 2003. During that time, I did try
out a couple of these add-on alternatives and didn't find them very useful.

Oh yes, you may want to let MS and Jensen Harris (he led the team that came
up with the Ribbon UI) know your opinion. If you follow the link to JH's blog
that's been posted, you'll be able to send him an email from there.

Good luck!

-- Gemini
 
M

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

This one offers a free version:
http://pschmid.net/office2007/ribboncustomizer/starter.php

--
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

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


After furious head scratching, Someone asked:

| well that’s the only one that is free...
|
| its better than nothing.
|
| The big no no was that microsoft forced the ribbon on the 2007 UI
| without having a backwards option to have the classic toobars..
|
| And in the new Windows7 they plan on having more and more of this (its
| already on paint and wordpad).. in fact they want EVERYONE (even
| third party software) to use the ribbon!
|
| The ribbon speed of use is questionable.. some like it and some
| absolutely hate it.
|
| || Thanks
||
|| I downloaded the mentioned menu add-on, but it's worse than the
|| ribbon bar.
|| You have to manually click on the "Add-on" tab to reveal the 2003
|| Menu. Then, you have to click on the menu option since all shortcuts
|| are evidently
|| disabled.
||
|| I absolutely hate when devepers completely change how user's
|| interact with their application. It totally screws up their
|| regular, long time, customers.
|| I was in application development for 20 years, and that was an
|| absolute No-No.
||
|| Thanks for the suggestion.
||
|| "Someone" wrote:
||
||| see this page
|||
|||
http://computerboom.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-to-have-old-menus-and-toolbars-or.html
|||
||| scroll down to where there is EDIT in red color text to get a free
||| toolbar
||| thing for word etc
|||
||| there are also other options that are not free (see post)
|||
||| |||| Is there anyway to get rid of the annoying (and huge) icon bar in
|||| Office
|||| 2007, and have it show the standard windows menu bar "File",
|||| "Edit", "View",
|||| etc, that can be triggered using "ALT" codes? Hooefully using the
|||| Office
|||| XP
|||| shortcuts.
||||
|||| I'm a touch typist, and I find this trend of forcing users to use a
|||| mouse
|||| to
|||| perform tasks extremely annoying. Mouse clicks require 5 or 10
|||| times more
|||| effort and time to accomplish what a 1 second >Alt<-Key can do
|||| instantly.
||||
|||| Arg!
||||
|||| Thanks in advance
 
S

Someone

Windows 7 Beta 1 does not have the classic start menu

Surprise surprise..

That would make a few million mad.. LOL
 
R

RJQMAN

well that’s the only one that is free...

its better than nothing.

The big no no was that microsoft forced the ribbon on the 2007 UI without
having a backwards option to have the classic toobars..

And in the new Windows7 they plan on having more and more of this (its
already on paint and wordpad).. in fact they want EVERYONE (even third party
software) to use the ribbon!

The ribbon speed of use is questionable.. some like it and some absolutely
hate it.










- Show quoted text -
Click to expand...

I share your frustation. I had a really practical Excel program that
generated its own menus and I thought I had just finished three years
of developing it when poof - the ribbon came along, and I had to start
from scratch. I know you could access the menus still, but they are
now hidden, and no longer user friendly. I am still working on the
redesign. My program was used by 'soccer moms' with little computer
experience, and darn it if MicroSoft did not make years of my work go
down the drain. The alternate menu approach is impractical too,
because as time moves forward, new users will learn how to work with
the ribbon. But after months of fiddling, I still cannot get the
print options in 07 to work the way they did in 03 - I have to load my
program into Excel 03 and make the changes, then bring it back to 07.
It is so frustrating, but what choice do we have? None. Hate it -
too strong a word. But frustrated understates it.
 
G

Gemini

"Windows 7 Beta 1 does not have the classic start menu "

There's no option to switch to the classic menus in the Start Menu Settings
panel???

"That would make a few million mad.. LOL"
No kidding.

-- Gemini
 
H

Harry

I hear you! I had a very elaborate excel spreadsheet with macro's and
conditional formatting that took 2 years to progress to current (it's an
ongoing personal project), and now, with 2007;

1. Conditional formatting in 2007 is NOT the same as 2003. When they
"convert" to the new format, it shuffles the order of some of the conditions
(of course, not all), and as anyone who uses them knows, the order is almost
as critical as the condition itself.

It took 3 or 4 days to figure out that the colors I was using to help
predict certain conditions were not always accurate, and another 2 or 3 to
track it down to condition order.

2. Another conditional formatting issue is that you can no longer copy a
condition to another cell, using relative references to allow it to adjust
for its new position. At least, not if the cells are adjacent (haven't tried
elsewhere). When I tried, it automatically changed the format range to
include the new cell, and from what I can determine, you cannot divorce it
from that group - meaning you can't then customize it for the new cell - you
must re-enter all conditions, colors, etc from scratch.

3. Another HUGE issue is that on 2007 the macro takes almost 10 times
longer to run. No joke! I've timed it! Originally it took about 15
seconds, with 5-10 of that used to paste in a large other application copy
buffer, and the rest with cursors and sheets flashing until done. Now it
takes about 30 seconds to paste the buffer it, and each cell movement to
accomplish the tasks is readable as it proceeds. Net result is now the macro
takes from 1 minute to 3.

Admittedly, this problem could also be Office's interaction with Vista, or
Vista entirely. Doesn't really matter since it almost eliminates the
usefullness of the macro.

I'm actually disgusted enough with this heap (and extremely disappointed
with Microsoft for this crap as well as the Vista fiasco), that I'm just
going to try and find a left over copy of Office XP. That product works!
 
H

Harry

Thanks, I'll check 'em out.

I doubt I'll get any of them, though. Besides the belief that the original
should work without add-on's (basic functions), every time I add new
"enhancement" packages to office, or the Microsoft OS for that matter, I end
up with a mess of conflicting drivers, missing files, etc.

Besides; I'm beyond broke. It took 6 months to scrape the $ for Office
2007! I had to do upgrade because they would no longer honor the
installation key for Office XP (I had been moving it from PC to PC -
uninstalling between each one), since my laptops usually only last about 6-9
months, and they said no more.
 
H

Harry

I don't buy it. It was a very nice video, but I think it's all
rationalization.

I think they did it because we've become a society that caters to the idiot.
The only possible purpose for a ribbon bar is to substitue a picture icon
for a word. And, the only reason to do that is that Microsoft is assuming
that more and more of their customers are unable to read, or at least read
English.

Even Microsoft knows this - or they would have removed the text from the
icons.

Look at it - 75% of the space used for it is graphics. Even those that
"like" this bar; honestly - do you look for the picture, or the text below it?

Common icon bars are great because they take less space, and since they're
common and never move (unless customized), you can easily learn those. But
the entire functionality of applications as complex and versatile as Excel,
Word, or other Office apps? I don't think so.
 
H

Harry

Be very wary of going the OpenOffice route. At least, not for Excel if you
have any complex macro's or fomulas. I didn't try any other app except Word
(which was adequate, I guess)

I tried that when MS wouldn't let me use my Office XP anymore. It took
OpenOffice 15 minutes to open my, admittedly large and complex, spreadsheet.
In the process, it stripped off some of the formatting, and totally screwed
up about 1/3 of the formulas.

It also refused to use any of the macro's I had defined for it.

Open Office is fine for simple uses, and may work fine if you design your
spreadsheets from scratch in it, but not if you're trying to use old MS
Office files.
 
G

Gordon

Harry said:
Thanks, I'll check 'em out.

I doubt I'll get any of them, though. Besides the belief that the
original
should work without add-on's (basic functions), every time I add new
"enhancement" packages to office, or the Microsoft OS for that matter, I
end
up with a mess of conflicting drivers, missing files, etc.

Besides; I'm beyond broke. It took 6 months to scrape the $ for Office
2007! I had to do upgrade because they would no longer honor the
installation key for Office XP (I had been moving it from PC to PC -
uninstalling between each one), since my laptops usually only last about
6-9
months, and they said no more.
Click to expand...


To whom are you talking and about what? Please quote the post you are
replying to and do NOT change the subject.
I notice you are using the horrible web interface to access these news
groups.
Do yourself a BIG favour and ditch it. Use a news reader instead.

Setting up Outlook Express/Windows Mail to access Microsoft newsgroups
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/outlookexpressnewreader.htm

Accessing the MS newsgroups in Outlook Express/Windows Mail Newsreader
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/newsgroupsetup.mspx
 
G

Gordon

Harry said:
Be very wary of going the OpenOffice route. At least, not for Excel if
you
have any complex macro's or fomulas.
Click to expand...

Interestingly, as a recently-retired Systems and Management Accountant,
having worked in several major PLCs in the UK at group finance level and an
Advanced Excel user, I have never found it necessary to use macros, or very
complex formulae. Makes it particularly difficult for those who come after
you...
 
H

Harry

I hear you. This is a personally used sheet, so I got carried away ;) I'm
(or, was) obsessive about that when developing professional applications.

I was experimenting with various Excel functions and features.
 

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