Microsoft intends to simplify the ribbon in Outlook, Word, Excel, and Powerpoint. It’s possible that Microsoft will work thoughtfully and carefully and you will be happy with the result.
Oh, stop it. I hear you laughing. I’m serious. Microsoft is saying all the right words. They want to make the ribbons (the tabbed toolbars across the top) simpler and easier to use, but they say there will be an easy way to return to the way they look now for people with strong muscle memory who don’t want to change.
There’s nothing you need to do today. Microsoft is previewing changes that are still a long way down the road.
For now, take a trip down memory lane.
This was the Word toolbar in Office 2003. Commands were buried in deeply nested menus. New features had been shoehorned into whatever space could be found, leading to a disorganized presentation.
Microsoft embarked on an ambitious attempt to simplify and reorganize the toolbars for the Office programs. When Office 2007 was released, it featured a radical departure: ribbons and buttons that replaced the menus completely. Nothing was in the same place. Commands were organized far more coherently but all Office users had to train themselves from scratch to discover the new location for familiar commands. (Outlook was the exception; it did not get a ribbon until the next version, Office 2010.)
This is the ribbon as it appeared in Word 2007. Today the icons have been updated and the look is flattened but the layout of the Word ribbon has changed very little in the last eleven years.
Microsoft has studied users and concluded that the ribbons can be simplified and still meet the needs of most users most of the time. The design is not final but Microsoft has suggested that the simpler Word ribbon will be similar to the reworked toolbar in Word Online that was introduced a couple of weeks ago. This is the simplified Word Online toolbar.
The new ribbon takes less space onscreen. The icons are redesigned behind the scenes so they render crisply on screens of all sizes and resolutions. Lots of things have been left off.
Microsoft claims to have learned its lesson about changing the interface of programs used by a billion people daily. Many people were upset when the ribbons were introduced in Office 2007. And of course we all know what happened when Microsoft tried to unilaterally change the Start menu and desktop in Windows 8. That’s why Microsoft’s blog post about the upcoming ribbon changes is so carefully worded:
“People who prefer to dedicate more screen space to the commands will still be able to expand the ribbon to the classic three-line view. . . . Users have a lot of “muscle memory” built around these versions, so we plan on being especially careful with changes that could disrupt their work. We aren’t ready to bring the simplified ribbon to these versions yet because we feel like we need more feedback from a broader set of users first. But when we do, users will always be able to revert back to the classic ribbon with one click.”
Notice the “simplified ribbon” switch in the upper right of the Word Online toolbar. One click restores the familiar ribbon that you’re using today. Microsoft presumably will do something similar with the desktop versions of the Office programs. An interesting thought experiment: would Windows 8 have succeeded if Microsoft had included a one-click way to restore the familiar Windows 7-style Start menu? Windows 8 was otherwise a solid operating system. Hmmm . . .
Of course, a simplified ribbon only works if Microsoft chooses wisely and you can easily find the commands you want. Everyone uses a slightly different combination of features in the Office programs. It’s unclear how to access “missing” features that do not appear by default in the simpler ribbons. Perhaps Microsoft thinks you will do a search by typing into the box, “Tell me what you want to do.” Did you know there’s a box like that in the Office programs now? I didn’t think so. The simplified ribbons will reportedly have an easy way to pin your favorite commands in place, but I’m skeptical about solutions that require people to customize their programs. Example: the terrible Windows 10 Start menu can be extensively customized. Start a timer while I count the number of clients who have customized their Windows 10 Start menus. Ding! The answer is: none. I don’t even customize my own Start menu.
I have mixed feelings about an Outlook overhaul. This is my toolbar for the desktop version of Office 2016.
On the one hand, it is obviously a cluttered mess. There are a number of things that I didn’t ask for and don’t use. Groups? Store? Not for me, thanks. I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to get rid of Customer Manager ever since it appeared. I’ve tried everything to kill Adobe Send & Track and it keeps coming back.
On the other hand, Microsoft apparently thinks the dumbed-down interface in the Windows 10 Mail app is an aspirational goal for a mail program. That’s so wrong that it’s hard to know what to say.
The timetable for the new ribbons is unclear. Only some users see the above Word Online toolbar today. (I see it when I’m logged into my personal account but not my business Office 365 account.) Microsoft was intentionally vague, saying only that updates will be “rolling out gradually over the next few months.”
Interestingly, Microsoft hinted that Outlook may be the first desktop program to get a simplified toolbar. Testing of a new toolbar for the desktop Outlook will begin next month for insiders.
Toggle ribbon on/off would keep me happy and upgrading. I hate the ribbon, so I’m stuck on 2007 for publisher and 2003 for word and the rest. *sigh
Still using Word 2003 in all of my professional editing work, under Windows 7. The ideal combination! I have third-party products to keep Windows 7 safe. And I have Office 365 on the side for the rare occasions when I actually find a use for it. I bought many Office 2003 licences on eBay so I’ll never run out. I dread having to switch to Windows 10 or 11, and will hang on to my perfectly satisfactory lightning-fast hardware that has Windows 7 installed.
I tried Windows 10, and found nothing useful in it. It was ugly, slow, clunky, opaque, and intrusive. It stopped me from minutely tuning all the displayed brightnesses and colours to make long sessions in front of a screen tolerable. Windows 7 is the last version to allow that level of control. WHY?
The Office ribbon is an ergonomic train wreck, and always has been. It cannot be shifted from the top of the screen, making the typical letterbox-shaped screen even less usable. Microsoft forgot (or never cared) that most of the documents we process in Word are in portrait orientation, not landscape.
In Word 2003 I can show or hide what toolbars I want. I can place them – including the menu bar itself – anywhere on the screen (or all on a secondary screen if I prefer). I can shape each toolbar exactly as I like: from a square to a long rectangle, fixed or floating. I can have exactly what functionality I like in each toolbar. I can assign any icon I like for any function (including for macros that I design). I can copy and paste these icons freely. I can design and edit my own icons. I can easily import as icons images that I make externally. I can change or rename any menu, delete any menu, design any new menu I like, and place menus anywhere I like.
All of this allows me deep productivity and autonomy. And creativity! I’ll never switch.
Yeah, I understand, although I hope you take security very seriously indeed. Running Windows 7 online is an increasingly scary thing to do. MS is removing some of the ability to customize Win11, presumably to “simplify” the UI. Power users and people who don’t want change will be miffed. I hope you’re able to keep using your preferred tools safely for a while to come.
I don’t know how to tell you guys, but office 2007 and 2010 were freakin’ popular, and office’s userbase went from 400 million to a billion between 2006 and 2010. The ribbon was by all means a success, and over half the people who use office today only remember it, so they will never go back to the dropdown menus for obvious reason. On the other hand, Outlook was certainly not the exception – OneNote and Publisher were.
The one-line ribbon design originated on the 2013 OneNote for iPad 2.0, and really works for tablets, but on Word online it tends to function a bit too much like office 2000 (a rather unsuccessful version)’s rafted toolbars and intellimenus, not good UI in any ways. They’re once again aiming for minimalistic looks over genuinely simple function (Read “combating the perception of bloat” by Jensen Harris) and I’m not a fan of this move tbh.
lol. You’re acting like these programs were organically popular, rather than simply forced on users by corporate employers.
lol. In 2006, Office had several competitors that had produced decent facsimiles of the Office 2003 functionality. There was essentially nothing that you couldn’t do using OpenOffice/Lotus Notes etc or a couple of other alternatives. Notwithstanding the awful ribbon (I still use keyboard shortcuts learned in Office 2003 for the features that I use most often), Office 2007 was such a huge step forwards in functionality that MS simply left the competition for dead, and replicating those features is such a huge barrier to entry that nobody bothers even trying. I’m only exaggerating a little if I say that LibreOffice today is basically like Office 2003, and it isn’t going to develop any time soon. Even though it’s free, it is a less desirable option than paying for MS 365.
Cripes. I’ve hated the kindergarten “ribbon” since it was twirled around the fingers of working adults. Really, it’s windows for brats, not productivity. It would have been so easy for them to have an Office Toggle option, so that if some twelve-year old admin were confused by the adult menus, s/he could simply toggle them to the baby’s ribbon. Now, a generation of children don’t know how to function with out clicking on some cartoon character. Remember “Clippy?” This is a hundred times worse, because it can’t be turned off.
AND, it takes a large amount of screen real estate. AND, if it’s not open, the keyboard shortcuts invoke other functions.
“Ribbon” – the name fits perfectly. It a toy, a plaything, a decoration.
I remember when we adults could access the “tools” we needed with a couple of keyboard strokes. All these years, and still no toggle option in personalization. Oh, oh, but I can make borders transparent! How hellllpppful! Yippeeeee! :/
You can tell who is who, when all of their statements end with a question?????
I agree exactly with BlackHatHal! That bloody ribbon – taking up space. I use keystrokes as much as possible, and many (all?) the ones that worked by default pre-ribbon stopped with the ribbon. Why can’t we have an easy way to go back to old view? And now the ribbon has spread into ArcGIS’s “Pro”! ESRI AND MS, stop trying to “help” us so much! (And I absolutely despised Clippy). Let power users have their own version or user interface as Kym suggested.
All ribbon controls are counter-productive, no matter how you arrange the icons in them or how flat you make them. Every user has his/her own way of working and there will always be those that don’t think your arrangement matches their needs. Can we please drop this bullshit and go back to drop-down menus? This is still true in 2020.
There is no signature button. How can I at least restore that helpful feature?
If you’re drafting a message with the reduced, slim ribbon, then click on Insert. The Signature button should be there. Or, click on the down arrow at the far right of the ribbon to restore the full set of buttons.
(Also, this may be obvious, but make sure you’re using Outlook, not the built-in Windows Mail app. Different options in the Mail app.)
Always hated the ribbon in whatever form. Still use Excel 97 and Word 97, work fine, thank you!
Why can’t Microsoft have versions of Office, themed for professional needs ? Such as:
– Accountants Excel version
– Engineers Excel version
– Lawyers Word version
As an accountant using Office 365 Excel for 10 hours per day, 6 days per week (it’s tax time), I hate being forced to work with a green header bar, just because some marketing bloke at “MacroHard” says so !
Come on Microsoft, lets have an Excel version for professional users – business people who use it 40 hours per week.
Kym Y, Darwin Australia
@Vadim, no you’re not!
This is my first non-hand-down pc with genuine Office, not cracked, edu-sold code but proper genuine. I feel like a complete twat. I do not buy a product for the seller to control it and not me. I already had to revert to a prev version because of poor icons and contrast. Today I added a language pack, not an update (they’re turned off) and all my icons are bland, low contrast and bigger so my toolbars are all screwed again.
I did not consent to an update!
Um, seriously, how about the braintrust at Microsoft try actually USING some of their products for a month or two to conduct business….perhaps then they will recognize that the freaking ribbon is the least of their worries….fix the unending glitches that cause Excel to crash and burn into a complete and utter productivity-suck day in and day out. After you fix that, then you can worry about what color to make the buttons that those of us who have been using spreadsheets for decades find simply annoying in the first place. Keystroke navigation is far more efficient.
X years later, I still find myself five times less productive using Ribbon compared to the toolbars and menus in Word 2003. I had absolutely no problem to find what I needed back them, and right now I found this page after having spent 2 minutes in Today’s Word trying to find how to show the gridlines of a table, and wondering if I’m the only one.
FWIW, my non-technical wife has become fond of the new search box above the ribbon, “Tell me what you want to do.” She uses it constantly, finds it easier than remembering where a button is. When I use it, I’m frequently surprised at how effective it is at guessing what I’m looking for – and making the command available with a single click.
I hate the this Simplified ribbon concept.
They should give the end-user the option to use it or not.
I remember how furious I was ten years ago spending a whole minute or two of my life on finding out how to save file (after having used Word for another ten years). It’s because someone called Janson Harris decided to remix all Office functions in accordance with his idea of beauty, hiding FILE menu under a bubbly button in the corner that looked like an unclickable emblem. All “students” of the time, nonetheless, loved the Ribbon for giving them something else to learn, while every power user loathed the new interface because they couldn’t carry on working without re-learning all basics. But power users were a minority framed as change haters.
When Windows 8 came out of Janson Harris’s twisted mind, that was enough even for the “students”. And by now those “students” became power users who are appalled by threat of another change… I wonder if now they are doomed to become a target for next generation’s laughter? Or did they manage to stay a majority?
No! I was a student at the time they introduced the ribbon, and I, along with everyone I knew, HATED it. I don’t know who these people are who supposedly like it. I wonder if they even exist…
I liked the idea of having the commands behind the buttons, but I hate how big the buttons and thus how big the ribbon is because of the fact, on a laptop it eat up at least 33% of the screen real estate. Hecks, there one button on the ribbon eat up at least 12 times more space than what my one button in Office XP (aka Office 2002) took up that had a macro attached to it.
This whole ribbon size issue was part of the reason why I ended up getting 4 32″ monitors and have them setup in a 2×2 arrangement, so as I can have what I am working on in Excel to stretch down across into 2 of the 4 monitors, which then I could use the other 2 monitors for whatever else I am doing. That’s because by the time I took the height of the app title bar, tab row, ribbon (if not collapsed), formula bar, column heading, and the fixed area of the header portion of my worksheet, that left me with less than half the screen to work with on my 19″ monitor using the highest screen resolution possible to work with the data in the worksheet.
Has anyone noticed that with the new preview turned on, your Favorites collapse to a single Inbox, and re-adding additional inboxes doesn’t bring them back?
Two things I already hate:
– The back button icon and the reply button icon are exactly the same
– The empty folder icon and the delete icon are exactly the same
They changend Excel icons on the ribbon with a color scheme I hate!!! Someone has an idea how to get back the old color scheme and design?
I hate the new colors! I don’t want to live 8 hours a day with those horrible colors in front of my eyes!!!!!!!!!!!!
Really don’t like the new look. Too big and clunky. Should have just left alone. Would prefer to go back to old style. Can you please release text instructions on how to access.
First of all, does anyone remember “New” Coke?
The Ribbon, after all, is an interface between the user and the program. It allows the eyes to see, the mouse or finger to “click”, and then tells the program what to do. Here’s a non-Microsoft thought suggestion: Give the customer a choice! It’s just an interface!
I understand that there are people that would like either version (or even another version). But Microsoft is choosing for EVERYONE in the world by doing this and not giving us a choice. Maybe they should only allow one font to be available for use in all Office programs! (Microsoft, please disregard that last comment.)
Change is always hard, but the new ribbon truly sucks. Looks more DOS than Windows
This is the most active thread I can find of people reacting to the new ribbon icons in Outlook: https://outlook.uservoice.com/forums/322590-outlook-2016-for-windows/suggestions/35619958-allow-to-revert-to-the-old-icon-set-in-outlook-201?page=1&per_page=20 Spoiler: everybody hates the new look.
As a visual designer I was shocked when I saw the new iconography. It doesn’t look simple but primitive and sketchy, but worse, it affects badly the usability and user experience. I am getting confused when trying to find the commands even so the layout has not changed. Visually just does not work 🙁
I hate it. this is more than just a case of not wanting change, the new ribbon isn’t better. I’m in peak season, and I have to stop doing things automatically, and check what I am doing. how do I revert it back?
I’m not aware of any way to go back. There are very complex maneuvers that result in rolling back to earlier versions of the Office programs, but they’re tricky and you’d only be delaying the inevitable.
I can’t believe Microsoft thought changing the toolbar in Outlook to a very primitive layout is a good thing! Give me a break. The colors have changed causing everything to “run together”, the size of the buttons has changed. If this is supposed to take up less room I think someone needs glasses.
One thing I noticed when Microsoft updates something is that I hate it at first then get used to it. Then if I am ever on the older version I see why they updated it. Some are small some are big changes.
This would have been a great opportunity to give us coloured follow up flags but regrettably they didn’t.
Other than that its just a change of icons.
Dab.
The new toolbar for the desktop Outlook sucks. I’m glad I don’t own stock in this company. Wasting man hours on this?! That’s so wrong that it’s hard to know what to say. I agree.
They just rolled out a new look to the Outlook ribbon for Office 365 subscribers. You can recognize it if you see a trash can on the “delete” button, and the “send” button for an email has a paper airplane on it. I hate it. To the best of my knowledge, there’s no way back.
Still to come is the change that this article describes, where the ribbon will be collapsed to a single line by default. You can preview it if you have a “coming soon” toggle in the upper right. It’s worse.
Sigh.