Wow. I just started using Office 2007 and feel like I stepped back to
1987. I have to learn clunky unintuitive software all over again.
Microsoft won market position because they smartly standardized
software. This new ribbon takes up a large portion of my screen,
takes more clicks to do the same function and when I opened Access I
was totally lost--not even close to the old software. I was expecting
a delight with the new upgrade but feel only frustration every time I
use it.
I really do not understand why MS cannot also provide a compatible
"classic view" option. If they are trying to get users to migrate
they are alienating many of us long-time MS Office Suite users. A
better marketing approach would have been to allow both use options
and see which folks prefer. And if the PDA market is driving PC
software design you've got it backwards.
I'm headed back to Office 2003 and if that is not possible then I'll
be looking for new user-friendly office software from a competitor.
Gary, I couldn't agree more. Based on what I've read, it appears that
longtime Office users aren't exactly thrilled with this daft "Ribbon". It is
indeed one of the stupidest things I've ever seen from MSFT.
Like you, I've moved back to Office 2003 and am evaluating OpenOffice. The
only reason I haven't abandoned MS completely is that I need to figure out
how to move my Excel macros to OpenOffice.
From a design perspective, a "classic look" is simple. It's a design blunder
to omit that option. Perhaps MS was arrogant enough to think that no matter
what they put out, users will meekly accept it.
Congratulations to MS for alienating long time Office users!
-- Gemini
"Gary" wrote:
> Wow. I just started using Office 2007 and feel like I stepped back to
> 1987. I have to learn clunky unintuitive software all over again.
>
> Microsoft won market position because they smartly standardized
> software. This new ribbon takes up a large portion of my screen,
> takes more clicks to do the same function and when I opened Access I
> was totally lost--not even close to the old software. I was expecting
> a delight with the new upgrade but feel only frustration every time I
> use it.
>
> I really do not understand why MS cannot also provide a compatible
> "classic view" option. If they are trying to get users to migrate
> they are alienating many of us long-time MS Office Suite users. A
> better marketing approach would have been to allow both use options
> and see which folks prefer. And if the PDA market is driving PC
> software design you've got it backwards.
>
> I'm headed back to Office 2003 and if that is not possible then I'll
> be looking for new user-friendly office software from a competitor.
>
> I am VERY disappointed!
>
Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.
After furious head scratching, Gary asked:
| Wow. I just started using Office 2007 and feel like I stepped back to
| 1987. I have to learn clunky unintuitive software all over again.
|
| Microsoft won market position because they smartly standardized
| software. This new ribbon takes up a large portion of my screen,
| takes more clicks to do the same function and when I opened Access I
| was totally lost--not even close to the old software. I was expecting
| a delight with the new upgrade but feel only frustration every time I
| use it.
|
| I really do not understand why MS cannot also provide a compatible
| "classic view" option. If they are trying to get users to migrate
| they are alienating many of us long-time MS Office Suite users. A
| better marketing approach would have been to allow both use options
| and see which folks prefer. And if the PDA market is driving PC
| software design you've got it backwards.
|
| I'm headed back to Office 2003 and if that is not possible then I'll
| be looking for new user-friendly office software from a competitor.
|
| I am VERY disappointed!
I felt the same way when I first started using Office 2007. My trusty menus
and toolbars were gone and it seemed like it took more clicks to accomplish
a task than the previous versions. I hated it, I hated every minute I spent
with it. BUT then I started discovering the new features that were
introduced and ever since then I've never looked back. The key is two-fold.
1) If you are trying to use the applications exactly as you did in the past
you may find it more cumbersome. 2) While some tasks take more clicks other
tasks, many tasks that used to involved several changes have been reduced to
a couple clicks. I found the time-saving steps are a bit of a trade-off.
Take the Margin galleries for a quick example. If you need to modify your
margins, several frequently used options are available on the Page Layout
tab in the Margins gallery for Word and Excel. All you have to do is open
the gallery, click your selection, and the margins are changed for you.
I suspect once you learn how to efficiently use the new UI then you'll
discover as I did, and numerous others who hated it initially too, things
you wondered how you ever lived without. :-) Here are a few tips and
resources that may help:
- Learn more about the Quick Access Toolbar (the small toolbar next to the
Microsoft Office Button that has Save and Undo on it by default). It's easy
to customize and add those commands you frequently use. To add a command,
right-click the command, either on the Ribbon or those found under the
Microsoft Office Button, and then click "Add to Quick Access Toolbar". To
add an entire group, such as the Font group on the Home tab, right-click the
group name instead of a command in the group. To remove a command,
right-click it and you'll see the Remove command. To reorganize commands,
right-click the Quick Access Toolbar and then click "Customize the Quick
Access Toolbar". I set mine up in the beginning so it looked exactly like
the first part of the old Standard toolbar and the first part of the
Formatting toolbar. What a difference that made!
- Right-click *everything*. Unlike previous versions, some commands can only
be found by right-clicking a command. This includes the Galleries as well.
- Use Interactive Guides to help you find commands you're unable to locate.
They can be found in Help or by using these links:
"Gary" <marx.gary@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:c715c05a-72d4-4aaf-83cc-9438795d6151@s8g2000prg.googlegroups.com...
> Wow. I just started using Office 2007 and feel like I stepped back to
> 1987. I have to learn clunky unintuitive software all over again.
>
> Microsoft won market position because they smartly standardized
> software. This new ribbon takes up a large portion of my screen,
> takes more clicks to do the same function and when I opened Access I
> was totally lost--not even close to the old software. I was expecting
> a delight with the new upgrade but feel only frustration every time I
> use it.
>
> I really do not understand why MS cannot also provide a compatible
> "classic view" option. If they are trying to get users to migrate
> they are alienating many of us long-time MS Office Suite users. A
> better marketing approach would have been to allow both use options
> and see which folks prefer. And if the PDA market is driving PC
> software design you've got it backwards.
>
> I'm headed back to Office 2003 and if that is not possible then I'll
> be looking for new user-friendly office software from a competitor.
>
> I am VERY disappointed!
Also, their rational for not providing a classic interface is because the
old interface, designed for the 80s, couldn't handle the new features and
functionality the Ribbon added to the applications. IOW, like the add-ins
that are currently available for supplying a "classic look", it could only
provide those commands that existed in the applications prior to Office
2007.
Milly, I've read your responses to others on some other discussions as well.
IMHO, your responses will be appreciated more if you eliminate the
sarcastic/acerbic content from your posts.
If you read the earlier posts, we're not talking about the reasons for the
change. We're talking about the EFFECTS of those changes on productivity. It
is NOT smart to assume that users will be willing to expend the effort and
take time out from busy schedules, so that they can learn a whole new UI,
simply to continue using the apps they've been using for years.
-- Gemini
"Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]" wrote:
> http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh - read it if you are not too closed minded to appreciate the reason for the change.
>
> --Â
> Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]
>
> Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
> unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
> reading.
>
> After furious head scratching, Gary asked:
>
> | Wow. I just started using Office 2007 and feel like I stepped back to
> | 1987. I have to learn clunky unintuitive software all over again.
> |
> | Microsoft won market position because they smartly standardized
> | software. This new ribbon takes up a large portion of my screen,
> | takes more clicks to do the same function and when I opened Access I
> | was totally lost--not even close to the old software. I was expecting
> | a delight with the new upgrade but feel only frustration every time I
> | use it.
> |
> | I really do not understand why MS cannot also provide a compatible
> | "classic view" option. If they are trying to get users to migrate
> | they are alienating many of us long-time MS Office Suite users. A
> | better marketing approach would have been to allow both use options
> | and see which folks prefer. And if the PDA market is driving PC
> | software design you've got it backwards.
> |
> | I'm headed back to Office 2003 and if that is not possible then I'll
> | be looking for new user-friendly office software from a competitor.
> |
> | I am VERY disappointed!
>
"Gemini" <Gemini@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news4F4374F-E771-45A1-B18B-0D543E6AE8F3@microsoft.com...
> It is NOT smart to assume that users will be willing to expend the
> effort and
> take time out from busy schedules, so that they can learn a whole new UI,
so how did they learn office in the first place? they didn't just "know how
to use it" did they?
Beth, thanks for that link. Have you read the entire meeting report? Here's
an excerpt.
"In September 2003, Jensen wrote down 3 criteria for success for this new UI
model:
1. People feel a sense of possibility when they see that we've made big
changes.
2. People feel free to explore and use more of the depth of the products.
3. People continue to be at least as efficient, if not more so, on
familiar tasks as they are now."
From my perspective (and from that of many other users), Jensen has failed
on all three counts and most notably, on #3!
Another excerpt:
"Q: What are some of the things you are not happy with in this UI?
A: The biggest hole is the way in which the super-expert users feel about
it. You think of basic users as being most affected by this change. But
they're not. The ones who have the most to lose are the super-elite who have
customized everything, the ones for whom knowing Office to the final endpoint
is a mark of their identity. We have to figure out how to do customization in
a way that experts can dig into and make the most of without getting in the
way of the basic users. These expert users are very vocal and
over-represented in our data. Even if we please 99% of our users, with 400
million users, that leaves 4 million people who could be very angry with this
new UI. But this is just the beginning of a new road. Valuing user experience
is a way to get new people into Office."
It rather looks like Jensen has failed in this area as well. I don't know
how many new users MS has gained because of the ridiculous Ribbon. However, I
do know I'm going to be using Office 2003 and exploring other options. In
other words, MS is about to lose a long time (about 20 yrs) user.
As I've said before, I don't have the inclination nor the time to learn a
new interface merely to continue using Office apps, in order to accomplish my
day to day tasks. The new UI has done absolutely nothing to help me better
with my day to day work.
Since you work for MS, chances are that you don't have a choice. As you can
see from some of the posts here, long time users (such as yours truly) are
now evaluating other alternatives. It was sheer arrogance (and a mistake,
IMHO) for MS not to provide the older UI as a "skin", despite the claim that
the newer UI has more "features". At the very least, users would've had a
choice.
Anyway, thanks for your attempts at helping. However, the bottom line is
that I for one, am not willing to invest the time to retrain myself because
someone at MS thinks so (howsoever indirectly). Do let Mr. Jensen know!
-- Gemini
"Beth Melton" wrote:
> I forgot to add this link that contains a lot of information behind why
> Microsoft made the change:
> http://www.baychi.org/calendar/20051213
>
> Also, their rational for not providing a classic interface is because the
> old interface, designed for the 80s, couldn't handle the new features and
> functionality the Ribbon added to the applications. IOW, like the add-ins
> that are currently available for supplying a "classic look", it could only
> provide those commands that existed in the applications prior to Office
> 2007.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Beth Melton
> Microsoft Office MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
>
> What is a Microsoft MVP? http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpfaqs
>
>
>
> I forgot to add this link that contains a lot of information behind why
> Microsoft made the change:
> http://www.baychi.org/calendar/20051213
>
> Also, their rational for not providing a classic interface is because the
> old interface, designed for the 80s, couldn't handle the new features and
> functionality the Ribbon added to the applications. IOW, like the add-ins
> that are currently available for supplying a "classic look", it could only
> provide those commands that existed in the applications prior to Office
> 2007.
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> Beth Melton
> Microsoft Office MVP
> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
>
> What is a Microsoft MVP? http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpfaqs
>
>
>
Please note I do not work for Microsoft. I'm an Office user just like you. I
started using Office products back in 1986 using Excel on a Mac and have
been Office since then. :-)
I read the interview with Jensen and had the opportunity to see his
presentation in person along with several conversations about the UI. I
honestly don't think he's that far off in his answer to the second question
you cited. I've had the opportunity to work with a large number of Office
users who fall into the basic user category and form what I've observed,
they tend to adapt quicker than the veteran users and they do become more
efficient considering they were struggling to begin with.
As I noted in my previous reply, I hated it at first too. I suspect I was
one of the "very vocal" statistics, as were many MVPs. I told him something
along the lines of "you took away my DeLorean and gave me a Ugo". <grin>
Heh, the rants I'm hearing here were nothing compared to mine and others I
heard. (And BOY did they hear it! LOL) It wasn't until I started learning
more about the new functionality in Office 2007 and realized there's more to
it than a new interface that I took the plunge and realized it really wasn't
that difficult. I think it was the same for many of the power users/experts
that felt the same as I did -- it took getting excited about the new
functionality to embrace the change.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
"Gemini" <Gemini@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:1AB84F13-1959-4346-A9EF-36024DFAA3D3@microsoft.com...
> Beth, thanks for that link. Have you read the entire meeting report?
> Here's
> an excerpt.
>
> "In September 2003, Jensen wrote down 3 criteria for success for this new
> UI
> model:
>
> 1. People feel a sense of possibility when they see that we've made big
> changes.
> 2. People feel free to explore and use more of the depth of the
> products.
> 3. People continue to be at least as efficient, if not more so, on
> familiar tasks as they are now."
>
> From my perspective (and from that of many other users), Jensen has failed
> on all three counts and most notably, on #3!
>
> Another excerpt:
> "Q: What are some of the things you are not happy with in this UI?
> A: The biggest hole is the way in which the super-expert users feel about
> it. You think of basic users as being most affected by this change. But
> they're not. The ones who have the most to lose are the super-elite who
> have
> customized everything, the ones for whom knowing Office to the final
> endpoint
> is a mark of their identity. We have to figure out how to do customization
> in
> a way that experts can dig into and make the most of without getting in
> the
> way of the basic users. These expert users are very vocal and
> over-represented in our data. Even if we please 99% of our users, with 400
> million users, that leaves 4 million people who could be very angry with
> this
> new UI. But this is just the beginning of a new road. Valuing user
> experience
> is a way to get new people into Office."
>
> It rather looks like Jensen has failed in this area as well. I don't know
> how many new users MS has gained because of the ridiculous Ribbon.
> However, I
> do know I'm going to be using Office 2003 and exploring other options. In
> other words, MS is about to lose a long time (about 20 yrs) user.
>
> As I've said before, I don't have the inclination nor the time to learn a
> new interface merely to continue using Office apps, in order to accomplish
> my
> day to day tasks. The new UI has done absolutely nothing to help me better
> with my day to day work.
>
> Since you work for MS, chances are that you don't have a choice. As you
> can
> see from some of the posts here, long time users (such as yours truly) are
> now evaluating other alternatives. It was sheer arrogance (and a mistake,
> IMHO) for MS not to provide the older UI as a "skin", despite the claim
> that
> the newer UI has more "features". At the very least, users would've had a
> choice.
>
> Anyway, thanks for your attempts at helping. However, the bottom line is
> that I for one, am not willing to invest the time to retrain myself
> because
> someone at MS thinks so (howsoever indirectly). Do let Mr. Jensen know!
>
> -- Gemini
>
>
> "Beth Melton" wrote:
>
>> I forgot to add this link that contains a lot of information behind why
>> Microsoft made the change:
>> http://www.baychi.org/calendar/20051213
>>
>> Also, their rational for not providing a classic interface is because the
>> old interface, designed for the 80s, couldn't handle the new features and
>> functionality the Ribbon added to the applications. IOW, like the add-ins
>> that are currently available for supplying a "classic look", it could
>> only
>> provide those commands that existed in the applications prior to Office
>> 2007.
>>
>> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
>> Beth Melton
>> Microsoft Office MVP
>> https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
>>
>> What is a Microsoft MVP? http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpfaqs
>>
>>
>>
i hate ribbon -- bring the menus back! 
4F4374F-E771-45A1-B18B-0D543E6AE8F3@microsoft.com...
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