Office 2010 sports improved ribbon across all apps, servers, services

Virtually every single end user experience with Office 2010 will involve an improved version of the ribbon user interface that debuted in Office 2007. This includes the traditional Office applications, the Office Web Applications, and even Office servers like SharePoint 2010. Here's the story, from my Office 2010 Special Report:

Office 2010 adopts the ribbon user interface across all applications, and it's an improved version compared to the one that debuted with many Office 2007 apps. Gone is the round Office Orb, replaced instead by a more traditional looking application button that is very similar to the application button that appears in Windows 7's ribbon-based apps, Paint and WordPad. The Office 2010 ribbon also picks up a handy Minimize button--it's the caret-looking thing over on the right next to the Help button--that minimizes the ribbon with one click. You could do this in Office 2007 by double-clicking any ribbon tab, but that isn't particularly obvious.

Discuss this Article 9

techfan
on Jul 13, 2009
I know a lot of hardcore Office users don't like the Ribbon but I love it. At home I use Word 2003 and sometimes can't find features as easily as I can when I use Word 2007 elsewhere. I also think the new looks of the Ribbon is better than the one in 2007. It's a bit more subtle-looking. No more "blue". I think the Office orb gave Office a nice look though.
dugbug
on Jul 13, 2009
I don't understand why they have an office color "theme" anyway. I picked my color theme within windows, why doesn't office follow along? Why is it that every MS product looks like it was designed by a group that does not share any design sensibilities with any of the other teams? I see that that giant homely circle button got redone thank god. Am very interested in what they do with MS Visio and MS Project. Fumbling through project in particular is about as fun as untangling the Griswalds' chrismas light strands
pmcgrath
on Jul 13, 2009
TechFan, off topic, is that an AN-225?
pmcgrath
on Jul 13, 2009
My MS Connect dashboard still says "pending" for the Office 2010 Tech Preview. Has MS opened this for download yet?
mikegalos@msn.com
on Jul 13, 2009
Gee, Paul, did you publish some kind of Special Report on Office 2010?
techfan
on Jul 13, 2009
@pmcgrath: Yep. Sure is :-) I found the shot on airliners.net - http://www.airliners.net/photo/Antonov-Design-Bureau/Antonov-An-225-Mriy...
robertsjoe
on Jul 13, 2009
A floppy disk shown as the save icon? How 1990's of them.
robertsjoe
on Jul 13, 2009
Love this quote from Stephen Fry http://twitter.com/stephenfry/status/2629170460
Dipsh t Admin
on Jul 14, 2009
RJ, seriously? The only salient thing you can find to complain about is an icon?

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