how to get classic menu in Office 2007 applications - please help

[Stan Brown]

I haven't had any trouble with Windows 7 crashing at all, in fact I've
found it a big improvement over XP as far as stability is concerned - and
many things are actually easier - networking for example.

I agree on both scores.

However, it took
me a long time to work out how good it was, because the interface was such
hard work when Vista/Windows 7 came along. I've now managed to get the
Windows 7 menus back as they used to be (as with Office) and to almost get
rid of Libraries and a few other silly, unproductive ideas that slow things
down - so now I can appreciate its better points.

Hmm. I had extremely elaborate customizations of the Start menu on
my XP machine, and was disconcerted at the prospect of redoing them.
But when I surrendered to the force, I found it was much, much easier
to just click the Start button and type a keyword. I have pinned
Firefox, Thunderbird, and Gravity to the taskbar, assigned shortcut
keys to maybe half a dozen other programs, and for everything else I
just use the search box. I think it's much more usable than the old
start menu.

 

[Stan Brown]

Or just go back to Office 2003. That's where I'm staying for the
moment. IMHO, that was the last 'good' version of Office. The two
later versions don't add anything that I need.

Nah -- Office 97 (or was it called Office 7?), before they destroyed
the usefulness of the help files.

 

[Char Jackson]

Nah -- Office 97 (or was it called Office 7?), before they destroyed
the usefulness of the help files.

I don't need no steenkin' help files.

Seriously, when I have a question I turn to Google first, never to the
help files. It's just a habit I have.

 

[Bob Henson]

I agree on both scores.


Hmm. I had extremely elaborate customizations of the Start menu on
my XP machine, and was disconcerted at the prospect of redoing them.
But when I surrendered to the force, I found it was much, much easier
to just click the Start button and type a keyword. I have pinned
Firefox, Thunderbird, and Gravity to the taskbar, assigned shortcut
keys to maybe half a dozen other programs, and for everything else I
just use the search box. I think it's much more usable than the old
start menu.

It depends how many programs you use and how good your memory is, Stan. I
really did make a concerted effort to get on with that way of doing things
when I first got Vista and then Windows 7, but (except with common programs
that were pinned anyway) I couldn't remember what to type into the box
and/or how it was spelt. In the time it took to think about it, I could
have found the file in a correctly sorted tree menu, run the program and
been using it for a couple of minutes.

 

[Bob Henson]

Nah -- Office 97 (or was it called Office 7?), before they destroyed
the usefulness of the help files.

To be fair, when I changed from Office 97 to Office XP ( I think that was
the next one) I really couldn't see any advantages in the new one then. My
other half uses much of Office extensively at work, but doesn't use a tiny
fraction of its total capabilities. I suspect almost no-one does. Certainly
anyone like myself, even when I used it for business, wouldn't even scratch
the surface of what it will do. A professional database expert might use
Access, say, to somewhere near it's limit (if indeed they use Access?), but
he/she probably wouldn't know diddly squat about Excel or even the finer
points of Word.

I've often thought that a really cut down, basic Office-like program suite
would sell like ripe cherries - I wish I had the skill to test the theory
out. Even Open Office is miles too complicated for most people - but when
it's free it doesn't matter too much, once you've learnt where the bits you
actually need are hidden. Anyway, this old man has bought his last copy of
Office.

 

[Tim Slattery]

Anyone know how to get classic menu in Office 2007 applications?
I can't stand the ribbon.

You and nearly everybody else that used older versions. The rule seems
to be that new users like it, experienced user who knew where
everything was hate it. Unfortunately, MS gave us no way to switch
back to the earlier paradigm.

I see that Jeff Layman posted a pointer to a $30 product that will do
this. If you want the classic layout badly enough, I guess it's worth
it....

 

[Ken Blake]

To be fair, when I changed from Office 97 to Office XP ( I think that was
the next one)

No, Microsoft Office 97 was followed by Office 2000, *then* by Office
XP.

I really couldn't see any advantages in the new one then. My
other half uses much of Office extensively at work, but doesn't use a tiny
fraction of its total capabilities. I suspect almost no-one does.

True. But, as with almost any new version of anything, the few new
features that are valuable to one of us aren't the same new features
that are valuable to the next person. We all work differently and have
different likes and dislikes.

 

[Stan Brown]

You and nearly everybody else that used older versions. The rule seems
to be that new users like it, experienced user who knew where
everything was hate it. Unfortunately, MS gave us no way to switch
back to the earlier paradigm.

Those of us who are keyboard-shortcut buffs have the best of both
worlds. I can still do Alt-E-S-V for Paste Special: Values; Alt-F-O
for File: Open, and all the other shortcuts I learned with earlier
versions of Office.