![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
A family of Microsoft word processing software products for creating web, email, and print documents.
I have been trying to adapt to Office 2013 and the incredulous "Ribbon Menu". Frankly I am as infuriated now as I was when I first tried to use it. What is infuriating me even more is responses from Rohn007 that basically say what Microsoft is saying, bend over and accept it because there is nothing you can do about it. What I don't need or have time for is a plethora of tutorials and "helpful links" to show me how I can take more time using this new Ribbon then the far more efficient classic menu. I can't tell you how much time I have already spent searching for where MS decided to hide a particular function in the Ribbon, which BTW is how I ended up on this forum, looking for an answer to a question I already knew how to do with the classic menu.
I read one post, sorry don't remember who, that said how he struggled to adjust from 2003 but now thinks this new system is better. Then he closes his post stating that he still keeps a copy of 2003 for some things. HOW IS THAT BETTER?
"2010 and 2013 added a lot of functionality to allow "collaboration", things like controlled "work flows" and allowing more than one person to edit a file, even at the same time." I'll bet 99% of us don't care and for the 1% that does, sell them this version.
Bottom line is I know I'll have to "get use to it", but i'm never going to like it. What I don't understand is how all these supposedly smart programmers think for one minute that taking more time to do the same tasks is better. I can only surmise that since their life is working with computers 24/7 that anything that keeps them attached to a computer for whatever reason must be better.
This is an old thread. I was the one who struggled to adjust from 2003 and still uses it for some things.
It is better because it gives the user more power and choices over their documents. It is better because Content Controls are way better than form fields for most purposes. The change in the UI is a very big jolt to anyone used to working in Word 2003 or earlier. I don't think there is any excuse for that.
Rohn provides lots of links. I suspect that this is because it is easier to give someone access to everything you've compiled about a topic than it is to parse what it is someone really needs to know now. That way, if someone is motivated, Rohn's work saves that person a lot of trouble. It allows him to help more people with a limited amount of volunteer time. He resented the new interface, as did I, and so sought to learn as much as he could about why it was done and how to make it work. He shared that with us. It can be overwhelming.
Rohn may have provided a link to Greg Maxey's site which has a free download that gives access, through the Ribbon, to the old menus from Word 2003. If not, here it is:
Link The page, like many on the web, is lengthy; search the page for "Classic UI."
It will give you a Ribbon Tab something like this one:
As I mentioned in that earlier post, one of the most efficient ways of handling any version of Word, and which transcends MS's changes, is to learn and use the keyboard shortcuts.
Here is Greg's Add-In as it looks in Word 2013. I dropped the Format menu.
Note, Greg did this largely as an exercise to demonstrate how the interface in Word 2007 can be modified dramatically and powerfully.
Note, AFAIK, few, if any, of the programmers who design Word actually use it. That information is dated and may be incorrect. Word is a huge program and I doubt anyone truly understands it. I suspect those who come close carry the initials on this forum of MVP.