SteveMeister said:
I see several toolbars, and several menus. Each of the words with the down-carat next to them will pop up a menu of choices. There may not be a menu bar, and they may call the toolbars something else -- but conceptually they're still the same thing.
OK smartass
Here is why I think it IS different based on some of the demos I've seen and why it matters. Of course, there is a chance that they could screw it all up yet, so I'm only basing this on my perception of what it might end up like.
1. Having context-sensitive operations available as buttons/drop-downs directly on the "ribbon" or whatever they call it makes it a much more productive environment - less clicking around and trial and error. Which is why changing the font selection from a dialog box to a drop-down on the toolbars was such an improvement a long time ago. It made changing fonts so much of an easier task. It got even better in Office XP with the task pane, where the list of styles (displayed in each style's format) in the sidebar was also something that I got used to using and saves me a ton of time.
(Note: there are things that I hate about some of the office products but I can't say based on the demos whether any of my gripes will be fixed. So I'm not the biggest office fan.)
The only problem with this approach is that there are too many toolbars and the small buttons don't tell me enough about how to use them. Or sometimes, I know the menu way to do it but not the toolbar approach. This appears to solve this problem - easy access to functions while not overloading the display with every feature at once.
2. Combine this with the auto-preview feature, where mousing over things will show you in the document what it would look like can make applying changes (and learning what something does) so much better.
(On the other hand, if this slows stuff down too much then I'll shut this shit off)
For example, one of the things I hate in Visio 2003 is fine tuning the appearance of any diagrams. If I want to change the visual appearance of a shape I have to do the following:
1.) Right-click the item, Format > Fill and change the properties in the dialog box and keep hitting apply constantly to verify each change (color, pattern, shadow) is what I want. 2.) Right-click the item, Format > Line and change the properties in the dialog box and keep hitting apply constantly to verify each change (pattern, weight, color, corner rounding, size) is what I want. Of course once I do this once, I can use the format painter to apply this to other shapes.
On the other hand, if I'm in my formatting "mode" it would be great if the only options displayed where concentrated on doing this task as easily as possible. And if I can select 10 or so shapes and mouse over colors (w/o having to hit Apply each time to get a preview) I can determine which exact one would work best SO much faster.
Again, I see potential but it comes down to execution and the final end product whether this will work out. For example, some things appear to be previewable, others not and this is what worries me.
