Office 2007 Ribbon getting minor makeover

We often discuss the challenges a smaller screen mobile device faces, so this Office 2007 info is welcome news. Chris Pirillo notes a CRN article telling us that the Office 2007 Ribbon is getting some tweaks. You can currently minimize or collapse the toolbar ribbon by hitting Ctrl-F1, but that's not a very viable option for us slate Tablet PC owners; I currently tap double-tap the Ribbon tab title to expand or collapse the ribbon. Based on beta feedback, Microsoft will modify the interface in the next technical refresh of Office 2007, allowing you to set an option that essentially auto-collapses the Ribbon once you click away from it. This is great for the small screen devices, like UMPCs, where space is limited. If you want to catch a short video preview of the new Ribbon behavior, there's a 22 second video available at the blog of Jensen Harris, who is a Microsoft program manager.

-kct

Comments

[jk]

Double tap on any tab in any ribbon in an Office 2007 app that uses the ribbon and it will instantly collapse without the need for Ctrl-F1. Double tap again to bring it back. I use this ALL the time and it makes the experience awesome on a Tablet PC.

[Kevin C. Tofel]

Completely agree; it's what I do today. I said "tap the Ribbon" in the post, but it is a double-tap so I'll update. I like the auto-minimize feature that's coming soon, however! :)