Microsoft to Roll Out Ribbon Again for Windows 8

By Marcus Yam
published

It's baaaaaaaaaack!

Microsoft's Ribbon UI design first debuted in Office 2007. Those accustomed to the traditional (and still oft-used) layout of Windows applications found the Ribbon UI of Office 2007 found that their productivity was often hampered – a troubling change for a productivity software suite.

Over the years since then, the Ribbon design idea has slowly made itself understandable to users though refinements and just plain pervasiveness as Microsoft continues to push it. The next big platform for even more Ribbon could be Windows 8.

According to Within Windows and WinSuperSite, Windows 8 will likely have a Ribbon interface for Windows Explorer, which is used for file management in the operating system. Ribbon in its current form in Windows 8 replacement the menu and toolbar. In the opinion of the authors, the change comes at the expense of screen real estate and attractiveness.

Several Ribbons are available depending on the directory or folder. Ones dedicated to images could have picture tools available on the Ribbon.

At this stage, it appears that the Ribbon UI for Windows Explorer in Windows 8 can be disabled – which is considerate for all those who are comfortable with the current system.

Discuss more about this and other Windows 8 features here!

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
83 Comments Comment from the forums
  • manitoublack
    Ban the Ribbin!! it's crap. AutoCAD 2010 got it, and they had the forsight to make sure you could disable it.

    Uses too much screen realestate
    Reply
  • Why should it be at the cost of attractiveness? Text menu's are attractive? My old mother would like something rather icon based a thousand times better than having to remember a text-menu structure the way many old-time computer-users are used to. If Apple had suggested something like this it would be considered simply innovative. The way change in systems, even for the better, is often met with resentment is interesting, telling something about how conservative in a literal sense the IT community actually is. Despite it's innovative self-image.
    Reply
  • Humans think
    So the browsers get slimmer and slimmer to the point of losing functionality. And Windows on the other hand wants to get to the opposite site of minimalistic design by enabling ribbons in the system.

    Tbh I like the ribbons in Office, I work faster and I have no problem when using my 1920*1200 display. But in Windows, I already know all the shortcuts and take full advantage of right-click menus and the available real-estate.

    Some changes made to Windows, I still think are to the wrong direction like changing the new control panel and the right-click menu in network adapters. But some are in the right direction like right-click menu of the sound.

    About the ribbons, I agree with godofmosquitos that it will help novice users but I don't think they will be usable @ small screens. Keep the feature to let us disable it at will and it is a win-win situation.
    Reply
  • Kryan
    I still often struggle to find all the little gimmicks and tools I once knew so well in office 2003 and sooner. Sure, it's PRETTIER now, but more productive? the article hits it on the head for me. I fear Windows 8 now...unless there is the option to just keep the plain old Windows (aero) layout.
    Reply
  • andy5174
    It's darn ugly! I am gonna say pass to win8.
    Reply
  • gruntlord6
    KryanI still often struggle to find all the little gimmicks and tools I once knew so well in office 2003 and sooner. Sure, it's PRETTIER now, but more productive? the article hits it on the head for me. I fear Windows 8 now...unless there is the option to just keep the plain old Windows (aero) layout.its called staying with windows 7, and there's an option to disable ribbon in windows 8
    Reply
  • kkiddu
    I'm considered a computer expert by most I know, and I feel so stupid if I ever have to use MS Office 2007 on their computers. Can't even find the basic buttons, thanks to me being loyal to Office 2003.
    Reply
  • ikefu
    I used to hate the ribbon in office 2007 but now I love it. If you remember way back when you first started office, finding all those options buried in text menu structure was very painful until you memorized them. Same applies to the ribbon except now things are a bit more logical. Once I discovered that you can shift through ribbon categories with the scroll wheel on your mouse my productivity went way higher than with text menus.

    That said, do we really need giant orange donut icons to represent changing picture orientation? I think much smaller icons off to the left of each option would suffice and save screen space.
    Reply
  • mlopinto2k1
    Fail.
    Reply
  • iam2thecrowe
    that is some seriously ugly sh!t. Seriously microsoft, cut the crap, what has gotten into you. Your like a little brat acting up because someone took his toy. If you keep coming up with crap like this everyone will go to mac, and i really dont want to have to do that. Just make windows 7 more optimised and streamlined and call it windows 8.
    Reply