Making office 2007 look like 2003

Gregster6

Gregster6

Gregster6

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25 Sep 2006
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136
Short version:

Does anyone know a way to make Office 2007 apps revert to GUI / look and feel of Office 2003?

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Long version:

I've just helped my 70 year old dad with buying and setting up a new PC.

When buying the software I opted for Office 2007 thinking that current is best. I've used MS Office for years and am still quite happy with Office 2003

Dad started firing me questions on the phone about how to do stuff and I was getting a bit narked when he told me that it all looks different and that he feels lost.

When I visited and had a look I:
(1) understood why he was struggling
(2) felt like a bit of a nob for getting him something which I hadn't checked-out.

I know there's a way of making Vista look like XP...is there a switch / option somewhere to make Office 2007 apps look like Office 2003?

Cheers
 
Unfortunately I don't believe there is a way to make it look like 2003 however, once you get used to the ribbon layout it can be quite good although it does seem to require about 10 more clicks per task than the older versions needed.

Maybe try sitting with him and work through a sample document covering the tasks he normally seeks to perform?
 
Thanks Antar

Yeah I thought as much...I've done a bit of digging around since posting and the best I can find is some stuff on ribbon customisation.

My problem is I really hate all that ribbons ****e. It makes me cross every time I have to prance around to do something that I could do with one click before.

I feel a present coming on for my da...Teach Yourself MS Office 2007...at least we'll have one person in the family who know's how to do stuff!
 
Thankfully the ribbon is here to say.
It can be customised more in Office 2010.

He'll just need to get used to it I'm afraid.
 
Classic menu and toolbars might be of use...

http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/?gclid=CPqhkbjF2J8CFShBlAodvBbuFQ

... take a look at the screenshots linked on the right of the above page.

When my elderly neighbours became interested in learning a little word processing type skills I just loaded them a copy of Open Office on their PC and they love it and have found it reasonably intuitive to use.
 
Last edited:
The ribbon is awesome once you get used to it. Far more intuitive and workflow oriented than the old menu structure.

Yes it takes a while to get used to, but seriously, things move on, try and move with them rather than fight it.
 
Vimes said:
Classic menu and toolbars might be of use...

http://www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/?gclid=CPqhkbjF2J8CFShBlAodvBbuFQ

... take a look at the screenshots linked on the right of the above page.

When my elderly neighbours became interested in learning a little word processing type skills I just loaded them a copy of Open Office on their PC and they love it and have found it reasonably intuitive to use.
Click to expand...

Ubitmenu - http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/ - does the same thing & is cheaper/free for personal use!
 
The Ribbon is good.

It does make your life easier, but yes, it is a slight learning curve to try to find the features you want - but once you realise how they're all put together, it makes sense.
 
The ribbon is fantastic, why don't you make him a custom ribbon tab with all the functions he's likely to use regularly then set it as the defaut, it takes a few seconds to set up then makes word / excel etc so much nicer to use.

The 2010 ribbon is even nicer, Microsoft are even trialing a mini game called ribbon hero to help people new to the ribbon get used to how it works.

I know people fear change, but this really is a change for the better!
 
I hate the damn thing! although that maybe because i have been going between 2003 and 2007 plus i i know where everything is in 2003 now so i don't want it all to change! I use Open Office at home as i can't be bothered to get 2003 for my Windows 7 pc, looking at 2010 tho as i iwll have to get used it at some point plus theres better customization.

But my advice would be install Open Office or as someone said make a custom ribbon with tools he will use a lot.
 
It's funny how a few people take a serious dislike to the ribbon, they must be really linear thinkers or something.

Most people I introduce to Office 2007/2010 say "oh wow, this is pretty good actually" and at worst are just indifferent and get on with it. I pre-warn them, and say "it looks a lot different than what you're used to, but think about what you need to do and then look at the tabs - nine times out of ten the option will be there staring back at you".

After using Office 2007 for the first time myself I found a couple of useful things I didn't even know existed in 2003. I used 2003 for many years and it's good, but the menus were too deep in my opinion. 2007 onwards is a big improvement.
 
Phil2008 said:
This is the reason, Im still using office xp 2002
Click to expand...

+1.

Office 2007 IS good. But the front interface is so different, I just don't have time to learn a new interface. This is why I'm still on Office 2003 :cool:

My work still use Office 2003 - mainly because of this above reason. They won't be rolling out Office 2k7 until it becomes the norm, and if, potentially, Office 2k3 is phased out in the Public Sector.
 
rhysduck said:
+1.

Office 2007 IS good. But the front interface is so different, I just don't have time to learn a new interface. This is why I'm still on Office 2003 :cool:

My work still use Office 2003 - mainly because of this above reason. They won't be rolling out Office 2k7 until it becomes the norm, and if, potentially, Office 2k3 is phased out in the Public Sector.
Click to expand...

+2

I don't care if it is objectively good, better or whatever. Office 2003 did everything that I wanted it to. Why on earth would MS throw away the considerable user familiarity amongts their vast install-base? I'm a lawyer, so I already have a host of things I am required to have training on - I don't want to add Word to the list :(
 
achitophel said:
Why on earth would MS throw away the considerable user familiarity amongts their vast install-base?
Click to expand...

Because the existing way appealed more to techy people than Joe Public, with your 'file', 'edit', 'format', 'tools' and 'window' menus. None of them make any real sense. With 2007 and 2010 they've made it more intuitive while not dumbing it down at all. You just need to apply a little common sense before you start looking for a tool and chances are you'll find it.
 
tbh, you might as well just learn to love it, it's here to stay so I wouldn't bother with the 3rd party addons
 
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