Changes to Office UI ‘Far from Done’

While Windows Vista and Office 2007 officially hit the streets today after years of development, Microsoft is far from done with innovating and changing the new user interface in the Office System family of products.

Going forward, the new ribbon-based user interface is likely to be applied to other applications that did not get it in Office 2007, Chris Capossela, corporate vice president of the Microsoft Business Division Product Management Group, told eWEEK in an interview ahead of the general availability of the products on Jan. 30.

“People have generally been very positive about the ribbon, so I would say that in the 2007 release we focused on the rich, authoring experience and trying to make that far simpler in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. That focus was really helpful,” he said.

Microsoft’s “Enchanted Office” comic touts the ribbon UI. Read about it here.

“So we will look at bringing the ribbon to those other Office applications, such as OneNote, Project and Visio, going forward and based on user feedback,” said Capossela, who manages the Microsoft Office System of products.

Some of the lessons that Microsoft has learned, and continues to learn, from the authoring experience can also be applied to other aspects of Office and how it is used by customers, he said.

“So I don’t think our user interface innovation is done. It is not just about spreading it to other applications. If anything, I think the work we have done in Office 2007 and the reception we have gotten so far have made us all the more excited about the user’s ability to advance, and has opened up the possibility of a whole lot more innovation rather than limiting it,” he said.

Read the full story on eWEEK.com: Changes to Office UI ‘Far from Done’