[JAWSLite] FW: Re: [gui-talk] Article: Want the old Office 'Classic Menus' back in Office 2007?

Thought you might be interested in the below message.


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-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gui-talk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Charles Oppermann
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 7:05 PM
To: NFBnet GUI Talk Mailing List
Subject: Re: [gui-talk] Article: Want the old Office 'Classic Menus' back in 
Office 2007?

FYI, just because there are no "traditional" menus in Office 2007, doesn't mean 
you can't do things the way you are used to doing them.

Every keyboard shortcut and menu accelerator from previous Office versions have 
been kept.  So if you are used to pressing ALT+I and then the C key to insert a 
comment, that will continue to work.

Charles Oppermann | Program Manager | Speech Components | Microsoft Corporation 
http://blogs.msdn.com/chuckop/

-----Original Message-----
From: gui-talk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx [mailto:gui-talk-bounces@xxxxxxxxxx] On 
Behalf Of Steve Pattison
Sent: Wednesday, April 25, 2007 3:51 PM
To: GUI Talk; Access-L
Subject: [gui-talk] Article: Want the old Office 'Classic Menus' back in Office 
2007?

This article is taken from
www.itwire.com.au.  The product referred to in the article is available from 
www.addintools.com/english/menuoffice/default.htm.
I don't know how well this will work with screen readers so use it at your own 
risk!  -Steve.

Want the old Office 'Classic Menus' back in Office 2007?
By Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Thursday, 12 April 2007

Wish you could restore the classic menus you're used to from earlier versions 
of Office with Office 2007? Microsoft didn't give us this functionality, but a 
third party software manufacturer has!

I just received a press release for a program called 'Classic Menu for Office 
2007 v.2.08' from Addintools, a software company based in Hai Nan, China.

Reading through the release, most of which is reprinted in this article, the 
software says it will bring back the classic menus that Office 2007 lacks. So, 
I downloaded it and tried it out for myself... and... it does what it says on 
the tin!
I now have a new 'tab' in the ribbon called 'Menu'. It sits on the left of 
'Home'
and is the first tab in the ribbon. When you click on this tab, you see the old 
Office menu structure and icons staring you in the face.

Apparently, the software costs US $29.95 if you want to be a 'licensed customer'
and get updates and technical support for two years, but the download is free, 
and the software doesn't appear to have any time outs, nor are any mentioned. I 
didn't buy the software so I've no idea if it will simply stop working in 30 
days or something like that, although I'm sure they'd prefer that if you 
decided to use it, they'll be hoping that you support them by buying it.

Anyway, here's what the release says: "The Microsoft Office team has done a 
wonderful job designing the new Office Fluent interface that has replaced the 
system of layered menus, toolbars, and task panes with the so-called Ribbon. 
For all its great looks, there are still many users who find the new interface 
difficult to get used to it, wishing it could look the same as in earlier 
versions of Microsoft Office".

The release continues that: "Following the requests from many users, Addintools 
has introduced Classic Menu for Office 2007 v.2.08, an innovative application 
that will bring back the classic look to new Microsoft Office, allowing users 
to work in their usual manner without changing their habits. It lets users 
retrieve and show the main menu bar, standard toolbar, and formatting toolbar 
that are hidden or moved away from the direct view. The program works with 
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. All new Office 2007 features remain accessible in 
the classic menu and toolbars".

Next they say that: "Classic Menu for Office 2007 also lets users add the menus 
and toolbars to Quick Access Toolbar, so that it becomes possible to minimize 
the Ribbon and finish all operations without having to open it again. The 
program has been optimized for complete compatibility with Microsoft Office
2007 and supports all major languages,
including English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, 
Arabic, Korean, and Chinese".

They conclude by saying that: "The new Office look doesn't sit well with you? 
Download Classic Menu from Addintools!"

So, while I'm not normally in the habit of re-printing press releases, this is 
a very intriguing piece of software that fills the need some people have of 
restoring the classic menus to Microsoft's latest Office 2007.

For some people, this will be fantastic news. For others, it's yet another 
reason to try Open Office, Google Apps, ThinkFree Office, Zoho Office or some 
other Office clone or compatible software.

Either way, if this software really becomes popular with users, it'll certainly 
send a message to Microsoft, who may be forced to release something like this 
themselves.
As for me, I've quickly gotten used to the Office
2007 ribbon, so it's kinda weird
to see the old menus in action. Still, I'm going to leave it there for a while 
and see what it's like using it, and if I come across any Office 2007 users who 
aren't happy with the ribbon or just wish they could have the old menus back, 
I'll certainly be telling them about this software.


Regards Steve
Email:  srp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Skype:  steve1963
MSN Messenger:  internetuser383@xxxxxxxxxxx 
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