Customize Microsoft Office 2007 blue ribbon UI to Office 2003
So I finally got around to installing Office 2007. This is what it looked like:
Office 2007 — First Look
Now I don't know about you, but to me this bloo-ey look is hideous.I am not on Vista yet, by choice, so that sky blue gradation thing going on the top was not my cuppa. Why software designed for a certain platform cannot honor a user's general system UI preferences is beyond me, but Office 2007 does insist on having it's own look and feel. As though the new ribbon clutter was not enough.
I wanted to get rid of those ribbons to begin with. So I downloaded the the free version of Ribbon Customizer. They offer some Pro version but it does things I don't particularly care about. Alternatively, there is ToolbarToggle, but on their site I did not seem to catch a free version, and I was unwilling to pay for this stuff.
The RibbonCustomizer install is pretty straightforward and when you start Word 2007 after its installation, here is how Word looks. There is an additional item in the View menu at the end:
Word 2007 after RibbonCustomizer
I clicked on the obvious menu option to make ClassicUI my first menu tab. This is what this does:
Classic 2003 interface
That's a good start, but I now wanted to clean up some other stuff. Fortunately, Microsoft chose to include the additional "Minimize Ribbon" feature, which contextually hides the ribbon when your focus is on writing inside the document. So let's do that:
Minimize the Word 2007 ribbon
Now to get rid of the forced Blue. Click on the "More Commands" option in the menu shown in the screenshot above. Choose Silver and make other adjustments to your taste:
Choose silver
Now this is what Word 2007 looks like, with minimized ribbon, classic 2003 UI, and a somewhat less intrusive silver gradient:
Phew. I also recommend setting the default "Save" options as your regular Word ".doc" instead of the new ".docx" (or other .xlsx and .pptx equivalents) as that is a bit more standard even today in 2008.
THANK YOU!!! Finally, a configuration that I can live with…
I'll take this configuration for a test run. Up to now, I have been doing my formatting in OpenOffice in order to get the numbering (in particular) to work correctly.
I have to tell you… Installing Office 2007 and finding the ribbon has been the software equivalent of a coyote morning. I have been busy hunting for my Office 2003 disks. I couldn't believe that I got suckered into this travesty. I have bitterly resented the money that I spent for it.
I have no idea what possessed Microsoft, but if this doesn't send somebody else to the head of the class, I don't know what it will take.
Excellent . Just what i was looking for
[…] to the Office 2003 or ‘Classic Style. The article which pointed me to the tool itself is here and the shareware tool can be downloaded […]
Thanks so much for posting this guide — it's brilliant. You get to keep the new version and the old version so can easily switch, can't believe Microsoft didn't give this option as standard. Exactly what I was looking for!
Tears actually came to my eyes when I saw the good ol' File/Edit/etc. menu on my screen. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!
Thanks for posting this. I tried to get along with the ribbon i really did,
Just found this today and am already enjoying the benefits of an industry tested/accepted UI. Thank you!
For anyone who has read WOSA (best principles of Win dev) this is a breath of fresh air.
Thanks for this. I spent two hours trying to navagate the stupid Word 2007 ribbon just to send a business letter and print an envelope. I am sorry I got suckered into Word 2007 and Windows7. The computer is just a tool like a doorknob. Its only function is to facilitate getting to where you are going. I am sorry I gave away my XP computer and would gladly trade my new Win7 for my old one. Some microsoft a-hole computer nerd is sitting right now high on mountain dew wacking off and thinking how can I mess with the users by making them waste their time trying to figure out the secret nerd code to use the thing. Microsoft should grow up and produce a product that is better and better and not add stuff to trick us into purchases. I would have gladly given Gates a couple of hundred just to be left alone but with an upgraded computer. This new one is no faster because of all the crap they added. Apple next time for me!
thanks a lot. u really did a gr8 work for all of us. i was really worried abt this stupid ribbon in 2007. this really works. thx for sharing, and is this secure to buy ribon customizer online.
Thanks. The free version of Ribbon Customizer doesn't work on Office 2010, quitting with an error that Office 2007 isn't installed. Any solutions?
Thank you; this is a great fix for my Word 2007 installation. I hated hunting around on that ribbon.
I know it would sound better if I lied and said, "I tried to use it, I gave it a fair shake!". But what I did was switch to a different program. Why would I like this; why would I want to use it? I knew where everything was, and you guys moved it for no reason. This was about as good an idea as New Coke.
Awesome! This is exactly what I wanted!
Perfection! Thank you so much for sharing. This is such and improvement. MS says the ribbon was a result of what customers wanted, really…then why for the 2012 version is MS going back to classic view…they are eliminating the ribbon…that is cause for celebration!
Ribbon Customizer has not been upgraded for twp years. I also suffer from the new user interface of Office 2007. Later I find another addin Classic Menu for Office 2007, It is developed by the same company. Classic Menu for Office 2007 can be applied in word, excel, powerpoint, access, and outlook. Though it can not be customized, it is really a useful tool to choose in the process of learning the new UI.