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Preview the Office 2007 Ribbon-Like UI Floated For OpenOffice.Org
recoiledsnake writes "OpenOffice.org has prototyped a new UI that radically changes the current OO.o interface into something very similar to the new ribbon style menus that Office 2007 introduced and which have been extensively used throughout Windows 7. The blog shows a screenshot of the prototype in Impress (the equivalent of PowerPoint), but this UI is proposed to be used across all OO.o applications. Some commenters on the Sun blog are not happy about OO.o blindly aping Office 2007, and feel that the ribbon UI may be out of place in non-Windows operating systems."
Exactly. As usual, commercial software innovates while open source software imitates.
ANY interface in an office suite that Sun/OO.o should be copying, they need to pull their heads out of the sand and clone Lotus WordPro. It handles multiple documents in a superior way. If you have multiple, various-orientation/various sheet sized docs to handle, as divisions and sections, then WordPro would be IT. I have begged until i got sick of even trying to suggest any more yet they just don't seem to care. It's as if NIH (Not Invented Here) syndrome is preferable to actually FIXING the GUI. OO.o needs
-- non-modal interfaces,
-- snappier/tighter icons,
-- better (more Lotus Approach-like) database
-- better multi-doc handling (get RID of the "rule line" separating docs and use LWP's tabbed interface, larger/thicker border to differentiate the docs
They would rather beat their heads against the wall than ape Word Pro or work constructively with Lotus/IBM. Sigh
Previously: "Linux... Toward the Sunrise..." Now: "Linux... Toward the-- No, now, part of Every Sunrise"
First of all, to all the ranters out there: Menus are really *stupid*, because they usually contain items that open *dialogs*. Modal ones nonetheless! So stop wanting them just because you are used to them. You are wrong, and they are far from what is called a good idea!
Second, to the OOo developers: ARE YOU FREAKING STUPID? (Sorry, I had to let this out.)
Button bars are about the only thing that is worse than menus. Because they are a MOUSE-controlled UI element. They basically work strongly against the usage of the keyboard.
Also I got beaten much, for calling open source developers even worse imitators than Microsoft, because MS at least imitates the good ideas. And you promptly prove me right?? COME. ON! :(
I would be more happy to be proven wrong.
Again, this thing is not thought to the end. As usually. Because then someone would have thrown the mouse out completely, except for those things where graphical positioning is really needed.
Like tables in old-style web design, mouse usage for things that it is not meant for, leads to nothing but problems, inefficiency, and limitations.
If only someone would create a keyboard-only version of Lotus WordPro's InfoBox (a box of properties for the current node or selection in the document, with classes like in CSS).
The state in document editors is so desperate, that I nowadays use XHTML + CSS for my text and desktop publishing needs.
Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
Just yesterday it took me ages (several minutes) of clicking through every 'tab' to find the 'insert file' button (which ironically is hidden in a DROP DOWN MENU)
You have absolutely nobody but yourself to blame for that. Why would you waste time hunting around for something, when you could just press F1, type in "Insert file," and see that the very first listed help topic is "Where is the insert file command?"
Symptoms
You want to insert text from another document into the document that you are working on, but you can't find the Insert File command.
Cause
The Insert File command has been renamed Text from File and moved to the Object menu on the Insert tab in Microsoft Office Word 2007.
Resolution
Use the Insert tab to access the Text from File command.
Total time wasted: 15 seconds. What's the matter, are you afraid you'll be less of a man because you RTFM?
If you don't know where you are going, you will wind up somewhere else.
Not to mention the fact that the ribbon takes up so much more screen real estate than menus.
Then double-click on it to set it to autohide. Voila, all your ribbony goodness, taking up the same screen real-estate as a normal menu strip, but without all those annoying office toolbars.