back to article Never mind those touch apps, full Office 2016 is coming this year

Microsoft let slip a few more details of its plans for the company's Office productivity suite on Thursday, including hints about when we can expect the next major version of its desktop suite to land. Most of the Office talk at Wednesday's Windows 10 preview event in Redmond focused on the touch-centric Office for Windows 10 …

  1. Alan Sharkey

    Do you think they will start using lower case for the menus again? All upper case is so 1960's.

    Alan

    1. P. Lee
      Coat

      1960's?

      That's a bit harsh. My first Apple ( ][+ )had upper-case only and that was in the 1980's. Oh how we longed for a ][e....

      Anyhow, they're only going back 34 years, not 54.

    2. rcoombe

      If you can be bothered to click on the link to the blog you'll see that yes, indeed, we have lower case menus.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    compelling new experiences

    and the best office yet, ever. Period. And they want us to love it on a daily basis. Sigh.

    1. John Tserkezis

      Re: compelling new experiences

      "And they want us to love it on a daily basis."

      I thought it was a yearly basis? Or even monthly? It's just that daily happens so infrequently...

  3. Shadow Systems

    All I want to know is...

    ...do we get a proper Menu back, or are you sticking to that cluster fuck of a "Ribbon" UI? It's not Accessible, even my Sighted Friends & Family can't stand the bloody thing, and we could all get our work done in a more fluid & intuitive manner if you just gave us a classic menuing UI to use.

    Even if it's just a "Use Classic or Modern" radio option, if we have the choice of what UI theme to use, then we can use the one that fits our workflow rather than try to relearn all the keyboard shortcuts to figure out where the hell you've hidden $Function again.

    Seriously, Alt+F to open the menu, Right Arrow to the Edit section, and Arrow Down until we find the Sort function may have taken a bit versus SightedFolks using the mouse to clickclickclick straight to it, but the damned Ribbon makes it fucking impossible to do even the most basic of tasks. I've had to use NotePad++ to do any word processing, because Microsoft Word 2010 "Professional" is anything *BUT* Professional. It's a pain in the ass, the Ribbon sucks monkey bung, and we want a classic menu back...

    But what the fuck do I know? I'm just a paying customer whom will wait to hear if that ribbon is back before making my purchasing descision. If that ribbon is back, or gods forbid something worse, then MS can kiss my money goodbye. And NO, I will NOT get an Office365 subscription - I like keeping my data local, under my own control, and NOT spaffed in some imbicillic "cloud" for everyone & their dog to data mine, Thankyouveryfuckingmuch. I'll spend my money on something that can open/save MS Office formats, but does NOT treat me like a crayon snorting Yoof. I hear Jarte is such a company worthy of my coin.

    *Cough*

    So, seriously Microsoft, give us a classic menu option for the UI. No ribbon, no touchy bullshit, no Metro/Modern ejaculate from the loins of a diseased MyLittlePony, just a simple, intuitive, sane Alt Menu that lets me get my damned work done.

    I'd ask if that was too hard to code, but given your "progression" from "Ribbon" to "Metro", your track record is headed distinctly downhill...

    In a rocket sled with the throttle shoved to the stops.

    1. swisstoni

      Re: All I want to know is...

      Sounds like you need LibreOffice.

    2. Blitterbug
      Happy

      Re: cluster fuck of a "Ribbon" UI

      Calm down! If genuine Office is your bag, grab a copy of Office 2003 Pro and download the Office 2007 compatibility kit. If not, use LibreOffice or OpenOffice.

      I enjoyed the rant, though I quite like the ribbon these days - and I was an ardent hater. For years. But something happened between Office 2007 and Office 2010 that made the newer Word much more usable - I'm guessing better quality telemetry, or better telemetry parsing. Certainly, whenever I'm forced to use Word 2007 my heart still sinks.

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        Re: cluster fuck of a "Ribbon" UI

        +1 for that. I have no problem with folk liking the ribbon, just mighty pissed off that we are given no bloody choice in the matter.

        I often use LibreOffice and its great, but rarely follows the document layout in .docx in my experience, better with .doc

        Office 2003 + 2007 compatibility sort of works, but often it borks on newer .docx in my sad experience.

        Office 2010 is not that bad, so I tend to use if if I can't handle documents in older versions, or simply to convert to a format that is better parsed.

        1. John Tserkezis

          Re: cluster fuck of a "Ribbon" UI

          "I often use LibreOffice and its great, but rarely follows the document layout in .docx in my experience, better with .doc"

          I've seen the opposite. I regularly get .doc files from others that don't look quite right. Especially if you get the "wrong" version of office. In any case, LibreOffice gets it mostly right enough to get the job done. Cross-version support for RTF is even worse.

          I even have one associate who distributs everything in .doc format, because (his words) "PDF doesn't display properly". He doesn't see the irony when I call and ask what version of word he used just so I can bloody see it properly.

    3. richardcox13

      Re: All I want to know is...

      > Seriously, Alt+F to open the menu, [...]

      Press ALT: see ribbons overlaid with the available short cuts. As you enter them more specific ones appear.

      Once you know where the command is on the ribbon (they are easier to find as the organisation is far more consistent, but you're used to the inconsistency of the menus).

      So to sort a table: Alt-JO and the Table Tools Layout tab is opened, SO and the sort dialog is open.

      And this works even if the ribbon is collapsed (Control-F1 to toggle).

      The ribbon is different, but it is not hard.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: All I want to know is...

        'So to sort a table: Alt-JO and the Table Tools Layout tab is opened, SO and the sort dialog is open.'

        I can go with 'SO' to open the sort dialogue but what is the relationship of 'JO' to Table Tools, surely Alt-TA should open Table Tools. Alt-JO should open some kind of Join tools tab/dialogue.

        I don't use MS products anymore, does Alt-FX still work ?

      2. bob, mon!
        FAIL

        Re: All I want to know is...

        > Press ALT: see ribbons overlaid with the available short cuts. As you enter them more specific ones appear.

        You ignored the point that the OP can't see. He is not "sighted" and needs "Accessibilty" support that the Ribbon isn't giving him.

    4. Stark

      Re: All I want to know is...

      http://www.ubit.ch/software/ubitmenu-languages/

      Buy it - it gives you the classic menus as a tab on the new ribbon and just don't leave that tab.

  4. cupperty
    Coat

    Definition of Surprising

    >> Both Windows and OS X to get desktop suite revamps in 2015

    >> called – unsurprisingly – Office 2016

    I'd say it was surprising that they weren't called Office 2015

  5. N2

    Coming this year

    Is it 2016 already or have I been watching too much 'Back to the future' ?

    1. Paul Crawford Silver badge
      Joke

      Re: Coming this year

      Simple, it is when they realistically expect it to ship!

    2. Zog_but_not_the_first
      Boffin

      Re: Coming this year

      You can never watch too much "Back to the Future".

  6. twelvebore

    "compelling new experiences"

    Why can't they stop themselves coming out with this crap? Seriously, do they talk like that at home? "Darling, do you fancy a compelling new experience for breakfast?" "No thanks dear, I'm all worn out after a compelling experience with the dishwasher"

    It's an office suite. It's not going to be exciting, no matter how you spin it. I neither want nor need "compelling new experiences" whilst I'm using a word-processor, spreadsheet, or the like. Particular if, for example, the compulsion I feel is to punch my monitor because some smart-arse UI designer has re-organised everything so I can't find the simple features any more.

    A bit less compelling, a bit more doesn't get in my way would be nice.

  7. Britt
    Facepalm

    Can I have an option to change Excel back to its previous function of multiple sheets opening in a single instance?

    Database applications built around an Excel front end have a hella time with opening several copies of Excel simultaneously.

    And maybe, juuuust maybe, can we not continue the trend of each new version of office being bloated and vastly slower than the previous version?

    And stop the need to run a repair of the software a clockwork like 4 weeks after install due to buggyness?

    I should stop now as I could go on with this for hours.

    Oh, did they ever fix the fact that Excel 2013 CAN'T open a spreadsheet with 2 passworded pages?

    Or that Word falls over to OLE errors when importing text that has a character from Word 2003?

    ..........

    1. Irongut

      Anyone who writes a database application with an Excel front end should be tortured and buried alive. Hanging is too good for 'em.

      1. Fungus Bob

        Wouldn't writing the database application with an Excel front end be torture enough?

      2. Anonymous Coward
        FAIL

        Since pretty much everything done on a computer is a front-end to some sort of database, no. Then again, most haven't lived pretty much the entirety of automation, so what do I know.

  8. Alan Sharkey

    I quite like EXcel opening sheets in separate instances - I have a dual screen layout and often have one sheet on each screen.

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Microsoft survival "strategy"

    Throw as much rubbish as you can at the wall and see what sticks.

    From what I have seen, pretty much everything Microsoft announced this week is already being done for years by Sony, Google and Apple, and it's more about catchup.

    1. dogged
      Trollface

      Re: Microsoft survival "strategy"

      > From what I have seen, pretty much everything Microsoft announced this week is already being done for years by Sony, Google and Apple,

      o rly

    2. cambsukguy

      Re: Microsoft survival "strategy"

      Well, everyone will buy the Apple Office suite then, MS will be bankrupt.

      Or they will use the Oculus rift, MS will go bankrupt.

      Or they will use the Google Office suite, MS will go bankrupt.

      They will all switch to AWS or summat else, MS will go bankrupt.

      Or they won't, and they won't.

  10. Haro

    Works on old machines

    According to previous articles, this will work wonderfully on old Win7 machines that are upgraded for free to Win10. :)

  11. Wade Burchette

    My new Office wishlist

    For all that is good and holy, LET ME ACTIVATE OFFICE WITHOUT A MICROSOFT ACCOUNT!!!

    Next, take the UI in Office and throw in a sack, throw the sack in a safe, and hurl the safe in the sun. From the blog I see the look of Office "2016" is far superior to Office 2013 insofar as the all capital menus are gone and there are *gasp* rounded edges. But it is still far inferior to Office 2003. The flat look has to go yesterday. The UI designers at Microsoft need to be sent packing because even Windows 10 still has this flat look despite the many many requests for Aero to return.

    1. dogged

      Re: My new Office wishlist

      Aero is past it and they Old Yeller'd it for an excellent reason.

      If you do love your OS to look like it was last updated in 2005, I understand OSX and iOS look a great deal like Windows Vista these days.

      1. The March Hare

        Re: My new Office wishlist

        Curiously enough quite a few people who use Office for a living would be quite happy if it still looked like it did in 2005 and not get metamorphosed into some childish disaster area every year, just to satisfy the whims of a deranged moron who thinks we all need a new 'compelling experience'

        bah..

        /rant

        1. Fungus Bob

          Re: My new Office wishlist

          "quite a few people who use Office for a living would be quite happy if it still looked like it did in 2005 and not get metamorphosed into some childish disaster area every year, just to satisfy the whims of a deranged moron"

          It is official, Microsoft is a kink in the Hose of Progress...

          Let the downvotes begin.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: My new Office wishlist

        You can't discount some of the things that made Windows 7 so popular.

    2. Simon Jones [MSDL]

      Re: My new Office wishlist

      You can. Just click the "Use a Product Key" link in the activation dialog.

  12. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Visio?

    Can we get Visio on Mac? Pretty please? And an actual full version of Excel? Not the current version that pukes all over itself if anyone has done anything remotely advanced on a Windows build of Excel.

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