The location of the Word 2003 command in Word 2007

Office Word 2007 has a new look, and the new user interface (UI) replaces menus, toolbars, and most of the task panes in earlier versions of Word with a single, straightforward mechanism. The new user interface is designed to help you more efficiently and easily find the right features to accomplish a variety of tasks, discover new features, and be more efficient in Word.

This article applies to experienced Word 2003 users who want to quickly find their familiar commands in Office Word 2007 (Technical support staff, IT pros, and other users who are already familiar with the Word 2003 interface).

Ribbon User Interface

In Office Word 2007, the Ribbon is the primary alternate control for menus and toolbars. For ease of browsing, the Ribbon contains several tabs that are organized around a particular scenario or object. Also, the controls for each tab are subdivided into several groups. The ribbon can host richer content than menus and toolbars, including buttons, libraries, and dialog box content.

The tabs are designed to be task-oriented.

Groups in each tab divide a task into subtasks.

command buttons in each group execute a command or display a menu of commands.

Tabs that appear when needed

In addition to the standard set of tabs that you see on the Ribbon every time you start Office Word 2007, there are two other tabs that appear in the interface only when they are available for the type of task you are currently performing.

The Contextual tool Context tool enables you to manipulate objects that you select on a page, such as a table, a picture, or a drawing. When you click an object, the related contextual tab set appears next to the Standard tab with accent colors.

Select an item in the document.

The name of the context tool is displayed in accent color, and the contextual tab appears next to the standard set of tabs.

The context tab provides controls for working with the selected items.

Programs tab when you switch to some authoring mode or view, including print Preview, the Program tab replaces the standard set of tabs:

menus, toolbars, and other familiar elements

In addition to tabs, groups, and commands, Office Word 2007 uses other elements that provide a way to complete a task. The following elements are more similar to the menus and toolbars that you already know in earlier versions of Word.

Microsoft Office button This button is located in the upper-left corner of the Word window to open the menu displayed here.