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Mark Wallace wrote: A sub-ribbon, underneath the main ribbon
Office 2007 has the Quick Access Toolbar. It isn't drag and drop, but it's fairly close to what you're talking about. It's that small row of buttons next to the main Office button on the top-left.
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The quick access bar takes care of the basics (until it's reset by an update, and you have to build it all over again), but it can't be assigned a group of styles, the way a normal toolbar could, and it doesn't change according to the document template you're using.
I know that this is a dev board, so the more complicated things that should be done with templates (especially before Word is given to non-technical users) aren't a focus -- devs do everything with the Normal template, or maybe with a template that is "complete" by dev standards, but proper documentation systems are a lot more complicated than that.
E.g. if a non-techie user has to write a memo, then there should be only the styles and functions required for writing a memo available -- it's up to sys admin to create and enforce the templates used (the next time you receive a memo that has to contact three separate databases, and is full of graphics that have to update before the document will open fully, you'll think of this).
Worse (and this is one of the biggest problems), if a dev has to write a user document, which will be handed to customers, the look and feel of that document must conform to the standards that are applied to all documents that are handed to customers. But devs tend to have their own ideas about that (or just don't care), so the copy of Word they are given has to be locked down so tight that they cannot possibly do anything that breaks the standards.
Locking it down doesn't make it any harder to produce a document, BTW; it just makes it impossible to do the whole thing in Comic Sans, makes sure that the document structure is correct, prevents pasting of external database or file-system links, and allows the document to be added into a content-management system so that chunks of it can be sourced into other documents very quickly, etc.
It's a nightmare to try to do that since v.2007, and, once you've done the mountain of complicated (and template-destabilising) work, it can all be wiped away by an update to Outlook or PowerPoint.
So, the choice is between:
1. Implememting and maintaining a labour-intensive and slow system with tech writers in the middle, to check and amend every scrap of paper that devs produce (great for team spirit -- NOT!)
2. Looking like complete bleeding amateurs to your customers/prospects.
3. Upgrading back to Word 2003, so none of the extra work and maintenance is necessary.
Unfortunately, too many people are believing all the hype about the ribbon, so they're soldiering on with option 1, or ending up with option 2.
I wanna be a eunuchs developer! Pass me a bread knife!
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Mark Wallace wrote: a single line of buttons, each one selected by the user because it is needed, it is a complete waste of time.
1. Customize a Quick Access Toolbar which is in upper-left corner by default.
2. Tell it to appear below the ribbon in place of a standard location (there is an option to do it in a customization dialog).
3. Minimize the ribbon (right-click).
Now you have expandable menus+your own toolbar.
Hope this helps ---
Greetings - Jacek
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but, as for office 2007, I need some time to find where the functions are located.....
Regards,
unruledboy_at_gmail_dot_com
http://www.xnlab.com
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