Says who? Do you have any UI/UX study to back up that claim? Most of us on this page seem to believe the opposite is true.
> For an app as complex and feature rich as word or excel, the ribbon interface is a great way to organise commands.
Exactly the opposite. That is, a ribbon _may_ be relevant to a feature-poor application, but much less so to a feature-rich application.
> my productivity has increased tremendously. I just create a table and automatically go to the last tab to format it.
You're conflating context-sensitive UI changes with the use of ribbons. That's a different argument. Also remember that if a Table toolbar or sidebar appears, you can have the same effect - better perhaps - without ribbons.
For an app as complex and feature rich as word or excel, the ribbon interface is a great way to organise commands.
Not to mention context specific menu tabs.
Especially in Powerpoint, my productivity has increased tremendously. I just create a table and automatically go to the last tab to format it.
I never said people found it good. I said, implicitly, I found it good. Perhaps I should have made it explicit in my comment.
Also, it doesn't matter whether most of you believe the opposite was true. I was talking only about myself.
No need to be so, aggressive, perhaps.
> Exactly the opposite. That is, a ribbon _may_ be relevant to a feature-poor application, but much less so to a feature-rich application.
Compared to the alternatives, the Ribbon has more density, in the sense that it packs more buttons and controls than a normal tool bar.
Even AutoCAD uses a ribbon menu. I am guessing because the command density is much more than a normal toolbar.
> You're conflating context-sensitive UI changes with the use of ribbons. That's a different argument. Also remember that if a Table toolbar or sidebar appears, you can have the same effect - better perhaps - without ribbons.
My point was that the context sensitive UI is more apt to be used with a Ribbon system, than alternatives, like in 3DS MAX, where the context sensitive stuff comes up on a right-click. Or in Office itself after we highlight an item.
I reiterate, it is a personal opinion. No need to get so defensive about it.
Some people want their commands and work area to be separated. Some like it otherwise. I prefer the former. When I click my table in PP, I don't want something overlapping it with a menu item, that is not stable, and disappears after a while or after another interaction. It's distracting to me.
With some reluctance, I agree with you. But it does bother me that I rarely use much of that complexity, while still being required to engage with a UI that seems mostly designed around hiding things that I don't need anyway. I wish there was a way to use the Office apps with a simplified feature set. Of course, I understand why not: everyone's essential features are different. So I carry on poking at ribbons looking for things.
Take Word. It has millions of users around the world. And everyone of them uses at most a different 20% set of the full features 80% of the time.
But, it's only one software. It has to satisfy everyone.
So you end up with a reasonably complex UI that everyone has to bear.
However, you can customize it, and I wish there was more documentation and more effort put into customization of the menus.
I mean, let there be a menu customization system that is fully drag and drop, rather than the clunky stuff presently there. It would be a game changer.
It was horrible to use before that.
For an app as complex and feature rich as word or excel, the ribbon interface is a great way to organise commands.
Not to mention context specific menu tabs.
Especially in Powerpoint, my productivity has increased tremendously. I just create a table and automatically go to the last tab to format it.