Published: September 13, 2005
When planning the next release of the Microsoft Office system of products, we took on the challenge of making the core Microsoft Office applications easier to work with. Taking into account extensive usability data and recent advancements in hardware and software, the team has delivered the most significant update to the Microsoft Office user interface (UI) in more than a decade. The result of these efforts is a user interface that makes it easier for people to find and confidently use the appropriate features they need to get the results they want.
The next release of Microsoft Office products will present a streamlined, uncluttered workspace that minimizes distraction and enables people to achieve the results they want more quickly and easily. View a larger image.
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Design goals and approach
In previous releases of Microsoft Office, people interacted with the applications through a system of menus, toolbars, task panes, and dialog boxes. While this system successfully provided access to a wide variety of features, it became increasingly challenging to add capabilities in a way that made it easy for people to take advantage of them. The overriding design goal for the new UI is to deliver a user interface that enables users to be more successful finding and using the advanced features of Microsoft Office. An additional important design goal was to preserve an uncluttered workspace that reduces distraction for users so that they can spend more time and energy focused on their work. With these goals in mind, we developed a results-oriented approach that simplifies how users achieve results when working in Microsoft Office.
Key Features
While the overall look of the redesigned applications is new, early testing indicates that people quickly feel at home in the new UI and rapidly become accustomed to the new way these applications work. The ease with which people use the new interface is due to the simplicity of the new interface features:
Command Tabs
The traditional menus and toolbars have been replaced by a set of Command Tabs. Presented graphically, Command Tabs display the commands that are most relevant for each of the task areas in Microsoft Office Word, PowerPoint, Excel, or Access. For example, Word has Command Tabs for writing, inserting, page layout, working with references, doing mailings, and reviewing documents. Excel has a similar set of Command Tabs that make sense for spreadsheet work: creating worksheets, inserting objects like charts and graphics, page layout, working with formulas, managing data, and reviewing. These Command Tabs simplify accessing application features because they organize the commands in a way that corresponds directly to the tasks people perform in these applications.
The primary set of Command Tabs for the next release of Microsoft Office Word. View a larger image.
Contextual Command Tabs
Certain sets of commands are only relevant when objects of a particular type are being edited. For example, the commands for editing a chart in Excel are not relevant until a chart appears in a spreadsheet and the user is focusing on modifying it. In current versions of Microsoft Office, these commands can be difficult to find or become elusive. In the next release of Excel, clicking on a chart causes a Contextual Command Tab to appear with commands that are relevant for chart editing right next to the other Command Tabs in Excel. These Contextual Command Tabs only appear when they are needed and make it much easier to find and use the commands needed for the operation at hand while making it easy to switch back to working on your document.
Contextual Command Tabs bring needed functionality to the user's attention at the most appropriate time. View a larger image.
Galleries
Galleries are at the heart of the redesigned applications. Galleries provide users with a set of clear results to choose from when working on their document, spreadsheet, presentation, or Access database. By presenting a simple set of potential results, rather than a complex dialog box with numerous options, the Galleries simplify the process of producing professional looking work. The traditional dialog box interfaces are still available for those wishing a greater degree of control over the result of the operation.
Galleries simplify many operations by presenting a set of results that users can simply "pick and click" to achieve the desired results. View a larger image.
Live Preview
Live Preview is a new technology that shows the results of applying an editing or formatting change as the user moves the pointer over the results presented in a Gallery. This new, dynamic capability streamlines the process of laying out, editing, and formatting so users can create excellent results with less time and effort. Be sure and look at the Preview to see it in action.
These elements are just a few of the new technologies that combine to create the new Microsoft Office UI. Watch the Preview and register to receive further information including information about the availability of pre-release beta versions of the next release of Microsoft Office products.
Benefits
The goal of the new Microsoft Office UI is to make Microsoft Office applications easier to work with. Because commands are better organized and presented in a way that corresponds to how people work, Microsoft Office users will be able to easily find and utilize new advanced Microsoft Office capabilities. The next release of the Microsoft Office system of products with its streamlined look and dynamic results-oriented Galleries will enable users to spend more time focused on their work and less time focused on getting the application to do what they want it to do. As a result, with the new Microsoft Office, people will be able to produce better results faster.
5,198 Linux, Windows OS Flaws in 2005
January 3, 2006, 5:54 PM
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team released its year-end summary of computer vulnerabilities. While Windows is regarded as the most insecure operating system, the US-CERT found four times as many vulnerabilities specifically related to Unix and Linux. Of 5,198 reported flaws, 812 were for the Windows, 2,328 for Unix and Linux, and 2,058 more affected more than one operating system.
Notably missing from the list of Windows vulnerabilities is the recently discovered Windows Metafile issue. No vulnerabilities were listed for Apple's Mac OS X, however several had been disclosed during the year. Also, since OS X is based on Unix, it is vulnerable to some of the flaws associated with its core operating system.