For those who seem to prefer a different interface you could look at the new NOTBOOKBAR interface available to try in LIBREOFFICE 5.3. Its internal development name is Muffin. See Ribbon interface for more information. The team would welcome feedback.
Why do want to have tabs in the UI?
What is the advantage of changing to tabs when you first of all you loose a lot of time to learn where all the menu items are located?
Edit after comment by @Xanderxavier
I used non-ribbon (non tab UI) Outlook versions for many years and knew exactly what I need to do to customize all my Outlook. Beside XP I only use Outlook 2010 from MS. I had to spend a few hours to customize this Outlook version. At the end I still regarded the possible customization of the older versions as better; or I should have spent some more hours for customization. Looking at ribbons in general, I still do not see any advantage of the ribbons. In contrast, I see disadvantages.
The disadvantage becomes perfectly to be seen with the sidebar of LibO. Current PC screens are wider compared to the height of screen than older PC screens. Thus, there is more space at the side available which cannot be used by ribbons. Further, the rather high ribbons reduce further space from screen in the vertical direction. LibO went the right way by developing the sidebar. This bar uses the rather unused space at the side of a LibO document. In my case, I have now only one row of toolbar icons left below the menus and use the sidebar intensively.
As the LibO’s devs continously improve LibO, I am looking forward to improvements in the pipeline. My contribution to this are a few enhancement requests.
@Xanderxavier - It would be interesting for members of this forum if could be so kind as to explain the advantage of ribbons from your point of view in detail going beyond your statement:
…the cost in time to re-train is well worth the time savings of future use.
Maybe you have some figures to support your above quoted statement. Your explanations may enlighten all forum members who do not see the advantages of the MS’s ribbons yet.
The ribbon UI’s efficiency is well understood by this point worldwide, the cost in time to re-train is well worth the time savings of future use.
@Xanderxavier, you exclude people who switched to LO especially because they do not want the ribbon.
@ROSt53, the main point behind the MSO ribbon is accessibility (related MSO blog entry here. It was largely designed as a response to touch devices, which demand larger targets to poke at and menus that stay displayed once selected (and are contextual). The main problem I have with the effort by MSO was how many problems the implementation had e.g., limited style list, styles that do not display, settings that are shown incorrectly, contextual selection when not required, etc. The LO sidebar is having similar teething issues.
@oweng - Thanks for explanations. The touch device reason is pretty good. But if one doesn’t need to touch with fingers… Although I like the LibO Sidebar very much, I do see still some challenges and enhancement potential. I am currently very curious for each new Libo version to see how the sidebar enhances.
The ribbon, as the new windows tile design, is an attempt to unify the GUI of the different devices My personal opinion is that it is doomed by the very concept. Different kind of devices are used in a different way and have different physical properties.
The side bar is better solution anyway, especially on tabs.
Use Sifr icons, they look modern. And to every fanboi you know what to say… buy a licence, if that program really is that good.
Honestly, I have a license
honestly I think that negation of a possibility to implement a tab UI is just a proud think, document foundation should see that majority part of LO users is common people that just need a real alternative to MSO, and LO is great but too ugly, too different, too old UI, it is true that Ribbon UI was rejected in MSO 2007 but know we are in 2014, 7 years with Ribbon between us and to be realistic, once you get use with ribbon or tab UI you can see that all toolbars and all menu items are present and ordered in tabs, no matter what button you need to click, it is present in one tab, that is the advantage of Tab UI above toolbars and menu UI, and I think that as longer user of LO I definitely have the right to use a UI that I want, I do not ask for a redesigned UI, just the possibility to use another UI via Skins or Extension, that is the freedom of open or libre software, you can choose, but in this case even in MSO you can have a old toolbar UI via plugin and absurdity you can not do that in LO.
P.D: If developers could adapt sidebar in order to permit docking in uper side, I mean, horizontally under menu bar, and add a couple of tab, that must be a good start to have a tab UI on LO
The problem about LibreOffice’s UI is not about getting old-fashioned, but not getting up to date for the new ways to interact with the technology. The screens are now touchscreens and the old menus are a shooting exercise for our fingers. And more, people are waiting for a smartphone version of LO for about five years.
But everyone understand that LO is not market oriented, so it is ok.
And sorry for my bad english.
Well, this is part of the problem, but for anyone who’s used ms offices since 2003, it’s literally alien to go back in time to a pre-2003 interface, its smacks of downgrading, it’s less efficient to use, which is a shame, I would love LO to be a true alternative to msoffice suite, but due to what appears to be a lack of understanding of the importance of good UI, its simply not, they should have a special funding campaign to work on a ribbionUI for libreoffice, sooner rather than later.
@Xanderxavier Well it seems you don’t know how old the Ribbon Bar! The Ribbon Bar dates back to the 80s, so the concept is not really new! (Source) I have to work with MSO2010/2013 at work since 3 years and I’m still searching for some features and functions very long as it really was easier in 2003 for the “not so common features” which were “hidden” behind some special menus.
@dennisroczek: The wikipedia page you referenced as your source says the following: “The usage of the term ribbon dates from the 1980s and was originally used as a synonym for what is now more commonly known as a (non-tabbed) toolbar.” I don’t think that supports your argument.
Honestly I think that the guys at LO do not know how to programme something to save their lives and that is the reason they won’t change to ribbon bar…Kingsoft has both ribbon and standard interface why not do the same and let the people choose what they want… excuses excuses…
If you guys really want somebody to use your software, do what many are asking, to be so stubborn about it is beyond me. We are trying to help you guys. I can tell you that if you give the option for ribbon GUI you will gain more users than any other current software manufacturer.
Please don’t come back with crap, you are wasting your time - I will use the software when there is a ribbon gui…
Cheers
As you can see there are quite some people who are happy with the usual UI or even in favor of it. So to paraphrase your standpoint, then how could some people so stubborn to keep demanding a ribbon interface if there are number of problems with it.
Also, we are sorry to see you leave, but right now if you really like the ribbon, spend some bucks and buy a copy of MS Office.
If you really would like ribbon or why not something better on LO, then contact the design team and start a kickstarter.
If you like the ribbon, use MSO. You can save in ODF in it too. It is not that expensive. So, with all due respect, you are not target group of LO.
A possibility to switch between ribbon ui and old style would be nice. Also new icons on the buttons would be nice. I think the button icons in OpenOffice are prettier.
Looks like in version 5.3 there will be - http://www.omgubuntu.co.uk/2016/12/microsoft-office-ribbon-ui-coming-libreoffice