Tag Archives | ribbon

Bring the File Menu Back to AutoCAD 2011

By on October 7, 2010 in Reviews, Techinch

AutoCAD 2011 includes a beautiful UI with a very nicely customized Office 2010 style ribbon.  Everyone’s not a fan of the ribbon interface, though, so here’s how you can switch AutoCAD back to a traditional File menu without loosing any AutoCAD 2011 functionality.

The AutoCAD Ribbon Interface

By default, when you first run AutoCAD 2011, you’ll notice a prominent Office 2010 style ribbon interface, complete with an A button to access AutoCAD options and more.

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In fact, AutoCAD improves on the default Office ribbon style with very helpful tooltips that explain features and functions when you mouse-over an element and wait a few moments.

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The AutoCAD menu also includes some unique features, including a search box that makes it quick to find any function in the ribbon.  These features are all helpful at getting new users used to the ribbon interface.

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Switch Back to the File Menu

If you still can’t get used to the new ribbon interface, don’t despair.  You can easily re-activate the traditional file menu interface so you know where everything is as before.  To do this, click the drop-down menu on the top left beside the AutoCAD button and select AutoCAD Classic (or AutoCAD LT Classic if you’re using AutoCAD LT as we are).

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Moments later, your ribbon will change to the traditional file menu and toolbar setup, including toolbars on the sides and pop-out palettes as before.

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Menus and toolbars work just as you would expect from previous versions.

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Even with the File menu classic UI, you’ll still have the new AutoCAD button so you can take advantage of the search box to find functions without wasting time looking through menus.

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The File menu interface also looks great if you’re still using XP or are using the Windows Classic theme on Vista or 7.

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This tip should help you stay productive, no matter which edition of AutoCAD you’re using.  Once you’re used to AutoCAD 2011, you just might want to spend a little time with the newer ribbon interface, as I think it can help you work faster and be more productive than before.  Either which way, it’s great that you can switch back to the File menu interface if you want; in Office 2010, you’re stuck with the Ribbon interface unless you install a 3rd party tool like UBitMenu.  That said, if you’d like to get the file menu back in Office 2010, that’s a great tool to try out, too.  That way, you can use the latest software with the interfaces you’re used to!

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How the Ribbon Interface Highlights Program Features

By on August 18, 2009 in Techinch

Microsoft’s stated goal of introducing the Ribbon interface in Office 2007 was to “make it easier for people to find and use the full range of features these applications provide.”  As more features were added to Microsoft Office over the years, fewer users noticed the new features because they were hidden in numerous menus, toolbars, and side panes.  The Office product team tried to combat this problem by designing a user interface that eliminated complexity, enhanced productivity, and made users aware of all the features in their programs.

 

With the introduction of Windows 7, Microsoft has now made the Ribbon interface a standard framework in Windows.  It is included in Windows 7, and will be delivered as an update to Windows Vista as well.  This opens the ribbon up to any developer who wants to develop a rich, modern program for Windows.  Microsoft has decided to convert two of Windows 7’s bundled apps, WordPad and Paint, to the Ribbon interface, and has also converted Movie Maker into Live Movie Maker which uses the Ribbon interface as well.

 

In a simple program like Paint, the Ribbon at first glance seems like overkill, and it seems like traditional toolbars could be plenty for its needs.  I love the look of the Ribbon, and so was excited to get to use it in Paint, but didn’t expect it to be any more useful for me than previous versions.  Imagine my surprise, then, when I found a tool in Paint that I had never discovered: a tool that would crop to your selection.

With the Ribbon, the crop tool is obvious and accessible.

With the Ribbon, the crop tool is obvious and accessible.

 

I had always hated that when you insert a picture into paint, the canvas is usually too large.  My solution had always been to manually go to change the size of the canvas, but a dedicated crop tool is much simpler: 1 click and it’s done.  After discovering this tool in Windows 7, I went back to Vista and checked; the crop tool was actually added to Windows Paint in Vista!  I had used it for the past couple years and had never found this new feature, but the ribbon brought it front and center to my attention.  This simple example shows how the ribbon interface opens up the full potential of applications to the users by showing them features that were previously hidden.

Crop tool in Vista

Although the crop tool was added to Paint in Windows Vista, it was hidden in a menu and thus when undiscovered.

 

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