In the legal industry, we have numerous programs that "plug-into"
Outlook and other Office products. The reason we "had to" go with
Outlook/Exchange was due to the integration with our accounting/time
management software. The software we were using required Exchange in
order to be "fully-functional." Every user (aside from the attorneys)
has a customized toolbar. Ask around in the legal field and you will
find that this is the norm.

Maybe I will wait for Microsoft Outlook (Ribbon edition.) If Microsoft
has made the Outlook ToolsOptions menu too large to customize in the 3
year development time, then imagine what a problem users have finding
the button that they want to press.

We will still install Office because we don't have another choice.
However, I'll let SP1 for Vista and SP1 for Office be released before I
even consider touching them. Of course, once the users get a hold of
the product, it will be time to go back and train them how to use the
new software.

I appreciate the reasons that have been given for the "unseamless new
UI" but there just is no excuse, unless it is to satisfy the Software
Assurance customers that signed up.

Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook] wrote:
Wrong, the decision to not customize the main Outlook window (all items
opened from the folders display the new Ribbon format) is due to the
complexity of menu options available right now in Outlook.

Since you don't use Outlook, just take a moment to consider. Use Tools menu
choice and then Options, for instance, then view the myriad options
available. Open any tab and see how deep say the Preferences tab is for
options. Pick the Email Options and you have even more choices, such as
Advanced Email Options and Tracking Options. From there you have further
nested options.

Cleaning up Outlook to share the same Ribbon as the rest of Office would
take an entire Office release on its own. Therefore, the Office UI team
chose to spend its efforts where it would get the most return on its
investment of time and talent.

Read Jensen Harris' blog - http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh for a better
understanding.

--�
Milly Staples [MVP - Outlook]

Post all replies to the group to keep the discussion intact. All
unsolicited mail sent to my personal account will be deleted without
reading.

After furious head scratching, JoAnn Paules [MVP] asked:

| There are so many changes and work involved in the new interface that
| Microsoft opted to devote the time on the four most-widely used
| products.
|
|
| wrote in message
| ps.com...
|| I have read that you can't revert back to the "File" menu system and
|| you have to use the "Ribbon." I have also read that you have to use
|| a "third-party" product to customize the "Ribbon." What I really
|| want to know is why does Outlook and Publisher use the old "File"
|| menu system?