Five words everyone wants to hear: Microsoft has 'visually refreshed' Office
- Reference: 1624988167
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2021/06/29/office_arm64/
- Source link:
It announced a little redesign of Office, too, or as Redmond put it, a "visual refresh."
The state of Office for Windows-on-Arm devices, including Microsoft's own Surface Pro X, has been a little muddled. Office 2019 for Windows Arm computers is actually a suite of 32-bit x86 applications running on emulation rather than a set of pure Arm applications. To make things extra awkward, Microsoft released a native Arm build of Office for [1]Apple's M1 hardware in 2020. So macOS has a native Arm port and Windows doesn't.
[2]Microsoft releases Windows 11 Insider Preview, attempts to defend labyrinth of hardware requirements
[3]Developing for Windows 11: Like developing for Windows 10, but with rounded corners?
[4]Happy with your existing Windows 10 setup? Good, because Windows 11 could turn its nose up at your CPU
[5]What you need to know about Microsoft Windows 11: It will run Android apps
However, with the [6]arrival of Windows 11 – for dev channel insiders, at least – replete with the x64 emulation previewed in earlier insider builds, a native 64-bit version of Office on Arm is now available to those brave enough to sign up to the Office beta channel. The emulation engine catches any straggling x64 code.
"This new version of Office," [7]said Microsoft engineering manager Mike Smith, "is designed specifically for the next version of Windows on Arm. It has been recompiled for the Arm architecture to run fast, bring greater memory availability, offer better support for large documents, and maintain compatibility."
[8]
The latter point is key for Microsoft's Office ecosystem. The compatibility with existing x64 add-ins is achieved via that x64 emulation in Windows.
[9]
[10]
The big four – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook – are, according to Microsoft, "enabled as ARM64" along with OneNote. Other applications run in x64 emulation mode. Microsoft also noted the apps were built as [11]ARM64EC (Emulation Compatible) software to permit interoperability with legacy x64 add-ins.
Sadly, while Microsoft has claimed it "noticeably" improved performance, there are problems. Teams integration with Outlook isn't complete and there are some major problems with search: Windows cannot search for Office files, certain types of searches in Outlook (for example messages in the same conversation) do not work, and OneNote search speed is sluggish.
[12]
Then again, this is very much beta code at the moment, and the mega-corp is keen for users – at least the few with a Windows-on-Arm device signed up to the Dev Channel Windows Insider program – to give it a kicking. Running the beta also requires the Windows 11 Insider Preview Build, meaning it is unlikely to be troubling production environments.
Redesign time
Not only is there a native Arm build coming our way but also [13]a mild refresh of the Office user interface.
[14]
A screenshot from Microsoft of the refreshed Office user interface
Microsoft has basically tweaked Office to bring it in line with the Windows 11 user interface and its [15]Fluent Design principles. The update will be automatically available to Office insiders running beta channel builds, and can be, depending on which app you're using, turned on and off via the "coming soon" button in the top-right corner of an application window.
The Windows giant would like to draw your attention to "the default neutral color palette, customizable ribbon, and soft corners" in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. You can see more in the penultimate link, plus caveats on enabling and disabling the UI. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2020/12/16/office_m1/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/28/microsoft_windows_11_insider_preview_released/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/28/developing_for_windows_11/
[4] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/25/windows_11_processor/
[5] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/24/microsoft_windows_11/
[6] https://www.theregister.com/2021/06/28/microsoft_windows_11_insider_preview_released/
[7] https://insider.office.com/en-us/blog/64-bit-office-for-windows-on-arm
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2YNuYAAL0Wx83s-M3S-D@2QAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[9] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YNuYAAL0Wx83s-M3S-D@2QAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[10] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33YNuYAAL0Wx83s-M3S-D@2QAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[11] https://blogs.windows.com/windowsdeveloper/2021/06/28/announcing-arm64ec-building-native-and-interoperable-apps-for-windows-11-on-arm/
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_software/applications&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44YNuYAAL0Wx83s-M3S-D@2QAAAFQ&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://insider.office.com/en-us/blog/visual-refresh-of-office-apps-for-windows
[14] https://regmedia.co.uk/2021/06/29/screenshot_office_redesign.png
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2018/04/04/microsoft_fluent_over_before_it_begun/
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: Custom ribbon?
But now it as muted pastel colours and rounded corners
Re: Custom ribbon?
now, that's a fire I would warm myself by any day of the week, as I limed the ground it sprang from.
A refresh usually means that the most used functions are in a different place. Spend a bit to long looking for the search function in Outlook, it's in the bloody titlebar.
Still using Office 2003 thanks
It just works. used it on XP, 7 and now 10. even 10 on a tablet. given all the M$ BS about 'tablet centric ui design" or whatever marketing said, 2k3 still just works.
why the hell should i learn where M$ has put the bloody buttons this week. Office, and Windows are both tools. no one has redesigned the hammer in the last 20yrs, functionality can be added without fucking up the UI every time.
Someone should try and point that out to marketing.
Re: Still using Office 2003 thanks
I'll just leave this here:
[1]https://martineztools.com/product/m1-titanium-handle-15oz-smooth-steel-head-curved-grip-framing-hammer/
[1] https://martineztools.com/product/m1-titanium-handle-15oz-smooth-steel-head-curved-grip-framing-hammer/
Can we get the menu back?
The only visual refresh I care about would be to switch the ribbon to a toolbar, or, at least put it vertically at the side of the document.
Re: Can we get the menu back?
Menus to the left or right.
Why on earth do MS (and it’s not only them) insist on putting menus and ribbons across the top or bottom, given that we all have wide screen monitors now?
The fact that the task bar works better up the side, as you can see all the names even when it gets full, and the clock nicely shows the day and date. For a bonus you get an extra few pixels height to do your actual work in.
So
Still a jumbled chaotic mess, then? But with rounded corners because, like flares, that just keeps coming back into style.
MS know about as much about UI design as they do about anything else. Possibly less.
And
please just stop changing the keyboard shortcuts from version to version!
Surely I'm not the only one who tries to keep his hands on the keyboard and finds their changing of muscle-memorised keyboard shortcuts from version to version to be frustrating.
Re: And
Just be grateful Clippit the Office Assistant isn't making a comeback in this "visual refresh".
We found John, finally!
After 20 years of searching, we were able to find John Babich, the creator of the original Windows 3.1 icons and panels to design the new Dictator, Editor and Designer ribbon sections. Not only that, but also the new Dictator, Editor and Designer ribbon sections.
I just wish they would re-introduce theme customisation so that users could create their own Then they could have their contrastless, monotone flatland for the powerpoint spivs, and free the rest of the users who need to actually use a computer to create their own with windows that have visible controls and edges >1 pixel wide. they can do what they like with the default UI - the real horror is there's no exit door.
Windows Search
That has to be the least efficient Search module that has ever been invented.
I cannot help but imagine that Windows Search has been expressely tweaked by Borkzilla engineers to ensure that, despite every improvement in hardware performance, Windows Search remains just as sluggish as it was in Windows 3.1.
I disable that monstrosity, and use Everything Search instead. Everything Search is free, it installs in less than half a minute and, once it is done looking through your hard drives, it takes less than 10 milliseconds to find any file name you might be looking for.
You know, like a proper search function should do in the 3rd Millennium, with computers that are a million times more performant than they were when the 286 came out.
I wonder if Microsoft employees actually realise that they’re in the same business as car makers? i.e. Microsoft is primarily a marketing company.
Every 18 months or so, bring out a “refreshed” model. Some of the black bits are now chrome. Things that had square edges now have rounded edges. Move stuff around for no apparent reason other than making the previous version look old and dated, but annoy the user, who now has to find it again. Now some people feel the need to race out and buy the new model for no apparent reason, other than that it is fashionable and the latest.
Guess that’s why I use LibreOffice (no toolbars… yay) and drive a 23 year old car.
fscking designers - shame they don't inhabit the real world
"the default neutral color palette, customizable ribbon, and soft corners"
That'll be pale grey foreground with a mid grey background for the active window. And the background windows are 1/255 of a grey different. With a 1 pixel border so that you can't spot the edges and can't click on them unless you have a gaming mouse (and the motor skills of a gaming champ). And all because screen resolution and real estate are soooo valuable now that we have 4k monitors.
Custom ribbon?
How about killing it with fire and nuking it from orbit just to be sure? Repeatedly. With extreme prejudice. Until it glows in the day.