Lost Command Labels on Quick Access Toolbar

[gzt7d8]

Prior to the latest update of O365 the command labels were shown with the icons on the Quick Access Toolbar. When I search this in the Help (for Outlook 365), the results show me, in the drop down box where you can Hide the Labels but that option doesn't exist for me anymore. 

So did this feature get removed with the latest update?

Greg

[#2]

I am having the same problem as @MisterD3RP .  Just installed latest Office 365 on a new laptop.  Have latest version with subscription up to date.  On old laptop the command labels show up fine.  On new laptop with fresh install there is no bull horn for new experience and there is no checkbox to show command labels.  Why did this change?  I prefer the old experience with the labels.  Thanks.

[#3]

@RGMASC

According to:

Microsoft Office Help - in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote

The new look of Office - https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/the-new-look-of-office-a6cdf19a-b2bd-4be1-9515-d74a37aa59...

Visual refresh of Office apps for Windows - https://insider.microsoft365.com/en-us/blog/visual-refresh-of-office-apps-for-windows

Visual update in Office for Windows now available! - https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/microsoft-365-blog/visual-update-in-office-for-windows-now-av...

"As announced in June 2021, Windows 11 provides a new, fresh experience. To align with that release, we've now released an Office visual refresh that shines on Windows 11, but also works on Windows 10..."

"We based the Office visual refresh on feedback from users like you who asked for a more natural and consistent experience within and between your Windows Office apps. With this refresh, we've applied Fluent Design principles... - https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/design/signature-experiences/design-principles"

...

"We know that change can be uncomfortable. To help with your transition, you can access the new experience in the Coming Soon pane and try it out early... In Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote, just open the Coming Soon pane from the megaphone (bull horn) icon in the upper right... and switch on 'Try it now' to apply the setting to all your Office desktop apps. You can also switch off the refresh and go back to the classic experience".

...

"The Coming Soon pane is NOT available in Access, Project, Publisher, or Visio... If you turn on the visual refresh in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote, it will also be available in these four apps."

"Although the Coming Soon pane is available in Outlook, you can NOT use it to switch on the visual refresh on and off.

If you switch on the visual refresh in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote, it will also be available in Outlook."

...

"... we'll REMOVE the option to switch off the visual refresh, so be sure to try it out now and let us know what you think... Your feedback is critical... If there are specific icons or elements of the new design that aren't working for you, please let us know.

Go to File > Feedback > Send a Frown".

Some reported that there is no megaphone (bull horn) in the perpetual license versions of Office 2016, 2019, 2021, and as of release 2309, this ability no longer exists.

To change the application of this new experience:

1. Close all Office apps no matter what. Use Taskbar and Task Manager if necessary;

2. Open the Registry Editor (regedit);

3. Locate the keys:

v[_] Computer

   v[_] HKEY_CURRENT_USER

      v[_] SOFTWARE

         v[_] Microsoft

            v[_] Office

               v[_] 16.0

                  v[_] Common

                     v[_] ExperimentConfigs

                        v[_] ExternalFeatureOverrides

                               [_] excel (and word, powerpoint, onenote, and maybe outlook)

4. Under the keys above, change all three keys below according to your preference as true or false. Take note of all the keys you can find.

true  - same as [Megaphone icon] > [Coming soon panel] > Try the new experience (__O) On

false - same as Try the new experience Off (O__) (or classic experience)

[ab] Microsoft.Office.UXPlatform.FluentSVRefresh

[ab] Microsoft.Office.UXPlatform.FluentSVRibbonOptionsMenu

[ab] Microsoft.Office.UXPlatform.RibbonTouchOptimization

5. Open the Excel to check it out. You can right-click the QAT or click on the [v] drop-down menu. Check if the Show/Hide command labels option is there.

Also, go to [ File ] > [ Options ] > [ Quick Access Toolbar ] and check if [_] Always show command labels checkbox option is there (bottom-left).

In my case:

Microsoft Excel for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2311 Build 16.0.17022.20000) 64-bit - monthly payment license.

I turned the Try the new experience (__O) On - July 2022, using the Megaphone/bull horn icon.

Currently, the Megaphone/bull horn icon is missing in this version, release, and license.

All the Microsoft.Office.UXPlatform keys are set to true.

All the options to Show/Hide the command labels are shown and working fine.

Few tips:

* The method described above does not work in all Office versions or releases depending on the time the choice was made - left default Off (O_) or switched to (_O) On;

* The suggestion is to change all 3 Microsoft.Office.UXPlatform keys under all Office apps found in Regedit. Or at least try in 5 of them: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, OneNote, and Outlook. It is a lot of work, I know - but you can edit a single .reg file in Notepad and export it to the Registry - if you are an experienced user;

* Please advise if you already tested the Registry method and MSO version, release, and license type. It will help other users;

* Few users reported that the choice taken is registered to the MSO (Online) Account, so creating a new Account could be a good try;

* If the unsatisfied users do not feed back to Microsoft about this issue, I sincerely believe those options will be missing for good when Windows 10 support ends.

Good luck to you all.