Outlook 365, how to go back to OLD ribbon graphics and icons

Brass Contributor

I find outlook totally unusable since it updated to the new for-toddler icons.
Not only is it ugly, it's distracting and unusable. As if outlook is broken and running in safe-let's-go-back-to-1995-mode.

How can I revert to the old layout and look, without losing the security updates?

I'm using system restore now to always go back to the sane look, but I guess that's not really feasible in the long term. I will now also turn off office updates. But that can't be the goal either...

Shouldn't there be an option for us to pick a look?

Should we start a petition to give us that choice. Or am I the only one who doesn't like it? I think I'm even totally allergic to it...

56 Replies

@Vasil MichevNot an option???? I hate the new ribbons. At least tell us how do add icons to the tool bar (such as delete) and get rid of the design tab which is seldom used


@Vasil Michev wrote:

Sadly, the team decided that this is not a configurable option. If the new look annoys you that much, your only option is to revert back to an older build: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/2770432/how-to-revert-to-an-earlier-version-of-office-2013-...

 

Incidentally, the article seems to be broken atm, hopefully it works when you click later :)


 

it just takes up to much space. and it looks like if you hide it the old version pops up, until you PIN it. 

clipboard_image_1.png

@Geert Verschaeve the spacing on the toolbar is the Mouse vs Touch settings on the ribbon. The mouse setting reverts the toolbar back to the "classic" denser command buttons. 

@Dr__ZThat is interesting!

You know, maybe I'm just getting old and tired. It seems the modern way all boils down to how things look, everything is going that route: form over function, eye-candy over usability. I am SO fed up of it. 

Being unable to find office pack renewal in my language I have to buy local, bracing myself for the unexpected joys there too.

@dmrounsThe buttons are so big because you have Touch Mode enabled. If you disable touch mode, everything becomes small again, like in your upper screenshot.

 

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/turn-touch-mode-on-or-off-90e162b1-44f9-434f-bc2b-9321c989e...

Realizing I'm late to this party I want to make clear that Office 365/2019 IS NOT ADA compliant. My legally blind wife cannot use anything newer than 2016 and Word 2016 is bug infested for the features she works to use as a writer.

Track changes, among other things is an example of things not working correctly under the macOS on 2016.

She wishes she could revert to Office 2008 because it worked until the latest OS release (latest for us) and she got updated to Office 2016.

Who should we contact about the issues of ADA accessibility?
People's vision has to also be taken into account and shades of gray will not always work.

@Geert Verschaeve In the upper right hand corner there is an icon for "Show Ribbon Options". If you click on "Show tabs only" and then select the tab you want to use, you will see something that is closer to the old look that office used to have.

 

I completely agree the new look is horrible. Takes up so much space on my laptop screen.

 

Cyndi

As others have mentioned, the MSFT folks have taken a step backwards in usability in their efforts to be hip and trendy (and more Apple like).

The situation is another benefit for using virtual machines.  I have a MacBookPro (better designed, engineered and built than anything you can find in the Windows world) running Parallels.  I run a Win10 VM for most of my stuff, but keep a Win7 VM running so I can have my old, more useful and more productive Outlook 2010 at hand.

@Bruce_Lynn 

 

I totally agree with you.  The simplified ribbon is not helpful at all for someone who has learned the tool and uses the majority of its features.

 

In Outlook the Appointment simplification now does not allow me to see the calendar for invites so I can see who's in and who's out...ridiculous.

 

Microsoft I do not have the time to spend customizing the ribbon on all the products every time I use it.  Please do something about this.

I like the new layout. But not being able to see meeting attendees and who accepted or declined drives me nuts. Organizers and attendees must be able to find that information as soon as they open the calendar item! I'm really baffled that this was removed or at least hidden pretty well!

@TonyK60 

Vision concerns have to come second it seems. I have been having pen and palm rejection problems since December. This past week or two, Word has been so clunky, I resorted to reinstalling Office. That of course means that my toolbars are all out of size and only grey in colour yet again. I give up. The only plus is that my pen problems have vanished at least. I can now draw smooth lines without splotches appearing.

 

I have had to rearrange my icons and tabs because they were collapsed instead of expanded as they were, even in desktop/mouse mode. 

 

MS seems not to listen or care.

 

I have had to rearrange my icons and tabs because they were collapsed 
instead of expanded as they were, even in desktop/mouse mode. 

 

Well the collapsed part is easy to correct, at least:   There is a push pin that you can click to keep the ribbon open.    The push pin changes to a carat in the lower right corner of the ribbon to collapse it again. 

@Ned23 

Thanks but been there, done that. Still does not restore size and layout to original. Pinning keeps some parts expanded at the (rather random) expense of others. I moved some icons to other custom groups and all are expanded as before the repair. Each time I have added a dictionary or something to Office, I have had to revert to previous version afterwards in order to restore icon colours and layout as I want, without having to fiddle with overall Win text size/resolution.

I've really had enough of it all. Pen behaviour after some Win update in Dec 2019 was just so random, and pen mouse behaviour similarly so. Seems Win updates clunked with older version of Office. So as i am a dedicated pen user, this version will have to stay :persevering_face:

@cyndiloo 

When you say upper right hand corner, is that only in Outlook? I can't see anything elsewhere, e.g. in Word.

 

@Geert Verschaeve 

 

You made great points. I use Office at work and have an O365 subscription for home. At work, we are very Zoom/ G Suite/ Slack focused but if I want to get anything serious done, I go back to Excel, Powerpoint etc. There is a group of us resisting the move to dumbed down, over simplified, hard to use interfaces because that is Google Sheets!! After reading your post and all the others, I will give up, use Google sheets, and will wait for the renewal of O365 at home and cancel it. Hard to believe MS has worked hard to give up it's advantage and lose revenue.

Seems to be the way of the world, dumbing down. There are some of us resisting it but we seem to be so few. Is the majority so happy with what MS are doing? Or is the majority in fact those who do not actually 'buy' Offfice but acquire it by other means or with only a few bucks so they don't actually have a vested interest anyway? I really miss my old truly moddable Office.

sorry, I don't know how to post.

 

In Outlook in the top right side you can see a small arrow.

It will alternate between Simplified ribbon and Classic ribbon.

I hope this helps.

Aaah, great, thank you. I have to admit I have rarely used Outlook since it lost its Journal feature (another 'brilliant' move on MS's part :face_with_rolling_eyes:).
I really do not understand their thinking - it's so inconsistent across the Office package. The simple toggle between Simplified and Classic ribbons you describe ought to be found throughout but isn't. Ho hum.

@Susan Coward i think if you still have the new toddler icons, you should stop automatic updates