(Note: The new ribbon interface is available starting in LibreOffice version 5.3. There is a PPA available for it.)
LibreOffice has introduced an optional ribbon-style interface similar to that of Microsoft Office. When I first heard of this, I was worried because the Ribbon was the reason I dumped MS Office in 2007 when it first came out. I find the Ribbon much harder to use than the traditional menus. It looks cool, but I don’t use a word processor or spreadsheet for the purpose of it looking cool. I use applications to get work one.
I’m not mad at LibreOffice for coming out with a ribbon because they, unlike Microsoft, give people the choice of whether to use it or stick with the menu-based interface. Some younger people grew up using the Ribbon and will be more likely to accept LibreOffice if they can use it in LO. Thus, this is probably a smart move. As long as it’s optional, I can live with it.
I wondered if I were being an old guy opposed to change if I don’t use this ribbon thing, so I gave it a try. I do think it’s kind of cool looking, but could it result in any improvement in productivity. The truth is, not really. For one thing, I cannot access my custom toolbars if the ribbon interface only is turned on. I type with an American keyboard since I’m in the United States. However, I sometimes write in German or in French. Since those languages contain accented vowels that we don’t use in English, I’ve created specialized toolbars for quickly accessing them. I can turn on the menus and then pull up my French and German toolbars and then turn on the ribbon and still keep them, but it hardly seems worth it. The ribbon doesn’t really add any extra functionality. It’s just different.
Here’s another issue. Without the menus turned on, I can’t use the command Alt+F,S to save a document. For me that’s important because I use it all the time. I’ve customized my system so that Ctrl+S moves the cursor a character left and thus is unavailable to save documents. It’s never been a problem that I’ve reassigned that hot key because I always had Alt+F,S. It’s the same thing with Alt+E,A, which I use to select all text. I’ve reassigned Ctrl+A to move one word left. It’s never been a problem that I did that because I could just use Alt+E,A. Not so anymore with LO’s ribbon on and the menus shut off. Why did I reassign these hot keys?I’m mimicking an old-style set of keystrokes known as the “cursor diamond” that allows me to move the cursor around the screen while keeping my hands on the home row.
It’s a command set from long ago. I’ve never found anything better and have programmed those commands in for years.
I can keep and use Alt+F,S and Alt+E,A with LO’s ribbon if I leave the menus also turned on. However, if I do that, I still don’t see any advantage in using the ribbon over the menus. For writing in German and French, I could use the “Symbol” command from the Insert tab on the ribbon, but that would mean hunting through a lot of symbols that either French nor German use in order to find the one I need. That takes longer than using the custom toolbars that I’ve created.
In Microsoft Word, you can use the Alt key plus a letter to access the various features of its ribbon. That does not work in LO Writer, at least not yet. If it did, I could use my Alt+F,S and Alt+E,A commands, or something like them. Word also allows you to hide its ribbon and make it re-appear with the click of one of its tabs. If I must use Word, this is what I do because it uses up very little screen real estate. That feature also does not work in LibreOffice’s ribbon, at least not yet.
My final verdict: The LibreOffice ribbon interface is not worth using, at least not yet. After they improve it by adding the Alt commands and the ability to hide it, it might be worth using by people who are used to and like the MS Word one. For people like me who prefer the older menu-based interface, it probably still won’t be worth using. However, I do give LibreOffice major kudos for making this optional. I believe software makers should respect the user’s choice to work in different ways, something Microsoft did not do when they came out with Word 2007. By adding this ribbon interface, LibreOffice may be able to attract younger users who are used to that way of working and never got attached to the menu-based interface.
LibreOffice has introduced an optional ribbon-style interface similar to that of Microsoft Office. When I first heard of this, I was worried because the Ribbon was the reason I dumped MS Office in 2007 when it first came out. I find the Ribbon much harder to use than the traditional menus. It looks cool, but I don’t use a word processor or spreadsheet for the purpose of it looking cool. I use applications to get work one.
I’m not mad at LibreOffice for coming out with a ribbon because they, unlike Microsoft, give people the choice of whether to use it or stick with the menu-based interface. Some younger people grew up using the Ribbon and will be more likely to accept LibreOffice if they can use it in LO. Thus, this is probably a smart move. As long as it’s optional, I can live with it.
I wondered if I were being an old guy opposed to change if I don’t use this ribbon thing, so I gave it a try. I do think it’s kind of cool looking, but could it result in any improvement in productivity. The truth is, not really. For one thing, I cannot access my custom toolbars if the ribbon interface only is turned on. I type with an American keyboard since I’m in the United States. However, I sometimes write in German or in French. Since those languages contain accented vowels that we don’t use in English, I’ve created specialized toolbars for quickly accessing them. I can turn on the menus and then pull up my French and German toolbars and then turn on the ribbon and still keep them, but it hardly seems worth it. The ribbon doesn’t really add any extra functionality. It’s just different.
Here’s another issue. Without the menus turned on, I can’t use the command Alt+F,S to save a document. For me that’s important because I use it all the time. I’ve customized my system so that Ctrl+S moves the cursor a character left and thus is unavailable to save documents. It’s never been a problem that I’ve reassigned that hot key because I always had Alt+F,S. It’s the same thing with Alt+E,A, which I use to select all text. I’ve reassigned Ctrl+A to move one word left. It’s never been a problem that I did that because I could just use Alt+E,A. Not so anymore with LO’s ribbon on and the menus shut off. Why did I reassign these hot keys?I’m mimicking an old-style set of keystrokes known as the “cursor diamond” that allows me to move the cursor around the screen while keeping my hands on the home row.
It’s a command set from long ago. I’ve never found anything better and have programmed those commands in for years.
I can keep and use Alt+F,S and Alt+E,A with LO’s ribbon if I leave the menus also turned on. However, if I do that, I still don’t see any advantage in using the ribbon over the menus. For writing in German and French, I could use the “Symbol” command from the Insert tab on the ribbon, but that would mean hunting through a lot of symbols that either French nor German use in order to find the one I need. That takes longer than using the custom toolbars that I’ve created.
In Microsoft Word, you can use the Alt key plus a letter to access the various features of its ribbon. That does not work in LO Writer, at least not yet. If it did, I could use my Alt+F,S and Alt+E,A commands, or something like them. Word also allows you to hide its ribbon and make it re-appear with the click of one of its tabs. If I must use Word, this is what I do because it uses up very little screen real estate. That feature also does not work in LibreOffice’s ribbon, at least not yet.
My final verdict: The LibreOffice ribbon interface is not worth using, at least not yet. After they improve it by adding the Alt commands and the ability to hide it, it might be worth using by people who are used to and like the MS Word one. For people like me who prefer the older menu-based interface, it probably still won’t be worth using. However, I do give LibreOffice major kudos for making this optional. I believe software makers should respect the user’s choice to work in different ways, something Microsoft did not do when they came out with Word 2007. By adding this ribbon interface, LibreOffice may be able to attract younger users who are used to that way of working and never got attached to the menu-based interface.