Hi maclop,
MS's conclusion (
http://blogs.msdn.com/jensenh) about the user interface changes appears to have included a perception that folks
were confused with toolbars and such that would end up cluttering up their work area that they didn't seem to know how to put
away/back or how they often got there, so the Ribbon basically follows the tenet of 'one tool - one place'.
In the case of the font tearoff the 'tradeoff' is that in Word 2007 if you highlight text and then use the tool you get the 'live
preview' of the text in the color/style/font, etc, by hovering over a choice in the font color menu.
You may find
http://toolbartoggle.com 's ability to float some menus and toolbars to be helpful.
=========================In 2003 I could position the pointer on the title bar of the font color tool
or any other tool that had a drop down arrow next to it and drag it off the
tool bar to make it stay open. How do I do this in 2007?<<
--
Bob Buckland ?
MS Office System Products MVP
*Courtesy is not expensive and can pay big dividends*