Office 2003 User Interface is horrible. What is the matter with yo

[Guest]

I am sick and tired of having to change the way I work due to Microsoft User
Interface changes. I was EXTREMELY productive in Office XP.

Office 2003 WAS NOT CREATED BY PEOPLE WHO LIVE AND BREATHE IT EVERY DAY. It
was obviously created by lonely programmers with no clue about users and
honed to a fine lump by focus groups.

And now I am STUCK with it.

You have my permission to use these comments in your advertising you
arrogant bunch of underqualified, overpaid morons.

 

[neo [mvp outlook]]

Rather than just complain that it sucks, can't you be a bit more
"productive" by sharing where the user interface misses?

 

[Brian Tillman]

You have my permission to use these comments in your advertising you
arrogant bunch of underqualified, overpaid morons.

Since it's rare that members of the Microsoft Outlook team even read these
groups, what's the point?

 

[Diane Poremsky [MVP]]

Actually... if he posted it online using the interface at communities and
marked it as a Suggestion, it's very likely the team will see it. However...
since he didn't say what parts of the new interface are a problem, they
won't be able to do anything to improve his experience.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

 

[Guest]

I previously "downgraded" to Office 2003 from Office 2000 and have also come
to the conclusion that it sucks and it blows! Gary is right, the older GUI's
were much better. First of all, they were easier and actually allowed you to
move things around, such as easily changing the number of small monthly
calendars listed on the side of the window when viewing the larger calendar.
Now I have to continually look at that stupid "My Calendars" box. Same thing
with the Mail view, there's that stupid "Favorite Folders" box that you can't
get rid of, even when you remove all of the folders that it contains. What's
the point in having an empty thing up there? You should be able to hide it.
Same thing with that stupid navigation pane too. If it's empty, I should be
able to hide it. I don't like it.

And why can't I scroll horizontally to view all of my mail folders titles
when I'm in the Mail view? Another thing is the unhelpful enormous size of
the message headers in the reading pane. They take up so much room, I can't
even read the e-mail message.

And why can't I compose my forwards and replies to plain text messages using
HTML... AUTOMATICALLY, without having to select it each time?

This newer version of Outlook seems to take much longer to receive messages
too. I thought if anything that it should be faster. And I can't do any
work in Outlook while it's checking mail or downloading headers. It just
freezes up until it's finished. Useless!

I don't like the new colors in the toolbars and dividers between panes
either. If they're going to add colors, you should be able to change them.

And why can't I set my IMAP Inbox folder as my default start-up folder? Am
I the only one that uses an IMAP server? Don't think so...

Argh. I could go on for days. If only Microsoft would ask me before they
go and screw up another perfectly good thing, maybe I could do some damage
control. I'm so frustrated that I'm actually considering re-loading Office
2000 and breaking the Office 2003 CD into little tiny pieces just for the fun
of it.

 

[Jeff Stephenson [MSFT]]

You can set you IMAP inbox as your startup folder by going to Tools ->
Options -> Advanced Options... and changing it.

--
Jeff Stephenson
Outlook Development
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

 

[Guest]

Diane is right - we read all this stuff, so the more constructive the better.
And just a note: We DO live and breathe these products and I, for one, love
to hear what customers have to say - the good, the bad, and yes, even the
ugly...

If the UI irritates you, there are lots of things you can do to customize
your workspace.
--
~ Crabby Office Lady
http://office.microsoft.com/home/office.aspx?assetid=FX010778051033

Actually... if he posted it online using the interface at communities and
marked it as a Suggestion, it's very likely the team will see it. However...
since he didn't say what parts of the new interface are a problem, they
won't be able to do anything to improve his experience.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

Since it's rare that members of the Microsoft Outlook team even read these
groups, what's the point?

 

[Guest]

<...lots of things you can do to customize your workspace.>???

How, like what? I'm listening. Please read over my post (above, same
thread) from Oct 2004. What about those things? I did get the reply about
starting up in my IMAP Inbox (thanks Jeff) and just addressed that issue, but
what about the other things? Again, I welcome you to send me stuff to be
Beta tested, or to ask for my input/inclusion on a focus group in the future.

-Dustin

Diane is right - we read all this stuff, so the more constructive the better.
And just a note: We DO live and breathe these products and I, for one, love
to hear what customers have to say - the good, the bad, and yes, even the
ugly...

If the UI irritates you, there are lots of things you can do to customize
your workspace.
--
~ Crabby Office Lady
http://office.microsoft.com/home/office.aspx?assetid=FX010778051033

Actually... if he posted it online using the interface at communities and
marked it as a Suggestion, it's very likely the team will see it. However...
since he didn't say what parts of the new interface are a problem, they
won't be able to do anything to improve his experience.

--
Diane Poremsky [MVP - Outlook]
Author, Teach Yourself Outlook 2003 in 24 Hours
Coauthor, OneNote 2003 for Windows (Visual QuickStart Guide)
Author, Google and Other Search Engines (Visual QuickStart Guide)



Join OneNote Tips mailing list: http://www.onenote-tips.net/

You have my permission to use these comments in your advertising you
arrogant bunch of underqualified, overpaid morons.

Since it's rare that members of the Microsoft Outlook team even read these
groups, what's the point?

 

[Guest]

Dear Friendly Office Customer,

Unfortunately, I can't answer every single one of your questions, as
delightful and polite, and well written ( 3 "stupids," 2 "sucks," 1 "blows,"
and 1 "useless") as they are. But I answered a few and now must get on with
my day. Do please note that I found the answers to every single one of your
questions on the Office Online Web site (http://office.microsoft.com). As
well, want to make a feature request? Please do so:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...ffice&pt=3a4e9862-cdce-4bdc-8664-91038e3eb1e9



1. To get rid of the "Favorite Folders" box, on the View menu, uncheck
"Navigation Pane" or click Alt+F1.

2. You can't scroll but you can drag the window to the rigth (and then back
to the left if you want).

3. You can compost you replies and fowards in anything you want - but if you
have selected to reply to the person in the format it was sent, it will do
that. This is often the case with Internet mail senders. Check your settings
for that here: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab > Internet Format. you may
want to check and see that you have HTML set as your default composing
format: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab, and check all your options there.

4. hide the message header in the Reading pane: On the View menu, point to
Arrange By, and then click Custom. Click Other Settings. Under Reading Pane,
select the Hide header information check box.
Read more about changing how the Reading Pane looks and works here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP052426951033.aspx

5. Don't like the deafult colors - change them. Sheesh.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP010439961033.aspx

Cheers, and remember: You can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar...

--

~ Crabby Office Lady
http://office.microsoft.com/home/office.aspx?assetid=FX010778051033

 

[Brian Tillman]

How, like what? I'm listening. Please read over my post (above, same
thread) from Oct 2004.

The Crabby Office Lady decided to start a new thread rather than posting to
the existing one. There is no reference in this thread to your old one.

 

[Guest]

I answered his question right under the question itself ( Under MSFT Jeff
Stephenson's reply dated 11/1/2004); I didn't start a new thread. But here
here it is again:

Dear Friendly Office Customer,

Unfortunately, I can't answer every single one of your questions, as
delightful and polite, and well written ( 3 "stupids," 2 "sucks," 1 "blows,"
and 1 "useless") as they are. But I answered a few and now must get on with
my day. Do please note that I found the answers to every single one of your
questions on the Office Online Web site (http://office.microsoft.com). As
well, want to make a feature request? Please do so:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/com...ffice&pt=3a4e9862-cdce-4bdc-8664-91038e3eb1e9



1. To get rid of the "Favorite Folders" box, on the View menu, uncheck
"Navigation Pane" or click Alt+F1.

2. You can't scroll but you can drag the window to the rigth (and then back
to the left if you want).

3. You can compost you replies and fowards in anything you want - but if you
have selected to reply to the person in the format it was sent, it will do
that. This is often the case with Internet mail senders. Check your settings
for that here: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab > Internet Format. you may
want to check and see that you have HTML set as your default composing
format: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab, and check all your options there.

4. hide the message header in the Reading pane: On the View menu, point to
Arrange By, and then click Custom. Click Other Settings. Under Reading Pane,
select the Hide header information check box.
Read more about changing how the Reading Pane looks and works here:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP052426951033.aspx

5. Don't like the deafult colors - change them. Sheesh.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP010439961033.aspx

Cheers, and remember: You can catch more flies with sugar than with vinegar...

 

[Guest]

OK, so I tried out your suggestions. I may not have used all of the correct
terminology when trying to explain my problems, but some of your solutions
don't address my issues.

First of all, you mention hiding the "Favorite Folders" box. I did figure
out how to do that, but was referring instead to the box in the bottom left
corner which contains several buttons such as Mail, Calendar, etc. While I
can "hide" all of the buttons and reduce the size of the box, it never goes
away.

Second, yes you can scroll horizontally within the "Folder List", but once
you select the 'Mail' button, you can no longer do this. That's what I was
referring to. The horizontal scroll bar vanishes.

I seem to have addressed the HTML issue already, but thanks for your
suggestion (too bad it was 7 months after my original post).

With regard to the message header in the reading pane, I want to see it!
It's just too big! I mean who needs to read the header in 16pt font, or
whatever it is? I ended up turning it off a long time ago because it took up
too much space. Please let me know if there's a way to make the font in the
header smaller, or address this issue on the next release.

And thanks, but I already know how to change the color scheme for Windows
using the control panel. I'm talking about colors of other bars, etc within
Outlook itself, not just the window border, font, scroll bars, and other
standard stuff. And, I don't want to change the appearance of the windows
that all of my other software opens into. I know how to change the colors
for the calendar, but this seems like the only option (other than font in
your e-mail messages). One of the things that I wanted to change were the
bars at the top of the frames, such as "Folder List" and "Inbox", etc.

-Dustin

 

[Brian Tillman]

I answered his question right under the question itself ( Under MSFT
Jeff Stephenson's reply dated 11/1/2004); I didn't start a new
thread.

According to a newsreader, you did, since you used the CDO (web) interface,
apparently. That interface doesn't pay much attention to threads, it would
seem. Jeff's message is miles away.

 

[Guest]

Dear Crabby Office Lady --

First, thanks for directing us to the Office Assistance pages. Even though
I try to find answers before posting here, that was a section of the MS site
I missed.

I think more than anything, my problem with Microsoft products is that they
are not completely customizable with regard to the UI and how we interact
with your products. For example, I cannot remove the Favorites Folder
without closing the Navigation pane
(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HP010903151033.aspx). I don't
use the Favorites and don't really find it useful. But I'm stuck with it.

So, while I can't remove the Favorites, I can customize buttons and
toolbars. I can rename button, change the picture on a button, create a
custom toolbar, group buttons to accomodate how I work, rename buttons, etc.
The list goes on. Yet, while you offer me all this great functionality, you
force the Favorites Folders on me. Why? Why can't I remove just that part
of the Navigation Pane?

I'm only using the Favorites Folder as an example. My point is that I don't
think Microsoft should force certain aspects of the GUI on us. Let us decide
what works best for our particular work methods.

Thanks, and I hope this suggestion helps you develop future releases.

John

 

[Guest]

Dustin and John, I hope you are able to be part of the beta program for the next version of Office. We'd much rather have people involved who are passionate about the products we work on (whichever way that passion runs).

Since other MS folks have chimed in on the thread with some workarounds, I'll note two things. First, making things customizable is always a struggle since we find that the vast majority of users don't customize anything when we do make it customizable. Not saying that it isn't a good thing to do, but given all the other things that need doing, it's hard to justify when such a small percentage of people use it.

Second, I am on the team that is responsible for this interface. Brian mentioned a problem with the threading: are there any details? I see the post by Jeff: do some of you not see it?

Thanks,

-Steve Anderson
Program Manager, Office

This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights.

 

[Guest]

"> 3. You can compost you replies and fowards in anything you want - but if
you

have selected to reply to the person in the format it was sent, it will do
that. This is often the case with Internet mail senders. Check your settings
for that here: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab > Internet Format. you may
want to check and see that you have HTML set as your default composing
format: Tools > Options > Mail Format tab, and check all your options there.

With all due respect, I don't believe this answers the question at hand. We
have a similar issue. We would like replies and forwards to be formatted
automatically in HTML regarless of which format they were sent....without
having to go into the message...here's why.... Many within our firm use a
small logo in their signature. So...when they reply to someone who has
emailed them in plain or rich text, the image is not there...so...we'd like
to be able to force HTML...

 

[Brian Tillman]

With all due respect, I don't believe this answers the question at
hand. We have a similar issue. We would like replies and forwards
to be formatted automatically in HTML regarless of which format they
were sent....

And, as the Rolling Stones sing, "You can't always get what you want."
Outlook will always reply using the format of the original message. If
someone has sent you a message in Plain Text, that's a fairly good sign they
want only Plain Text in response and you'd be rude to ignore that.
Moreover, many such senders (and were I one, it would be true) will either
strip out any HTML you'd have included, or simply reject the message
outright. It's rare that HTML adds information to a message that can't be
conveyed in text, unless the purpose of the message is visual. A logo
doesn't fall into that category at all.

 

[Guest]

And, as the Rolling Stones sing, "You can't always get what you want."
Outlook will always reply using the format of the original message. If
someone has sent you a message in Plain Text, that's a fairly good sign they
want only Plain Text in response and you'd be rude to ignore that.
Moreover, many such senders (and were I one, it would be true) will either
strip out any HTML you'd have included, or simply reject the message
outright. It's rare that HTML adds information to a message that can't be
conveyed in text, unless the purpose of the message is visual. A logo
doesn't fall into that category at all.

Brian,

I'm not going to beat a dead horse here, but you've actually hit the nail on
the head...if someone wants plain text in return, they have the option to
strip out html. Why can't my users have the option to send html? And this
issue does not only apply to replies...it applies to forwards as well. we're
not trying to be rude, we are simply trying to add consistancy and a common
look to how our users see their mail as it leaves the building.

Lastly, I don't understand your perception that a logo is not visual.
Should my users instead, include in their signature a message in place of the
logo saying "we've spent thousands of dollars with a graphic artist on a
really cool logo and would like include it, but microsoft says we can't
because either you've sent this message in plain text or the original sender
sent it in plain text"

Sean

 

[Brian Tillman]

I'm not going to beat a dead horse here, but you've actually hit the nail
on
the head...if someone wants plain text in return, they have the option to
strip out html. Why can't my users have the option to send html?

They do. They can change the format of their outgoing messages with
Format>HTML and then spend the time to make it look like they want, but then
the onus is on the people who which to usurp the conversation format, where
it belongs.

Lastly, I don't understand your perception that a logo is not visual.

Of course a logo is visual. It's an image. My point is it doesn't convey
any more information than the name of your company spelled out in text
would. In fact, it usually conveys much less information than that. The
whole purpose of a logo is glitz and glitter. There are times when that's
appropriate. I don't consider the normal business exchange one of them. Of
course, that's just my opinion.

Should my users instead, include in their signature a message in
place of the logo saying "we've spent thousands of dollars with a
graphic artist on a really cool logo and would like include it, but
microsoft says we can't because either you've sent this message in
plain text or the original sender sent it in plain text"

And herein lines my point. You seem to be trying to convey how "cool" and
rich you are with that logo. Who cares? You'd have been better off
spending those thousands on improving your product or processes.

 

[Guest]

They do. They can change the format of their outgoing messages with
Format>HTML and then spend the time to make it look like they want, but then
the onus is on the people who which to usurp the conversation format, where
it belongs.

You've obviously not read my initial post carefully. The point is to make
it AUTOMATIC...and make it a setting within Mail Format Options that we can
turn on or off.

Of course a logo is visual. It's an image. My point is it doesn't convey
any more information than the name of your company spelled out in text
would. In fact, it usually conveys much less information than that. The
whole purpose of a logo is glitz and glitter. There are times when that's
appropriate. I don't consider the normal business exchange one of them. Of
course, that's just my opinion.

And you're entitled toyour opinion. But, a logo creates name and brand
recognition and many companies rely solely on their logo for that
recognition.

And herein lines my point. You seem to be trying to convey how "cool" and
rich you are with that logo. Who cares? You'd have been better off
spending those thousands on improving your product or processes.

Brian, you have no idea how "cool" I really am... and what's wrong with
trying to convey that? Companies are built on "cool"

but again, you've missed my entire point here and that is for Microsoft to
build a better product and listen to those of us who use it or support it
daily for input...
and as for how we spend our money, you have no idea what we do to make such
a comment so please don't try to offer investment advice...