Jensen Harris: An Office User Interface Blog
You Windows 3.1 Lovers!
Earlier this week, I somewhat humorously referred to people who close windows on the left side as...
Author: jensenh Date: 06/08/2006
Are We There Yet?
People have speculated rampantly about how closely Office 2007 Beta 2 will reflect the final...
Author: jensenh Date: 06/06/2006
The World's Longest Escalator!
It's been a long time since I wrote off-topic, but I have 30 minutes to kill in Copenhagen airport,...
Author: jensenh Date: 06/02/2006
Ribbon Extensibility: A VBA Sample
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj DhanjalSavraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 06/01/2006
Welcome to the New User Interface
One of the questions people ask about the new user interface is "how much training is required to...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/31/2006
Where Did That Feature Go?
No matter how good of a job we did organizing features in the new UI, there's always the chance that...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/30/2006
Tell Us What You Think About Office 2007 Beta 2
We're two days into the public beta 2 of Office 2007, and so far 500,000 people have downloaded the...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/26/2006
RibbonX Resources
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj DhanjalSavraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/25/2006
Having Activation Problems?
Many people have reported here on the blog or through e-mail that they are having problems...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/24/2006
Some of the Best Beta 2 Resources
So you started downloading Office 2007 Beta 2 yesterday but it hasn’t finished yet. Or you had an...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/24/2006
Get Your Office 2007 Beta 2 Today!
Today’s the big day--I'm so pleased to announce that as of right now, you can download Office 2007...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/23/2006
Catching the Plane
One of the most challenging aspects of developing the new UI has been making sure that everything...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/19/2006
The Printer is Being Electrocuted!
When you receive Office 2007 Beta 2, you might look up at the Quick Access Toolbar and wonder why...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/17/2006
Double Feature
Today I wanted to mention two cool Office 2007 features that you might not have heard much about....
Author: jensenh Date: 05/16/2006
Click and Type in Word
One of the indispensable but esoteric features of the Word user interface is called "Click and...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/15/2006
Icon Explosion
This question was posed to me in a comment earlier this week: how many icons does Office contain?...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/12/2006
Choosing the Contextual Colors
Tonight we spent a few hours finalizing the contextual tab colors for Office 2007. As you may have...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/10/2006
The Deluge
Wow! So I take a few days off and open up the suggestion box and boy was I surprised to find over...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/09/2006
The Suggestion Box
This week I'm out of town on a bicostal business trip (currently overlooking Union Square in San...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/03/2006
About About
It was asked last week: "With the Help menu not present in Office 2007, where do I get to the...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/02/2006
Through the Looking Glass
A couple of months ago, I posted screenshots of the visual appearance of the Office 2007 Beta 1...
Author: jensenh Date: 05/01/2006
Need Some Help with That?
One of the special pieces of the Office 2007 user interface is the entry point to the help system....
Author: jensenh Date: 04/28/2006
RibbonX Control Type Tour, Part 3
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/27/2006
The Secret of the Mysterious Buttons
At the bottom of Word's vertical scroll bar sit three esoteric buttons: one with a picture of two up...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/26/2006
Drawn Together
Creating a drawing in Office is different is a few key ways from other features we expose on the...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/25/2006
Breathing New Life Into Old Features
One of the most startling and consistent pieces of feedback we've received from the early...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/24/2006
Don't Forget To Check Your Filters
Yesterday, a few of us spent the day until almost 10pm locked in a conference room meticulously...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/21/2006
Finding a New Purpose
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/20/2006
Office 2007 UI Greets Canada
Last Thursday, I had the opportunity to speak at the April Vancouver User Experience (VanUE)...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/19/2006
The Wall of Ribbons
There are many ways we collect feedback about the new UI. I've detailed some of the ongoing...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/18/2006
The Size Of Things
One of the most discussed aspects of the new Office 2007 UI has been: "Does it take up too much...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/17/2006
A Numbers Game
On Wednesday, I mentioned that as part of the keyboard work we've done for Beta 2, controls on the...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/14/2006
RibbonX Control Type Tour, Part 2
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/13/2006
Verklärte Macht: Keyboard Revisited
I mentioned in mid-March that we had been putting a lot of thought and effort into improving the...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/12/2006
Grading On the Curve (Why the UI, Part 8)
This is the eighth part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/11/2006
Speaking This Thursday in Vancouver
Tomorrow I'll be reposting the last of Why the UI: Special Edition and on Wednesday I'll be back...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/10/2006
No Distaste for Paste (Why the UI, Part 7)
This is the seventh part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/07/2006
RibbonX Control Type Tour, Part 1
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/06/2006
Inside Deep Thought (Why the UI, Part 6)
This is the sixth part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/05/2006
Tipping the Scale (Why the UI, Part 5)
This is the fifth part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/04/2006
New Rectangles to the Rescue? (Why the UI, Part 4)
This is the fourth part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 04/03/2006
Combating the Perception of Bloat (Why the UI, Part 3)
This is the third part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/31/2006
Hollywood Meets Office Add-ins
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/30/2006
Ye Olde Museum Of Office Past (Why the UI, Part 2)
This is the second part in my eight-part series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/29/2006
The Why of the New UI (Part 1)
This is the first in a series of entries in which I outline some of the reasons we decided to pursue...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/28/2006
I'm Like Dave Barry Except Not Funny or Famous
It has been said that nothing is as boring as blogging about blogging. Which makes this article...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/28/2006
Video Killed the Screenshot Star
This morning, new information was published on the Office 2007 Preview web site, including a new...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/27/2006
March Madness
Today's Guest Writer: Brad Weed Brad Weed is the Product Design Manager of the Office Design Group....
Author: jensenh Date: 03/24/2006
Good Service for Add-ins
Today's Guest Writer: Savraj Dhanjal Savraj is a Program Manager on the Office User Experience team...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/23/2006
There's No Place Like Home
A long-open issue in the designs of the Ribbon content for the Office 2007 programs has been what to...
Author: jensenh Date: 03/22/2006