Help for Those ‘Lost’ Office 2007 Commands

If you use Office 2007, you’ve undoubtedly encountered “command obscuration.”

If you used Word, Excel or PowerPoint before the 2007 versions, you became familiar with toolbars and menus that led you to the commands you used to create documents, spreadsheets and presentations.

Suddenly, Microsoft decided to replace your old familiar toolbars and menus with some newfangled thing they call a ‘ribbon’. If I were a conspiracy buff, I’d even say Microsoft went to great efforts to intentionally hide the menu commands you used day in and day out for years and years.

Or perhaps it’s just that the folks in Redmond suffer from a lack of sunlight. Maybe they were seeking a diversion from the cloudy days and decided to play with your mind. (Can you tell that I am not a great fan of the ribbon?)

While Microsoft has not exactly repented, they have made partial restitution for their sins. They created a free add-in program for Word, Excel and PowerPoint that they call (drum roll please…) Search Commands.

If you never used earlier versions of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about, do you? You probably think the ribbon is great. Don’t you?

But if you’ve used those programs for years, you may feel like I do. I began using Word when it was still a DOS program – long before Apple forced Microsoft to go graphical by making using a computer easy to use with its Macs (and maybe not so easy with Lisa – anyone remember Lisa?).

I’ve been using Office 2007 ever since it was introduced. I like much of what it does. But I still have not forgiven Microsoft for hiding many of the commands I use daily. (You’re probably catching the drift that I’m not a real fan of the ribbon, aren’t you?)

While editing a new article recently, I wanted to insert a comment into a Word document. [I use comments to identify the source of information.] That command used to be under the ‘Insert’ menu. So, I thought, it makes sense to click on ‘Insert’ on the Office 2007 ribbon. Right? Wrong. The command to insert a comment is missing in action.

I can insert a cover page or a picture, a bookmark, header, footer, quick parts (huh?) and even a symbol. But no opportunity to add a comment.

Now, I’ve inserted comments using Office 2007 before, so I know they didn’t just do away with the command. But the neural pathways in my brain seem to be permanently engraved with the truth that to insert a comment, you should look at the insert toolbar – uh, the insert ribbon.

So, where is that command if it’s not where it should be?

Obviously I’m not the only one who has encountered this problem of misplaced commands. How do I know that?

Let me introduce you to Microsoft Office Labs. This is a group of folks inside Microsoft who take ideas from other folks in Redmond and experiment with their ideas. One of those ideas is an add-in program they named – appropriately enough – Search Commands. It lets you unobscurate the ribbon and avoid having to go on a treasure hunt to find where Microsoft hid commands. (You’re probably catching on by now that I’m not a fan of the ribbon, huh?) It seems there must be other people (maybe even Microsoft employees?) who needed help navigating their way around the Office 2007 ribbon. At least there are enough of us that it was worth someone’s time to create this program.

By, the way, if ‘unobscurate’ is not taken then – in the great tradition of the computer industry that tries to patent everything – I claim it as a knowledge process!

If you use Office 2007, I heartily recommend you download Search Commands right now and install it before you open another Office document.

Here’s Microsoft’s description of what it does.

You know there’s a button for it, but you don’t know or remember where it is. If this ever happens to you, check out Search Commands. You can use this concept test today to quickly find the commands you need in Microsoft Office 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Just search with your own words and click on the command you need. It also includes Guided Help, which acts as a tour guide for the specific tasks you’re looking for.

After a quick and painless installation (at least it was for me), you’ll find a new entry on your command bar.

Click on it and you get lots of help finding those hidden menu items.

Let’s see how it works.

Remember, I wanted to insert a new comment in a Word document but couldn’t remember where Microsoft hid it.

Let’s type ‘comment’ in the search bar. As soon as you start typing, the program begins thinking about where Microsoft hid that command. (Okay, now you’re pretty sure that I’m not a fan of the ribbon. Aren’t you?) By the time you have typed the final letter, Search Commands has identified 20 possible commands that relate somehow or another to comments. It shows the first 9.

If, instead of searching for ‘comment’, you had searched for ‘new comment’, this is what you will see.

If you move my mouse over one of the numbered commands, Search Commands tells you where Microsoft hid that command.

Of course! It’s on the Review ribbon.

I guess some at Microsoft figured that the only time anyone would want to insert a comment would be when they are reviewing a document. Unfortunately for me, I often use it when I’m writing a document. Sigh…

If you click on the numbered command, Search Commands completes the command. No need to go to its hidden location and click it there. Sometimes I find it’s actually faster to use Search Commands than it is to select a ribbon, move my mouse to the specific command, etc.

While I obviously do not like the new ribbon replacing the trusty toolbars and menus, I do like this add-in to help those of us who know where certain commands should be.

While you’re on the Office Labs website, you may want to read Microsoft’s explanation of why they did away with the old commands and replaced them with the ribbon. There’s also an explanation by Search Commands’ lead developer about why they created the program. And check out the Chart Advisor for Excel. It’s worth a look as well.

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