Microsoft Lets Users Bypass Office Ribbon
For users still unhappy using the Ribbon interface in the Office productivity suite, Microsoft has a new option: search.
On Monday, the company released an Office add-on called Search Commands that lets users type the function they are looking to do. After months of testing it internally, Microsoft is ready to give the public a chance to try it out. But the new tool won’t be found on Microsoft’s main Web site.
It will be available via a new effort, dubbed Office Labs. Spearheaded by Microsoft veteran Chris Pratley, Office Labs is Microsoft’s attempt to test out productivity ideas that may — or may not — be ready for prime time.
Office Labs is not the first time Microsoft has tried to create a sandbox for new ideas. It already has its “Live Labs,” which has served as an incubator for the online services business.
Office Labs is working on about 10 or so ideas, Pratley said, but the remainder are either in the planning stages or only being tested internally.
