Incorporate the ribbon and ditch the toolbars!
Is there any other app that has an incredible amount of commands that would benefit more from a results-driven UI? I think incorporating the ribbon is a no brainer!
andrewconnell
shared this idea
31 comments
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chris
commented
I find it funny that MS in their pursuit of standardizing the Win8 look across their programs failed to standardize the menuing system used.
The three main Microsoft applications I use are IE, VS and Office. All have different ways of presenting menu type selections.
Out of those, the Office menu is the most accessible. VS's is close with the tiny toolbars; and IEs is, well, looks like they just threw a lot of commands into a corner.
If you are going to standardize the color scheme, then it seems like you'd want to standardize the whole enchilada.
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Jens Melgaard
commented
It's funny to see how many hates the ribbons... They are a drop-in replacements for the Menus, not the toolbar and can be easily collapsed to nothing.... So I would vote for the ribbon to replace the horrible tree structure menus VS has...
In the end, I so rarely use menus and I haven't used the toolbars since VS2008... So anything I con hide faster than the toolbars is welcome.
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Sergey Chubukov
commented
I'm strongly against this. I cannot express how much I hate the ribbon interface, nor do I know a single developer who likes it. Its forced introduction in MS Office products was a disgrace.
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Anonymous
commented
Good idea, the keyboard shortcuts in the ribbon really work well. To all the ribbon haters, you can hide most of it by just double clicking the "tab" area.
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Anonymous
commented
I'd love the ribbon interface in VS!
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Gordon Tucker
commented
I would use all my points to downvote this if I was able to. I can't stand using the ribbon and find it ****** to figure out where things are than a simple menu. It would be the worst thing to happen to visual studio imaginable.
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Noel
commented
The ribbon is a great idea. Screen real estate concerns seem overrated to me, as a dev I either use dual monitors or a 24" min screen. So I have lots of space.
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Sławek
commented
Could you provide some ribbon sketch that everybody could try and then express opinion
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Anonymous
commented
@Sam Zaiss (MSFT) please consider and add ribbon , it is far better than toolbars ... i hate toolbars and shortcuts .....
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Kirchenwanger
commented
Please don't integrate a Ribbon interface! Programmers need shortcuts and become distracted by colored UIs ;)
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Paul Haley
commented
Don't add the ribbon! I can never find the option I want in word. Please bring back normal menus in word!
In VS I have a single toolbar that has all the options that I use frequently. It takes only about 2/3 of the screen width so there's space for more if I start using another command a lot. I rarely need to use the menus. If you want a ribbon, just spend 10 minutes configuring what you have now and you'll have a much better solution already.
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Cavan Watson
commented
@ Anonymous.... then develop the click to dismiss skill or insist on more screen estate..,.. lets all dance back to the command line while we at it.
typist support UML Express !!!
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Anonymous
commented
Please DO NOT integrate the ribbon UI. It is one of the most wasteful of screen real-estate UI elements I have ever seen.
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Jan Záruba commented
Please, if you add ribbons to VS keep option to use menus and toolbars! I hate ribbons. I stopped using Office. I don't want to sop using VS.
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Sam Zaiss (MSFT)
commented
Thanks, everyone, for this great discussion!
We are considering the ribbon, but a key part of that consideration is solving some tricky challenges. First, we realize that a noteworthy portion of our customer base wants more keyboard shortcuts and more space for their code. Before we invest in the ribbon, we would want to ensure that the ribbon was designed in such a way to cater to these power users, as well as to devs who are more mouse driven.
Secondly, we will always evaluate the ribbon against other priorities in the release. We won't squeeze it in just to have a ribbon - if and when we move to a ribbon-based interface, we'll make sure to take the time to get it right and respect the preferences of our power users.
Thanks again for this discussion, folks! Please keep the comments coming, it's great to hear thoughts on the ribbon from our customers.
- Sam Zaiss
User Experience Researcher, Visual Studio -
Stéphane Erbrech commented
Aaah! please don't do that! the toolbars already take too much place! what developer needs the huge Ribbon? we are not word users, please
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Richard Sim
commented
Absolutely not - I completely agree with GeekGirl. I want more keyboard control, and less requirement of using the mouse - not the other way around.
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Cavan Watson
commented
I rather like the idea of a vertical ribbon, preferably the left edge... but then I've never liked toolbars. As for Visual Studio being used by 'power users' who use the keyboard, man close the ribbon; it's just a click!!!
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Matthew Rowan
commented
The Ribbon done right would have a customizable quick access toolbar which would include the Debug button and your other frequent ones there. And as with the Office Ribbons you can collapse it to just the tabs, so in effect, you can have more screen real estate all the time while still accessing any functions you want with, at most, two clicks. Much better than continually showing and hiding the relevant toolbars. However, Visual Studio currently lets you put toolbar buttons right up in the menu row, which is where I have my common buttons and can remove any other toolbar.
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Anonymous
commented
I am a big fan of the ribbon in office, I find it to be a great productivity enhancer once you get used to it. Having said that, ribbons have their place and Visual Studio isn't one of them. I want as much screen real estate for the design surface and coding windows as possible, I don't want a quarter of the height of my screen used up by a much-larger-than-necessary debug button!
