Announced at the beginning of the year, the new interface based on Windows 11 is finally beginning to reach all Office users.
Microsoft Office change appearance to equalize with the aesthetic novelties of Windows 11. It is just that, an aesthetic change that does not add new functionalities, but some changes of use.
It is a tradition at Microsoft: when it changes operating systems, it adapts its software to the new design, to homogenize the aesthetics of its entire catalog.
The new Windows 11-based Office interface It was announced at the beginning of the year, and although some users were able to test it in the summer, it was today when has started to reach all users of the different versions of Office 365 and the maligned Office 2021.
This aesthetic change can be activated in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook, but it is not yet available in Access, Project, Publisher, or Visio.
It is important to realize that although the update includes the cosmetic changes released in Windows 11, also reaches Office users using Windows 10.
The changes are abundant, but most of them are subtle.
Now windows have rounded edges, they lose the blue band in favor of the default theme in Windows or Office, change the aesthetics of some icons, and something else.
One of the most obvious changes is that the colors automatically adapt to the Windows theme, including Dark Mode, as we can see in the previous screenshot.
Another novelty that you have to know is that Quick Access Toolbar is now no longer active by defaultit is hidden in the menu ribbon. If you want to use it, you have to activate it manually.
At least for now users can choose whether or not they want to use it. With today’s update the speaker icon offers the option to activate or deactivate the new interface.
These changes are only cosmetic, and will not be the last, nor the most important. Microsoft is working on a radical restructuring of the Office interfacebut it will still take a year or two to arrive.