Ribbon. The main component of the Office user interface and where you’ll find the primary commands for working with the content of your Office files. The ribbon includes tabs that have commands associated with a specific task. For example, objects that you insert in an Office document; like a picture, chart, or shape; are located on the Insert tab. This task-oriented organization also extends to the commands themselves, which are placed in related groups. For example, frequently used commands for formatting text are all located in a group named Font in most applications.

Tip

Some commands on the ribbon have what’s known as a split control, which is a combination of a button and an arrow. An example is the Bullets command, found in Word on the Home tab in the Paragraph group. If you click the button, the default option, or the last option you selected during your editing session, will automatically be applied. When you click the arrow next to the button, a list of options will display, such as a list of available bullets.

Note that for larger split controls, like the Paste button, the arrow will appear below the button instead of to the right. An easy way to determine if you’re using a split control is to point to the button. If only the button or the arrow is highlighted rather than the entire button, then it’s a split control.

Title bar. Appears at the top of the application window and displays the name of the active file and application name. In most standard Windows applications, including the Office applications, the title bar also has the program icon on the far left.

Window controls. Located on the far right of the title bar. Along with the standard Minimize, Restore Down/Maximize, and Close buttons, there are two additional buttons:

The Auto-Hide Ribbon option gives you nearly a full-screen view because it also hides the status bar along with the ribbon. Show Tabs and Show Tabs And Commands toggle the ribbon between a collapsed or expanded state, displaying only the ribbon tabs or displaying both the ribbon tabs and commands.

Quick Access Toolbar. Appears on the left end of the title bar by default. Each application has its own set of frequently used commands that are specific to the application. The most common commands are Save, Undo, and Redo.

Status bar. Located at the bottom of the application window; displays information about the application or current file. In most applications, view controls and the zoom slider are located on the right end of the status bar.

Dialog box launcher. Appears in the lower-right corner of a group when additional options for the related set of commands are available. Clicking the dialog box launcher opens a dialog box or task pane.

Tool tabs. Appear in the ribbon when additional commands are available for a selected object, such as a table, picture, chart, or drawing object.

Gallery. A visual list of choices, such as a collection of formats that offer multiple options. A gallery also refers to a set of related tools.

Live Preview. Enables you to view changes like pasted text or picture formatting prior to making a modification.

Mini toolbar. Appears on the screen in most applications when you have text or an object selected; provides quick access to the most-used formatting commands.

ScreenTips. ScreenTips provide descriptions of commands and are displayed when you point to a ribbon command. If the command has an associated keyboard shortcut, that shortcut will appear in parentheses next to the name of the command. Several ScreenTips also include detailed help or a feature preview. For instance, in Excel, the ScreenTip for the Conditional Formatting command on the Home tab in the Styles group includes a detailed explanation for how to use conditional formatting. It also includes a preview of how data bars and an icon set are displayed for a range of values.

KeyTips. Enable you to navigate the ribbon by using the keyboard. To display KeyTips, press and release the Alt key. The KeyTips are the letters, numbers, or combinations of letters and numbers that appear on the ribbon. When you press only the Alt key, KeyTips for the ribbon tabs and Quick Access Toolbar are displayed. To view KeyTips for a specific ribbon tab, after you press the Alt key, press the corresponding KeyTip on the keyboard. For example, to navigate to the Home tab and view the KeyTips for that tab, press Alt+H. Or to view the KeyTips for the Backstage view, press Alt+F.

Account. This is where you manage a new feature in Office Home and Student 2013 called an Office cloud account and get information about your Office installation.

The User Information area has information about your Office cloud account, like your user name and your photo if you’ve elected to add one. This location is also where you can set a preferred Office background, with designs such as clouds or circles that appear in title bar of your Office applications, or where you can change the Office Theme.

The Product Information area is where you find information about your Office installation such as the Office suite you have installed and the applications that are included. This is also where you can choose how your Office installation is updated and view your update history.

Options. This is where you can change a variety of application preferences and customize certain behaviors that are specific to the application. In some applications, such as Excel and Access, there are also options specific to the active file.

Info. In most applications, the Info page displays information about the active file, such as the name and location of the file, the author, and the date the file was last modified. In all of the applications, you’ll find specialized file management tools that are specific to the file and application. The following list provides an overview of some of the management tools and features you’ll learn about in other chapters and sections of this book.

New. The New page is available in most applications and provides access to templates that enable you to create new files in the application. You can choose to start from scratch and select a blank template, or you can select one that already has content to help you get started on a specific type of task. For example, across the applications you’ll find templates that range from newsletters, budgets, and sales reports, to contact information and asset tracking.

To create a new file in the applications that offer templates, simply double-click the template you want. Depending on the application and template, you may need to provide additional information before a new file is displayed in the application window. For example, in OneNote, you need to provide a location and file name and then save the file before it’s created. This is because OneNote automatically saves certain changes.

Open. The Open page lists the recent files you previously opened and displays a list of available places from which you can open files.

Save. When you save a file for the first time and click Save, the Save As page is displayed. After a file has been saved, clicking Save in the Backstage view will update the file and return you to the application window.

Save As. The options on the Save As page are similar to those on the Open page. The main difference is that there isn’t a recent file list.

To save a file, select the location you want, and if the folder you want isn’t in the recent folders list, click the Browse button. Either action displays the Save As dialog box. After you provide a file name, and if necessary, a different location in the Save As dialog box, click the Save button to save the file.

Print. In all Office applications except OneNote, the Print page provides printing and page layout options along with a preview of your file. In the Printer area, you can choose a different printer and set printer options. In the Settings section, you can specify various print and page settings prior to printing your file.

To print your file, click the Print button at the top of the view.

You must choose to save AutoRecover information, which is turned on on the Save page of the Options dialog box by default.

An AutoRecover save must be made. This save is based on the time interval next to the AutoRecover information option and depends on whether you’ve made changes that need to be saved.

In Excel, click Recover Unsaved Workbooks.

In PowerPoint, click Recover Unsaved Presentations.

In Word, click Recover Unsaved Documents.

To free up space on your screen, you can set the ribbon to auto-hide or you can toggle the ribbon between a collapsed and expanded state. A ribbon set to auto-hide is hidden from view. A collapsed state shows only the tabs, and the expanded state shows both the tabs and the commands.

Set the Quick Access Toolbar to appear above or below the ribbon.

Add additional commands to the Quick Access Toolbar or remove commands you don’t need.

Choose the information you prefer to display in the status bar, if applicable to the application.

For files that include graphics, consider the type of content you want to include, the amount of text, and the complexity of the layout. If it’s a small amount of text and you don’t need to use cross-references, fields, or other advanced text features, then use PowerPoint. In PowerPoint, it’s easier to move your content and visually align objects. Plus, you can add vertical and horizontal guides for precision placement.

For photo albums, think about the end result you want. If you want to display the album electronically on a computer or projection screen, use PowerPoint. It also enables you to add transitions and animations for a professional-looking result. Plus, you can convert your presentation to a video that can be published on websites like YouTube.

For simple lists of data, such as an inventory or making a task, address, grocery, or birthday list, consider using Excel. It has tools for sorting, filtering, and managing your lists.

For forms, determine whether the form contains calculations. Although Word supports calculations, creating formulas in Excel is easier and more reliable. However, if your form needs to contain advanced text features or needs the page flexibility of a word processor, then create your form in Word.

The ribbon and Quick Access Toolbar have commands for working with the content of a file.

The Backstage view has commands for working with the entire file or the application.

You can create new documents, workbooks, presentations, publications, notebooks, and databases on the New page in the Backstage view.

You can open, save, print, share, and export documents in the Backstage view.

You can customize the Office user interface and modify application settings to fit your workflow.

Choosing the right application for specific tasks can help you be more productive and get better results.