In tandem with today’s release of Windows 11 via the Windows Insider Program, Microsoft has also issued a beta visual refresh of Office to match. So it’s not just Windows on ARM that will benefit from some major Office updates today.
“The visual refresh of the Office desktop apps for Windows 10 and Windows 11 delivers a simple and more coherent experience across the Office apps you depend on, so that you can focus on your work more easily,” Microsoft’s Kori Loomis writes of the update. “In alignment with the release [of Windows 11 in the Insider Program], we are also releasing an Office visual refresh that will shine on the new Windows 11, but will also be available to anyone using Windows 10.”
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The Office visual refresh impacts Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access, Project, Publisher, and Visio, and is described as “a more natural and consistent experience within and between [the] applications.” It uses the Fluent Design principles, whatever that means, and utilizes neutral color palettes, customizable ribbons, and soft corners. Office will also now matches your Windows theme by default, though you can configure that.
The Office visual refresh is now available to any Office Insiders running the Beta channel. It can be turned off if you’re not interested.
dftf
<p>Have to be honest — they look a bit bland to me. Compared to Office365 / 2019, where each app has a mode where it uses its own colour, based on the app’s icon, they lack identity now. It almost feels like they should just appear inside one app with tabs to switch between them (like <em>WPS Office</em>).</p><p><br></p><p>Also, while it’s nice they apply the UI refresh throughout the entire suite, I’m not sure why they bother doing so for <em>Publisher</em>, given it’s not had any major new features since <em>Office 2010</em>, and the last new-features full-stop were in <em>Office 2013</em>… they might as well remove it from the suite and just make it a free download at this point</p>
dftf
<p>Same thing in the original versions of Windows 10: with older Win32 apps, such as Notepad, all open windows would have a white titlebar, and the only difference would be the active-window had the titlebar text in black, and the inactive-windows had grey text. At-a-glance, it was hard to see the active one.</p><p><br></p><p>In recent versions, you can apply your Accent Colour to the active window titlebar, which helps.</p>