In Office 2007: Where's the file menu?

Throughout its legacy versions of Office, Microsoft has used the familiar "File" menu to facilitate the use of different commands and functions within its applications. To the surprise of many users, one of the most visible changes when making the switch from Microsoft Office 2003 to Office 2007 is the disappearance of this menu and a unique look and functionality. This major change applies to the common programs of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. Instead, Microsoft has replaced the File menu with the new Microsoft Office Button and the Ribbon, which change depending on which application you are using and contain the same basic commands that were formerly available.

To get started, when you click on the Microsoft Office Button in the upper left-hand corner, you will see the familiar options to open, save, and print your file in addition to a few new choices. The "Options" button that was formerly found in the Tools menu has also been moved to this location, making it a little more accessible. It includes preferences regarding spell check and security (no change from Office 2003) in addition to some new options. Some Word 2003 commands are available in Office Word 2007 only from the list of all commands in the Word Options dialog box, which can also be restored through this menu.

For details on these new options and a list of the old location vs. new location of certain commands, please see the knowledgebase article for the specific Office 2007 application of interest to you.

All other major changes between Office 2003 and Office 2007 can be found in Microsoft's Technet database, available here.

Need to open a file with Office 2003 that is saved in one of the new formats? Download Microsoft's Compatibility Pack.