What's on the Ribbon?

The three parts of the Ribbon are tabs, groups, and commands.
There are three basic components to the Ribbon.

1. Tabs sit across the top of the Ribbon. Each one represents core tasks you do in a given program.
2. Groups are sets of related commands, displayed on tabs. They pull together all the commands you're likely to need for a type of task, and they remain on display and readily available, giving you rich visual aids.
3. Commands are arranged in groups. A command can be a button, a menu, or a box where you enter information.

How do you get started? Begin with the first tab.

For example, the first tab in Word 2007 is the Home tab. The principal task in Word is writing, so the commands on the Home tab are the ones that people use most commonly when they write documents: font formatting commands (in the Font group), paragraph options (in the Paragraph group), and text styles (in the Styles group).

You'll find the same organisation in other 2007 Office system programs, with the first tab including commands for the most key type of work. The primary tab in Excel, PowerPoint, and Access is also the Home tab. In Outlook, when you create a message, it's the Message tab.