Understanding The Ribbon, Galleries & Other Related Elements In Microsoft Excel 2007

The Ribbon

 The Ribbon was designed to help in swiftly finding the commands needed to complete a task. The Ribbon shown below displays various tabs that provide access to many tools, commands and features. 

The Tabs

The Tabs shown below display their own unique tools in the ribbon. Each Tab relates to a definite type of activity, some tabs are only shown when needed, they are called contextual tabs. The active tab is always highlighted (“Home tab” is the active tab below)

Contextual Tab

This appears only when needed. The format contextual tab which is shown below appears when a shape previously created is selected.

Ribbon Group

The ribbon group is a logical set of commands needed to perform a certain function all collected together under tabs. (The “number” group in the Home Tab is shown below)

Drop-Down Menus

These menus are presented by some tools in the ribbon to refine your selection. An example is shown below.

MiniBar

This is a floating set of formatting tools that appear when needed to help you perform a task swiftly without the use of the tools in the ribbon. An example is shown below.

Galleries

These are previews which some tools offer. The Themes Gallery is shown below.