Word 2011’s New Find/Replace Feature

Pierre Igot:

The applications that use a search-field-based approach, with or without a sidebar, are applications that are for reading/browsing purposes mainly, and not for writing: Preview, Safari, iTunes, Mail’s main Viewer window, etc. So why did Microsoft choose to copy that UI instead of sticking with the dialog-box-based approach that appears to be the preferable option for writing tools?

The generous answer would be to say that Microsoft is trying to innovate and bring to writing tools the simplicity/intuitiveness of the search UI used for reading/browsing tools.

The less generous answer would be to say that Microsoft simply didn’t really think the whole thing through.

★ Wednesday, 22 December 2010