The new visual update for Office is available for all users this week, Microsoft announced on Thursday. Initially announced in June with select user testing over the summer, the new design mimics that of the overall user experience of Windows 11. “This Office visual refresh is based on feedback from customers who asked for a more natural and consistent experience within and between your applications, specifically on Windows,” Microsoft wrote in its blog announcing the visual refresh. “With this update, we deliver an intuitive, coherent, and familiar user interface, using the Fluent Design principles, across all your applications.” Most notably, you’ll see changes like matching the Office theme to your Windows theme. Microsoft also said you could experience the visual refresh in your preferred Office theme, including black, white, colorful, or dark grey. In addition, the Quick Access Toolbar in Office is now hidden to make your interface simpler. You can, however, display it again by right-clicking the ribbon or clicking the Ribbon Display Options icon. You can toggle these new visual changes on or off by clicking the Coming Soon icon in the top right-hand corner, just in case you’re not ready to make the full display change yet. Previously, the visual update was only available to a small number of beta users and Office Insiders. Microsoft also noted that there are some known issues to look out for in the visual update. These include problems like the Disable dark mode checkbox not working when ‘Use system setting’ is selected, a lack of the Mica background effect in apps, and no update to the backstage or File menu. However, the company said it is listening to user feedback about the visual release and fixing these known problems.
