The Ribbon – the large tabbed toolbar that runs across the top of every Word document – is a lot less cluttered in Word 2016. Several tools have been removed from the main Home tab and relocated within a series of new tabs that are more tightly organised than in Word 2011. That helps to make Word 2016 look and feel a lot more streamlined, although it might take a little while to figure out where everything is now.
These new tabs are designed to focus on performing specific tasks. A key feature here is the new Insert tab, which as the name suggests, pulls together all the tools that you need for inserting graphics and other types of content into your documents. You can create tables and charts from within this tab, or import photos, audio or video files that are stored on your Mac. The Equation Editor is in here as well, along with the various clip-art tools, and special text tools such as ‘drop caps’.
It’s worth taking a little while to familiarise yourself with the Insert tab, as this is also found in the new versions of Excel and PowerPoint. In fact, the redesigned ribbon also matches that of the Windows and mobile versions of Microsoft Office, providing a common interface across different devices and platforms.