Office 2007 introduced ribbons, a new feature which gave users easy access to several tasks and segregated them to provide one click access to otherwise hidden features. Office 2010 ^[1] too sports the same ribbons.

However not many people liked the new ribbon feature and wanted to get rid of them. We did cover some tools to do it, which included the classic menu for Office 2007 and 2010 ^[2]. However, a hidden trick in both these versions can help you to minimize or hide the ribbon menu.

Hiding or Minimizing Ribbon Menu in Office 2007

To hide or minimize the ribbon menu in Office 2007, just double click on the active tab or use the shortcut key ^[3]  Ctrl + F1. In addition to that you can also right click the ribbon menu to hide it.

Hiding or Minimizing Ribbons in Office 2010

Office 2010 ^[4] on the other hand provides users with a straightforward way to hide the ribbon menu. In Office 2010 ^[4] applications, click on the up arrow button to hide the ribbon menu.

To display the menu again click on the down arrow button. You can also use the shortcut key Ctrl + F1or the other options which existed in Office 2007 to hide or display the ribbon menu.

[via Office 2010 Blog ^[5]]