Microsoft Office "retro" look and feel

Question

Recently the look and feel of my Microsoft Office 2007 products (on a Windows XP system) has taken on a "retro" look. I'm not sure what caused this to happen but I would like to return it to the standard look and feel. How do I go about changing this? No other applications, including Windows itself, have this issue.

Example Screen Shots

I quite like the retro look, could just be my age though :-) — Joe Taylor, Feb 04 '11 at 15:34
It seems like some files were replaced by copies from older Office versions... Try running Office Menu → Options → Resources → Diagnose. — u1686_grawity, Feb 04 '11 at 15:36
@grawity No luck. Still looks the same. @Moab I forgot to mention it is Windows XP in the question. I've since updated it. — brainimus, Feb 04 '11 at 20:37
... I don't suppose (and this is a very long shot) if you go to resolution and display settings, did you lower the screen bits to either 256 or 16 bit colour? — William Hilsum, Feb 04 '11 at 20:45
@Wil: OP said that effect is not visible elsewhere in Windows. — Sasha Chedygov, Feb 04 '11 at 21:05
@musicfreak, I know - but out of ideas, it is worth checking just incase OP didn't notice. — William Hilsum, Feb 04 '11 at 21:09
This is a VERY difficult problem to Google for (your toolbar is showing in 16 colours instead of 256 colours), but one suggestion was to update your video card drivers. Not sure but it's worth a shot. Also, if you recently updated your video card drivers, it's even possible you will have to roll back to a previous driver. — , Feb 04 '11 at 21:57
Could it be that somehow, the shortcut for Word was altered so that the compatibility mode is set and the program launches in 256 colour mode? — Steven Don, Feb 05 '11 at 01:05

score 13 · Answer 1 · edited Jul 15 '11 at 01:34

13

I had the same problem at work - I'm an IT engineer at a hospital.

A user worked with dual screens: one screen had the normal 32-bit color setting, the other had 8-bit color settings configured. Office had the 'retro look' you describe.

After changing the second screen to 32-bit color, Office looked normal again. For some unknown reason, Office was taking its color settings from the second screen. Just go to Display Options, select the second screen and modify the color settings to 32-bit.

edited Jul 15 '11 at 01:34

Gareth

18,809

answered Jul 14 '11 at 05:09

tom

131

3

There's no way to force office to only run on a single monitor; so office needs to default to the lowest common denominator. – Dan Is Fiddling By Firelight Jun 29 '12 at 17:09

score 4 · Answer 2 · answered Feb 08 '11 at 20:05

I've just managed to replicate this under Windows 7, but the relevant setting is available under Windows XP.

Right-click on the program's shortcut then select the 'Compatibility' tab and under 'Settings' select 'Run in 256 colors' to replicate this.

I'm not sure whether the behaviour is exactly the same as you are seeing, but it seems very similar.

score 2 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 22 '12 at 03:26

2

If it's not the global color setting in Windows, it could be that Word is running in compatibility mode. Right click the shortcut, Compatibility tab and uncheck "Reduced color mode"

answered Nov 22 '12 at 03:26

Pier-Luc Gendreau

627

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Aug 08 '11 at 18:02

0

I've seen this in my workplace when a device driver called "Microsoft SMS Mirror Driver" is enabled. Disabling this device resolves the issue.

answered Aug 08 '11 at 18:02

LawrenceC

73,957

score 0 · Answer 5 · answered Aug 15 '13 at 20:07

0

In my experience, in Windows7 - Appearance - Advanced appearance settings, change 3d objects so they are NOT white, set back to grey, save changes and restart MS Office 2007 and it has solved my issue!

answered Aug 15 '13 at 20:07

Peter

1

mickburkejnr · Answer 6 · 2011-02-04T17:00:17.347

-1

To fix this, and to choose a different theme, you need to click on the Office logo (top left hand corner), then go to Options. In the pop up window, you should see something like a theme or colour. Changing this will fix it.

I can't give you a proper answer as I'm using Office 2010, but I don't think it's too dissimilar. Also check to see if your Office is using the accessibility view for the hard of seeing.

EDIT: Ok try this. Hold the SHIFT + ALT then the Print Screen button.

edited Feb 04 '11 at 17:00

answered Feb 04 '11 at 15:03

mickburkejnr

1,487

This allows you to choose the colour scheme - Black, Blue, Silver. Nowhere does it show a low quality / hi quality feel. – Joe Taylor Feb 04 '11 at 15:31
I know, but as I said I have Office 2010 so I can't exactly give the best answer. Frustratingly my students could change Office to look like what this guy has, but I can't remember how they done it! EDIT: Just asked one of them over facebook, waiting for the reply! – mickburkejnr Feb 04 '11 at 16:12
No go with the SHIFT + ALT + Pring Screen. It definitely changed the contrast but it still looks "retro." – brainimus Feb 04 '11 at 20:39

score -3 · Answer 7 · edited Mar 16 '12 at 13:48

-3

To fix the problem, disable the LANDesktop network adapter:

Control Panel;
Admin Tools;
Computer Management;
Device Management;
Display Adapters;

Disable the LANDesktop display adapter by right clicking it.

edited Mar 16 '12 at 13:48

Diogo

30,480

answered Jul 28 '11 at 11:05

Petter Smart

1

score -3 · Answer 8 · edited Aug 20 '12 at 00:40

-3

Disabling "Air" display should solve your problem. Air display has to do with Apple, it's not needed.

Go to:

Start/Computer/Properties/Device Manager/Display Adapter/AIR PLAY

and change the setting.

edited Aug 20 '12 at 00:40

jonsca

4,062

answered Aug 19 '12 at 19:58

Nolberto Aguilar

1

1

The question was about Microsoft Office 2007. Apple's Air Play is not likely the culprit. – dangowans Sep 17 '12 at 17:07

Microsoft Office "retro" look and feel

8 Answers8