How to make Office (Word) 2010 stick to the present task

[pintree3]

I am more concerned with Word here than Office as a whole. The problem is this, for ex. You're on the Home tab. you highlight a word, you click on the 'Insert' tab to switch to it and then make a selection, say change Word Art. The change is added to your document. You don't like it so you do a 'CTRL-Z' to change style. In so doing, Word goes back to its default tab: Home. Aaaa! I'm still working on something why does it go back, making me have to start over? Is there a way to stop tabs from changing unless I tell it to do so?

[macropod]

Well, if you had a WordArt object selected and you pressed Ctrl-Z, there's nothing left for the context menu to display. According, the program reverts to the default ribbon tab - Home - just the same as it does if you de-select (not delete) the object.

[pintree3]

1st of all thanks for your help. Yes, true there is nothing more for the context menu to display but that wasn't my point--sorry if I wasn't clear. My point is I'm working on something and I'd like to stick to what I'm working on. So I try something. I don't like it and would like to try something else. As it is now, its default, it means I now have to go back and change tab once again so I may try something else. And if I don't like that, as often happens, I must do the same thing all over again and again and again-go back and change tabs. This is true in all cases: for ex. If I go to the File tab, to 'Save As' or to look at the 'Options' for ex. It also reverts back. Regardless of the reason I would like to have complete control of when Word does what. I decide if I want to change tabs or not and not Word. (Who's the boss here me or it? :-) Therefore, is this possible or not?

[macropod]

Well, if there's nothing related to a context tab selected, it would be inappropriate for the program to give you access to those options. If you delete the object, what use are those options to you? You can't apply them to anything unless you create a new object. In reality, this is no different to the graying-out of various options that used to happen with toolbars and still happens with ribbon items at various times.

What you seem to be demanding - and no office program has ever allowed - is unfettered access to any and all options regardless of whether they can be used. What good do you suppose it would be having the ribbon display and give access to the resizing options on the drawing tools tab, for example, when there's nothing they can be applied to? Are you saying office should always leave the last tab visible and selected in such cases? Microsoft would be justly criticized if it allowed this. the whole reason for going to the Ribbon interface was to help users by not even displaying options that are inappropriate in a given context; that was one of the problems of the old toolbars, even though various options might be grayed out, they were still always visible. Users would then regularly complain the apps wouldn't let them use options they could see on the toolbars.

[pintree3]

Hi macropod. Once again you are absolutely right but I question to what degree therefore, I made myself clear and am wondering how I could reword this. OK so I go to File tab and then click on Options and then Print. After which having looked at my printed copy I would now like to save it as something. But as is, after printing I now must go back to the File tab since Word decided I have finished doing what I was doing there, which is not the case.
Or in my original case I select a text style, take a look at how it looks like and then see it is not what I like and would like to try something else. Certainly, people don't make such choices knowing from the start exactly what they would like to see, or want to try/see different results just to compare, right? So in such cases, in my humble opinion, it is not like greying out, for that implies not being able to do 'X' thing with what's in front of you. I want to do 'Y' thing with what's in front of me and I am able to do it since my present tab allows me to do so but why should I only do it once?
I think there is something I am not understanding though and here perhaps is the problem--you are speaking an advanced 'language' I am not familiar with even though it seems to be the same 'language.' IF for example I highlight a word and then go to the Page Layout tab and make a change and then do a Ctrl-Z it still stays on the same page. SO why here but not in other places like the 2 I mentioned? hence my thinking I may not be fully understanding what you are saying (or I am not explaining myself well--making you think I am.)

[macropod]

OK, for the File Print/Save, the ribbon does go back to the Home tab. That's probably a design decision, based on MS's testing of what users are likely to want to do next. Having the Ribbon stay on that tab would be less useful for most users most of the time.

As for your second example, Word stays on the active tab throughout. Indeed, just hovering over any Style will preview the change to the selected content - without the need to actually change anything - so that's probably not a good example of the behaviour you dislike.

Regarding highlighting a word then going to page layout, those two activities are entirely unrelated. In any event, the Page layout tab remains available and active because: (a) there are things you can do there regardless of whether anything is selected (which is not the same as whether its highlighted); and (b) that probably reflects MS's research into what's most useful for most users most of the time (i.e. users are likely to want to do multiple things on that tab).

Of course, if you don't like the way the apps work (or even if you do), I'm sure MS would welcome your feedback.