Classic Toolbars and Menus in Outlook 2010

No, Outlook 2010 no longer uses Toolbars and Menus. If you are heaving issues with finding your favorite options in the new interface, I’d recommend to first take a look at the guide: Where do I find…?.

Ribbon Customizations

While Outlook 2010 does not ship with a classis interface with Toolbars and Menus, there are Ribbon customization options. For people having difficulties to quickly adapt to the new interface and to support migration projects, I’ve created a customized Ribbon which looks like the Office 2007 interface.

Download: Classic Ribbon tab for Outlook 2010

Adding a Classic interface to Outlook 2010 with Menus and Toolbars.
(click on image for a full view of the Classic tab)

Importing the Classic Ribbon tab

You can add the Classic tab in the following way;

1. Download and extract the above mentioned zip-file.
2. Open the Options dialog in Outlook via; File-> Options
3. Select the "Customize Ribbon" section on the left.
4. Use the Import/Export button at the bottom right to select "Import customizations file".
5. Browse to the folder where you extracted the zip-file.
6. You'll now see 3 files;
   • classic.customUI
     This customizations file will only show the Classic tab and will hide all others.
   • classic-firsttab.custumUI
     This customizations file will add the Classic tab as the first before all the default tabs.
   • classic-lasttab.customUI
     This customizations file will add the Classic tab as the last tab after all the default tabs.
7. Pick one of the files and click on "Open" to return to the Options dialog.
8. Click on OK to close the Options dialog and to return to Outlook.

Note:
Due to Ribbon limitations and feature changes, the Classic Ribbon tab is not an exact replica but a close approximation of the menu and toolbars in Outlook 2007. Also, further customization of the Ribbon via the “Customize Ribbon” section will break the Classic tab.

This tip is an adapted section of the full article: Upgrading to Outlook 2010