Foxit Read 7.3.0.118 Classic toolbar missing

[Eric Draven]

Sorry to say that classic toolbar is no longer available in latest version. Maintaining two toolbar modes always require more human resources and workload. The classic mode may be phased out in the future considering more and more people get used to the Ribbon mode. May I know what the chief obstacle is for you to swtich to the Ribbon mode? Thank you.

Hi Richell,

The chief obstacle in my specific case is personal preference. Regardless of the fact that you can hide the ribbon (which also degrades its usefulness from a UI/UX perspective), the classic skin is still more space efficient, and flows more naturally from a workflow perspective. I use no other applications that have a ribbon interface, and 7.3 wants to force me to break that. Forgive my lack of technical expertise in this specific area but if it takes too many resources to maintain the classic skin, is there a sensible way that you can just stop updating the classic skin but leave it there as an option for users who do not use the ribbon at all?

[androlite83]

Please return the classic toolbar option. I never use the ribbon because it's so inefficient. I will stay in 7.2.8.1124 until the toolbar returns. Sad that foxit is not listening to user feedbacks.

[thomas.dahl]

Such a shame. The ability to use the comact and efficient classic tool bar is what made foxit such a powerful product. The ribbon is just a bad piece of design. I have to spend hours trying to find things. The logic and design logic behind it defies my imagination.

[aphidity]

I joined this forum today just to add my voice to the other comments lamenting the decision to deprecate the classic toolbar in Foxit Reader.

I've been using Foxit Reader in Windows since I don't know when (long time), and it's one of the reasons I haven't switched full-time to Linux yet on my primary home computer, which still runs Win7. Foxit is a wonderful alternative to Adobe Reader in Windows, and I wish they hadn't abandoned their Linux efforts. But I realize that perceived business constraints/requirements may mandate choices that I, a user of their free software, won't appreciate. And I've never needed the power of Foxit Phantom, so I've remained a free user. As have many, many people for whom I've installed Foxit Reader.

Sorry to say that classic toolbar is no longer available in latest version. Maintaining two toolbar modes always require more human resources and workload. The classic mode may be phased out in the future considering more and more people get used to the Ribbon mode. May I know what the chief obstacle is for you to swtich to the Ribbon mode? Thank you.

For Richell (and anyone else at Foxit), my chief obstacle to switching to the ribbon mode tool bar is (as several others have noted) primarily that I dislike it. But it's more than mere dislike or reluctance to change--as others have pointed out, ribbon interfaces take up considerably more room, which is especially noticeable on a laptop. Further, my workflow has developed without the ribbon, so learning a new interface would slow me down. Which isn't to say I never learn anything new--I do so all the time. And I constantly switch between different operating systems and UI, so it's not like I can't keep track of how to do the same things differently when necessary. But why make it harder on your users? Is it really that difficult for you to maintain the classic toolbar alongside the ribbon? Please heed our comments here and reconsider your decision to eliminate support for the classic toolbar

[rabadi]

Like a few fellow Foxit Reader users above me, I also just signed up to this forum simply to add in my disappointment with the removal of the classic toolbar in the software. I am primarily a Linux user, though, so mostly I use Foxit Reader 1.01.0925 for Linux. That being said, I do occasionally use Windows now and then, and when it comes to that I use Foxit Reader for Windows as my primary PDF reader. Personally I loathe Ribbon. Every single time I installed Foxit Reader on Windows I always switched back to the classic toolbar. Removing that option means I either have to downgrade to the previous version or simply look for other PDF readers that do not force Ribbon on me.

[olvierf77]

I registered just so that I could post here that I was very highly disappointed about the disappearance of the classic Toolbar.

As all the people who have posted here, I have successfully avoided the strip toolbar which Microsoft is actively trying to cram into our throats. I have downgraded from Office 2007, and I'm actually using LibreOffice 5.

There are many reasons why menus are more ergonomic for some people, usually the more experimented ones. Shortcuts are more natural and easier to learn. Screen Space is not squandered in favor of large icons, quickly useless and using precious screen space, etc.

I appreciated very much for many years Foxit Reader, which has been my default reader, fast and lean.
I appreciated the fact that I was given the choice between the ribbon and the classic skin.
I appreciate the fact that you still offer for download the last release still with a classic toolbar.
I appreciate the fact that you have offered for free an *excellent* PDF reader.

For all these things, I really thank you, and all the very competent team of programmers.

However, even though I completely respect your decision to suppress the classic toolbar, and still wish (without any real hope) that you will reverse your decision, I will stick to version 7.2.8.1124, and start looking, some time in the future, for another PDF reader.

Thanks again for these many years I spent enjoying your product, and Happy New Year.

Olivier, Paris, France.

[Beachcomber]

Well, I am glad I am not the only one who laments the loss of the classic toolbar in the latest version of Foxit reader. I, too, will stay with version 7.2.8.1124 until the return of the classic toolbar. I would gladly pay a reasonable sum for an up to date version of Foxit reader that has the classic toolbar option.

[cherry]

Hey guys,

I've updated your comments to our PM team for processing. Feedback ID#:PHANTOM-5994. Thank you.

[FUser]

I, too, have joined this forum today so that I might add my voice that the ribbon menu idea has never been a good one, and that I do not use ANY software with that menu system in place. I very much appreciate the indication by other users that version 7.2.8.1124 is available, and I will be installing that version as soon as I complete this post, along with whatever options I can find to prevent future updates. In that case, it is unfortunate that we have been abandoned and will not have access to future security updates. I implore the programmers to reevaluate this decision which was launched with no warning, and in my opinion is a poor choice. Below are my reasons for not using software that forces a ribbon interface on users:

• Wasted screen real estate is a huge concern, particularly in a visual-layout document like a pdf.
• The visual "pan" of finding a command is overly complicated by:
  • icons that vary by program and often don't mean much without the words underneath them
  • commands that are stacked inconsistently...one, two, three columns high (instead of left-aligned in a single column where the user can very quickly find the first word)
  • some big icons, some small icons
  • category headings in the same or smaller font than the commands

Thank you for passing on our feedback. I hope we will hear back eventually that the classic interface is available again in a future upgrade.

[btbuz]

Hi all. I have joined the forum so I can add my voice to those already complaining about the loss of the classic menu. I have stayed with Office 2003 because of this issue and use OfficeLibre more often now for the same reason. The ribbon just takes up too much real estate. There is not a thing wrong with the classic menu. There are sufficient primary menu options and no limitation on sub-menu options. I'd prefer to use shortcut keys (I'm originally a WordStar user) to the menu options and use them whenever available. I am going back to an earlier version of Foxit Reader or looking for an alternative until the team faces reality and refuse to be bullied by MS.

[yann-gael.gueheneuc]

Dear all, dear FoxIt team,

I would like to add my voice in favour of the Classic toolbar for all the good reasons mentioned before... Hope that you will and can reconsider! If not, then I too will disable further updates and look for an alternative.

Take care,
Yann

[BB3]

As with many others, I have registered simply to express my dismay at the loss of the classic toolbar. The ribbon is ugly, way too big, inefficient and counterintuitive. I dislike it immensely. If I can't downgrade, I'll find something else. it is particularly disappointing as I have used Foxit for years and have recommended it to many as an alternative to the bloated reader from the industry leader. Foxit's own increasing bloat has been a concern but I could get rid of most of that by using the classic toolbar. Also, why are the ribbon icons huge and the quick access icons so tiny as to be illegible? None of this makes any sense.

[aspade]

I hate the ribbon and was annoyed to see an automatic update remove my option to not use it. Updates should invisibly fix things under the hood, not radically change the interface on your users!

In the mean time I have downgraded to Foxit 7.2 and will continue to use that so long as it is feasible.

[marwebe]

Thanks guys! I've been searching for a while now. I have always installed the latest Foxit updates to keep up to date - and at once restored the useful traditional look (works just better on my screens and in my eyes). Today, I was looking endlessly for the restore classic toolbar function, and I was beginning to question my own sanity until I found this topic. Now I have successfully downgraded to 7.2.8.1124 and for the first time had to deactivate the update function.

[dzah]

Sorry to say that,
but after several years of using and recommending Foxit Reader I will have to look for an alternative.
The so called "Ribbon interface" in inconvenient and counter-intuitive; it takes too much time to find even simplest menu item; it occupies too much space; and - most important - there is no way of seeing the menu structure as a whole. There is no structure at all! Just piles of icons.

All together, it seems that Microsoft's so called "UI specialists" just wanted to introduce whatever change for the change's sake to justify their salaries.
It's very sad that other companies start adopting their ways, too.

Dear Foxit team members, please pay attention to my post.
I know from many sources that many users - actually, almost everyone I have asked! - share my opinion.
Why make changes to something that requires no improvement and bring it to being almost unusable?