Switch the interface layout
Updated
Choose how the screen is arranged: Classic (menu tabs along the top) or Nova (a named list of modules on the left; the menu tree slides out when you press a module). The choice changes the arrangement only. You open the same lists and cards, and your permissions stay the same.
Note
Your administrator can set the layout for you and fix it. Then Interface layout is greyed out and you cannot change it. See Assign an interface layout through an interface template.
How to#
To switch the layout, open Settings. In the Ribbon layout, open the menu under your name → Settings. In Nova, press Settings at the bottom of the left list of modules.
In the General card, find Interface layout. It has two buttons: Classic and Nova. Press Nova. The screen is rebuilt at once, without reloading the page: the ribbon is replaced by the named module list on the left. Press a module to slide out its menu.
Press Classic to go back to the top ribbon. Under the control, the line "Classic is the top ribbon. Nova is the module rail with glass panels." says the same.
With Nova on, a second control appears under it: Surface material, Matte or Glass. Glass is the default: panels are translucent over a soft coloured background. Matte makes them opaque. Glass switches itself off when your system has "reduce transparency" or high contrast on.
The Appearance card below shows colour schemes: Canopy (green, the default), Azure (blue), Ember (grey-orange), Chrome (silver), and Fluent (Microsoft-like blue). They colour both Matte and Glass. Light and dark follow the switch at the top of General.
With Classic on, Appearance shows the usual Theme presets and the colour slots under Palette.
The choice is kept for your user in this browser. Another computer or another browser starts from your interface template (Classic when the template names none) until you choose there too.
Commands on a card, next to it, has a third button, Primary button. In the Nova layout the card uses it until you pick Buttons or One button yourself — see Work with a document in the Nova layout.
Example
- Interface layout Nova
The ribbon disappears. On the left is the list of modules (names, not only icons). Press a module: its menu slides out. The top bar shows Search and commands…. Press Classic: the tabs come back.
Tip
Colours: in the Nova layout they come from the scheme you pick (Canopy, Azure, Ember, Chrome, Fluent), Matte or Glass, and the light/dark switch. A palette you saved under Appearance (Theme presets) applies only in the Classic layout and returns when you switch back.
If the command refuses#
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Interface layout is greyed out and reads "Your administrator has fixed the layout in your interface template." | The layout is fixed for you. The buttons show the layout you have now. Ask your administrator to change the template. |
| You chose Nova on one computer, but another still shows the ribbon | The choice is stored per browser. Open Settings there and press Nova. |
| You still see the ribbon after opening Settings | Your template names Classic, or names nothing. Press Nova, or ask the administrator to set Layout in the template. |
| You changed the template layout and a signed-in user still sees the old one | The layout arrives with the menu. Reload the page. |
| A screen such as the dashboard or a designer looks different from the rest in Nova | Not every screen has the Nova look yet. It works the same. |
See also
Same topic for other readers: Developer