By Chris Alliegro [bio]
Posted: Jul. 24, 2006

The following is an illustration accompanying an article published by Directions on Microsoft, an independent research firm focused exclusively on Microsoft strategy & technology. More samples of our content, as well as a list of upcoming articles and reports are also available.

Source: Microsoft

The next-generation Dynamics user interface (UI) will resemble the Outlook 2007 client. Among other features, a navigation "ribbon," similar to the Office 2007 ribbon, will provide users with context-sensitive sets of commands, which will make it easier to find relevant commands and menu options. All Dynamics Wave Two releases will adopt the same client style by making use of a common set of UI controls. The new UI will debut with the release of NAV 5.0 in the second half of 2007.

In this screen shot, a user has selected to view a list of vendors, shown in the table in the middle pane. The ribbon presents a list of menu options that are relevant to the list—for example, the user is given the option of creating a new vendor or viewing statistics relevant to the selected vendor.