Google is rolling out an updated menu bar for Slides (the presentation creator) and Drawings (the vector drawing/diagram editor) in Google Drive. The new layout has shortened menus for easier navigation, and some items have been moved around. Notably, most menu items now have a matching icon — an upgrade to the handful of icons seen in the menu bar today.
The update design brings back memories of Microsoft Office 2003 and earlier versions, which also had many icons throughout the main menus. Microsoft replaced the menu bar with the “ribbon” in later versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps, but the menu bar still lives on in alternatives like Google Docs and LibreOffice.
Menu icons are still an excellent way to quickly locate an option, so hopefully the icons appear on Docs and Sheets soon, too. The new menu updates are rolling out now, and may take up to 15 days to appear for everyone.
Source: Google Workspace Updates
