toolbar ribbon won't come up

I have Word 2011 for mac. I can't get the toolbar ribbon to appear. The arrow on the right is pointed down, when I click it nothing happens. How do I get make the toolbar appear again?

Have you tried clicking one of the "tabs"? If that doesn't work, click the gear icon next to it > Ribbon Preferences... > make sure "Turn on the ribbon" is checked.

Same problem

...have Word 2011 for Mac... can't get ribbon to appear... tried all the stuff in the Word Help files. When I click a tab, nothing happens. When I click the down arrow to the right of the tabs, I see what appears to be the ribbon trying to open... a white "gap" appears and immediately disappears.

Please HELP! I have a HUGE Help file project to write over the next few weeks, and I REALLY need this to be working on my Mac!

I am experiencing the same thing. I hope we get a solution soon. Take care.

Found a solution --

Hopefully this will work for you all, too.

There is an update on the Microsoft website at:

Microsoft Office for Mac Downloads and Updates | Office For Mac

I downloaded and ran the update and... voila! ... my ribbons appeared!!! Haven't tried using them yet... hear there are some occasional problems with ribbons being visible for several tabs but not being functional. Supposedly, closing and reopening the program solves this problem.

Fingers crossed that the update works for you!


Carol