Microsoft hopes the new features will entice users who have found it unwieldy to wade through the dozens of tool menus and other features packed into Office, the software suite that includes Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel.
The stakes are high because Office is a cash cow for Microsoft, even as it ventures further into areas such as Internet search and video games.
For Microsoft's fiscal year ending June 30, the unit that includes Office had an operating income of nearly $8 billion on revenue of $11 billion. The company's overall revenue was $40 billion.
Gates used this year's forum at a software conference to preview Office 12 and the next generation of Microsoft's operating system, dubbed Windows Vista. Both are due out sometime next year.
During his presentation on Tuesday, the multibillionaire poked fun at his geeky image, drawing laughs from the crowd for his role in a video skit, featuring actor Jon Heder reprising his uber-dweeb character from 'Napoleon Dynamite.'
The previews of Windows and Office focused on their use of graphics to give consumers more ways to manage information on the computer screen - a growing issue as software applications become more complex. The first version of Word had 100 commands. The 2003 version has more than 1,500 commands and 35 tool bars.
"We need to make it easier for people to visualise information that comes from different directions," he said.
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