Using the Organizer to Manage Toolbars

You already know that Word allows you to extensively customize toolbars, or even to create your own toolbars. (The procedures to do these tasks have been covered in past issues of WordTips.) You may not know, however, that custom toolbars (the new ones you create) are stored in a document and can be stored with a template.

Developing custom toolbars can be particularly time-consuming. Fortunately, you can use the Organizer to copy toolbars from one document or template to another. You can also use it to delete or rename toolbars, although you may already know how to perform those tasks in other ways. To manage your toolbars, follow these steps:

1. Start the Organizer.
2. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Toolbars tab of the Organizer.

3. Examine the left and right side of the Organizer. Each side can display user-defined toolbars in either a document or a template.
4. Use the pull-down lists on either the left or right to indicate the template or document whose toolbars you want to manage.
5. If you cannot locate the desired template or document using the pull-down lists, click on the Close button on one side to "free up" an area. Then click on the Open button to locate and open the desired template or document.
6. Select the custom toolbar you want to copy, rename, or delete.
7. Click on the Copy button to copy the toolbar to the other document or template. If the target file already has a toolbar with the name of the toolbar being copied, you are asked if you want to replace it.
8. Click on the Rename button to change the name of the selected toolbar. The Organizer prompts you for a new name.
9. Click on the Remove button to delete the toolbar. The Organizer asks you to confirm your action.
10. Repeat steps 6 through 9 for each toolbar you want to affect.
11. Click on Close when done.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1352) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.