Hiding the Reviewing Toolbar

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 16, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Steve Richards complained that whenever he creates a new document, Word opens the Reviewing toolbar. He doesn't want it to open automatically, but wants it hidden.

There could be several answers to this problem. If you are using Word 2000, the problem could be related to a Reviewing toolbar bug in that version of the program. You can read about that problem at the following WordTips page:

http://wordtips.vitalnews.com/Pages/T1261_Persistent_Reviewing_Toolbar_Display.html

If this is the problem, then you should be able to fix it by loading the Normal.dot template directly, hiding the Reviewing toolbar, and then saving the template.

If the problem still remains, or if you are using a version of Word other than Word 2000, then a solution is to create an AutoOpen macro that hides the toolbar. Just add the following macro to your Normal.dot template:

Public Sub AutoOpen()
    Application.CommandBars("Reviewing").Enabled=False
End Sub

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (140) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Fill Color Doesn't Display

If you apply a fill color to a range of cells and notice that the color doesn't show up on the screen, it could be ...

Discover More

Two-Line Headings in a TOC

If you use the TC field to mark what goes in a TOC, you may wonder why if you mark two lines together with the field they ...

Discover More

Full Path to Workbook

Need to get the full path of your current workbook into the Clipboard? Excel doesn't make it quite as easy as it used to ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Renaming a Toolbar

Word allows you to create custom toolbars that can speed how you work with various tools and macros. When you first ...

Discover More

Using Large Toolbar Buttons

Having trouble seeing the icons used on the various Word toolbars? You can make the tools larger (and easier to see) by ...

Discover More

Displaying the Outlining Toolbar by Default

The Outlining toolbar contains tools that are helpful to use, even if you aren't working on your document's outline. This ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 0 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.