How to Turn Add-in Toolbar off by Default

There are numerous programs that can be added to Word, as add-ins, that enhance the way you can use Word. Many of these add-ins add their own toolbars to the Word interface. Normally, the toolbars are visible by default, although you can turn them off by using View | Toolbars. For some add-ins, you may want the toolbar off by default, choosing to use View | Toolbars to turn the toolbar on when you need it.

To change the default behavior of add-in toolbars, you really only have three choices. The first choice, and most obvious, is to change the coding in the add-in so that the toolbar doesn't show every time you start Word. Unless you have access to the source code for the add-in, this choice--while obvious--is not really practical.

The second choice, if you really want the template all of the time but just don't want to see the toolbar, is to record a macro named AutoExec that turns off the toolbar. Any macro named Autoexec (stored in your Normal.dot template) will execute every time you start Word.

The third choice is to change how the template is loaded by Word. (This choice assumes that the add-in is installed through a template, and not some other method.) Outside of Word, take a look at the Startup folders used by the program. (The Startup folder is found in Tools | Options | File Locations.) If you see, in the folder, the template that is used by the add-in, simply move the template to a different folder. A good place to move it is to the User Templates folder (also in Tools | Options | File Locations). Once moved, the add-in won't load when starting Word, but the add-in will be available as a Global Template and Add-In when choosing Tools | Templates and Add-Ins. (See Figure 1.) A simple checkbox change activates the add-in, and another checkbox change turns it off.

Figure 1. The Templates and Add-ins dialog box.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (283) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.