Changing Toolbar Buttons with VBA

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 25, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

There are certain toolbar buttons that when you press them, they change to have a different appearance. For instance, if you press on the Bold tool, the tool takes on a different look, as if it is depressed. This is done by Word by using two different button graphics. The first is the "unselected" appearance, and the other is displayed when the button has been clicked.

You can use a similar trick with your custom toolbar buttons. As an example of how this could work, let's say that you have a toolbar that you use a lot. You have named this toolbar "sampler." You want this toolbar to be displayed when you click a button on a different toolbar. First, you need to create the new toolbar that will contain the single button that toggles the "sampler" toolbar. In this example, the new toolbar will be named "switcher." The following VBA macro can be assigned to a button on the "switcher" toolbar:

Sub SwitchTools()
    ' First check if the toolbar is shown or hidden
    If CommandBars("sampler").Visible Then
        ' Hide the toolbar and change the button image to "normal"
        CommandBars("sampler").Visible = False
        CommandBars("switcher").Controls(1).State. = msoButtonUp
    Else
        ' Show the button and change the button image to "selected"
        CommandBars("sampler").Visible = True
        CommandBars("switcher").Controls(1).State = msoButtonDown
    End If
End Sub

This macro toggles the state of the button (using msoButtonUp and msoButtonDown) to make it have the desired appearance.

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 (1122) 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

Counting Words

Do you need to know how many words are in a range of cells? Excel provides no intrinsic way to count the words, but you ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Specific Cell Using a Hyperlink

Excel allows you to define hyperlinks in your worksheets, and these can target specific cells on other worksheets. Here ...

Discover More

Complex Data Input Limitations

Data Validation is a great tool in Excel for making sure that whatever is entered in a cell matches your specific ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Determining Word Frequency

How to construct a word frequency list.

Discover More

Screen Flip Flop with VBA

Word allows users to conveniently work with multiple documents at the same time. When writing macros, you may need to ...

Discover More

Clearing the Undo Stack in a Macro

When writing a macro, you may need a way to clear the undo stack. This can be done with a single command, as described in ...

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 2 + 0?

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.