Resetting Toolbars to Their Default

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 20, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word is very flexible. You can customize your working environment to your heart's content. You can change menus, the toolbar, viewing and printing options, and many more variables. There may come a day, however, when you want to reset the Word toolbars to their default condition. When you do this, all the toolbar buttons and their order will be set to the same condition they were when you first installed Word. If you want to reset a toolbar, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. You will see the Customize dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box.

  4. In the list of available toolbars, select the one you want to reset.
  5. Click on the Reset button. Word displays the Reset Toolbar dialog box.
  6. Select the location or template for which you want the resetting to occur.
  7. Click on OK to reset the toolbar.
  8. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each toolbar you want to reset.
  9. Click on Close to dismiss the Customize 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 (1127) 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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Removing Cells from a Selected Range

Select a large range of cells and you may later want to remove a few cells from that selection. This is not as easy as ...

Discover More

Changing Orientations within a Single Printout

Excel allows you to print out information in either portrait or landscape orientation, but what if you need both types of ...

Discover More

Summing Absolute Values

You can easily sum a series of values in Excel, but it is not so easy to sum the absolute values of each value in a ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (menu)

Changing Toolbar Location

If you don't like where your toolbars are located, just move them around.

Discover More

Finding a Missing Toolbar

A few methods for finding an errant toolbar in Word.

Discover More

Customizing a Toolbar

Word is quite flexible in how you can configure the user interface. This tip explains how you can customize a toolbar so ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 7 + 1?

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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.