Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 13, 2019)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Word uses quite a few "secondary" menu levels. For instance, if you look at the main menus (File, Edit, View, etc.), you can see that some menu items have a small right-pointing triangle at their right edge. When you hover the mouse over these items, a secondary menu appears.
Word allows you to "tear off" some of these menus so that they float. You can also do this with some pull-down lists on the toolbars. You can tell when this is possible by the presence of a thick bar at the top of the secondary menu or at the top of the pull-down list. For instance, if you select AutoText from the Insert menu, you will see a secondary menu that has one of these thick bars. Likewise, if you click on the down-arrow next to the Font Color tool (on the Formatting toolbar), you will see a thick bar at the top of the resulting menu. Move the mouse over the bar, click and drag it away, and the menu becomes a toolbar.
Actually, this technique is simply a different way to display a toolbar. The menus and toolbars in Word are very closely related. For instance, when you follow the above process to "tear off" the AutoText secondary menu, you can then choose Toolbars from the View menu, and see that the AutoText toolbar is selected—this is the one you just displayed.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1211) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.
Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!
Can't find your menu bar any more? Here are some things you can try to get that important feature back on your screen ...
Discover MoreIt can be disconcerting when a custom menu you've used for years suddenly loses all the options it previously contained. ...
Discover MoreYou can customize Word to your heart's content. One way to customize the program is by adding options to the Word menus. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2024-05-01 13:44:16
Rebecca Larsen
This is great information. I have a floating "font" that I can't get rid of. I am not sure how it got there. {[fig]}
2022-03-05 15:29:44
Michael Bath
is this function still available in Office/Outlook 365?
2021-08-25 12:38:45
Marie Alm
Hello - I just tried your suggestion but the thick bar is not present on either the Auto Text or the Font Color. Is there a different way to get floating menus? In particular, I would like to have the Crop and the Size & Position items near where I'm working on the page (usually at the bottom) instead of up at the top. When I'm editing 400 items in a 120 page document, the extra hand and wrist motion is significant.
I use MS Office Professional Plus 2016.
Thanks.
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments