Customizing a Toolbar

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated May 25, 2013)

Word allows you quite a bit of latitude in how you can customize the program to reflect how you want to do your work. One of the elements of the program you can change is the toolbars. You can add, remove, or edit buttons that appear on any toolbar.

To customize a toolbar, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays 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.

  3. In the list of toolbars, make sure the toolbars you want to edit are selected.
  4. Click on the Commands tab. (See Figure 2.)

    5. Figure 2. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

  5. In the list of Categories, select the major category that contains the command you want to add to the toolbar. For instance, if you want to add one of your macros to the toolbar, you would choose Macros in the list of Categories.
  6. In the list of Commands, select the command you want to add to the toolbar.
  7. Use the mouse to drag the command from the Commands list to its new location on the toolbar. When you release the mouse button, the icon or wording for the command appears.
  8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 to add new toolbar commands.
  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 (1675) 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

Embedding Linked Documents

Word allows you to link one document to another document rather easily. If you later want to grab the contents of a ...

Discover More

Running Macros in the Background

Want to run a macro in Excel, but not sure if doing so will tie up your computer? Here's how macro processing really happens.

Discover More

Getting Pictures Out of Word

If you receive a Word document from someone, you may want to get any graphics it contains into their own files. You can ...

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)

Getting Rid of Custom Toolbars

If you start Word and get a bunch of unwanted toolbars displayed on the screen, you can be scratching your head (or ...

Discover More

Finding a Missing Toolbar

A few methods for finding an errant toolbar in Word.

Discover More

Changes to Toolbars aren't Persistent

If you make changes to a toolbar in Word, you expect those changes to be available the next time you start the program. ...

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.

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

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}] 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 9 - 8?

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.

Newest Tips
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.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.