Using Large Toolbar Buttons

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 3, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Let's face it—for those of us getting to the bifocal age, the toolbar buttons are sometimes a bit too small. In fact, it is sometimes downright impossible to tell exactly what that is on an icon! (Is that a chain link or a sausage beneath that ball?) This problem seems particularly acute when working with a monitor set to a high resolution.

Fortunately, you can make the toolbars appear a bit larger. Just follow these steps:

  1. Choose the Customize option from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box.
  2. Click on the Options tab. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Options tab of the Customize dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Large Icons option is selected.
  5. Click on Close.

Notice how the toolbar buttons now seem huge—but you can at least see them! This change doesn't affect just Word, but any Microsoft Office program you have installed on your system.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1881) 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. ...

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