Crabby Office Lady

Whether you're conventional or conceptual, straight-laced or silly, you can make Office look and work the way you want it to. Let's customize Microsoft Office toolbars and buttons to suit your way of working and your delicate sensibilities.

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Before I jump into this, I have a question. When you go on a trip and you arrive at your hotel, which of the following scenarios best describes what you do?

1. Throw your suitcase on the bed, splash some water on your face, and head out the door to explore the area.
2. Throw your suitcase on the bed, change your clothes, check out the minibar, splash some water on your face, and head out the door to explore the area.
3. Throw your suitcase on the bed, open the drapes, and unpack, unfold, and put away every item. Prop up some framed photos, see what's in the mini-bar, check out the cable guide, review the fire evacuation plan, pocket all the free little lotion and shampoo bottles right away, and note the checkout time in your Pocket PC. Take a long hot bath, have a snooze, brush, floss, splash cold water on your face, and head out the door to explore the area.
4. Forget the hotel — I'm happy in a tent on the outskirts of the city!

If you said A, settle down, Cha-Cha, the world can wait. The hotel room is part of the trip.
If you said B, you're on the right track — you know how to stop and smell the roses.
If you chose C, you're experiencing nesting overload. (Stick with me; I can help.)
And D? I'd like to see you and C on a honeymoon together. What a great tale to tell your kids.

So what does this scenario have to do with customizing your Office products? Simple: It shows how comfortable you like to get with your surroundings. Are you happy with the standard toolbar, the buttons all lined up like little soldiers, just taking things as they come? Or are you more inclined to add personal touches and make the place feel like home immediately?

I took an informal poll here in my hallway, and found that some of my coworkers think that customizing the hotel room makes their trip more enjoyable. I feel the same way about customizing my Office products.

Go ahead: Be needy

So...what do you need? Maybe you want really large, WIDE drop-down lists that take up half your screen. Or maybe you just don't feel fulfilled until every single toolbar and toolbar button that's available to modern humanity is up there, standing tall, and available to you at all times.

Whatever your needs, Office is ready for you to settle in. And the easiest way for us to get started is for me to pick up your bags, take you up the elevator, hold my hand out for a tip, and open the blinds for you so you can see the view. Ready? Let's check in and see what this software suite offers in the way of amenities.

There are lots of little things you can do to make your Office window friendlier and easier to use. I mean, some of you spend an awful lot of time fiddling with menus, buttons, and toolbars. The instructions below work for any Office program.

Menus and buttons and toolbars, oh my!

First let's identify what these things are:

Menu bar   The bar below the title bar that contains the names of menus (such as File, Edit, View, and Insert).

Menu command   An instruction that you want to give your Office program (such as Save, Print, and Open) that's located on a menu.

Toolbar   A bar (usually below the menu bar) with buttons and options you use to carry out commands.

Button   A graphic element that performs a specific function. Similar to a menu command but in graphical format. Several buttons make up a toolbar.

Got it? You are probably familiar with these things but maybe you didn't know their names. Now that we're all acquainted, let's get to work.

Pick a toolbar...any toolbar

Different Office programs offer different toolbars. For example, Microsoft Excel offers the External Data and Formula Auditing toolbars, while Microsoft FrontPage® wouldn't know what to do with such things. FrontPage has the DHTML Effects and the Navigation toolbars, while Microsoft Visio® would scratch its head and wonder, for all eternity, what DHTML means.

You probably don't want to see all of the available toolbars all the time. Sometimes you'll want only the Formatting toolbar up there, while at other times you'll just be interested in the Formula or Drawing toolbars. Guess what? You can pick which ones you want to view.

To choose which toolbar(s) to view

• On the View menu, point to Toolbars and click the toolbar you want to see.
  (You need to do this each time you want to add or remove a toolbar.)

Fly with me: Move a toolbar

A docked toolbar is a toolbar that's attached to one edge of the program window. You can tell it's docked if it has a move handle:

Move handles on a docked toolbar

To move a docked toolbar

• Drag the move handle to the new location. (Try and remember where you put it, OK?)

Never satisfied? Create a customized toolbar

Maybe the toolbar choices Office offers just don't suit your needs. Maybe you want a toolbar that is for drawing, formatting, and creating formulas. Now, instead of having to have all three toolbars in view, create one of your own.

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Toolbars tab.
3. Click New.
4. In the Toolbar name box, type the name you want, and then click OK.
5. Click the Commands tab.
6. Click a category in the Categories box.
7. Drag the command you want from the Commands box to the toolbar you just created.
8. When you have added all the buttons and menus you want, click Close.

Change a picture on a button

What if you don't like the current button image? This one is for those of you who travel with framed photos of your loved ones.

To change a toolbar button image and use a different Office image

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Commands tab, and, with the Customize dialog box open, click the button on the toolbar.
3. Click Modify Selection, point to Change Button Image, and then click an image.

Hide ScreenTips on buttons

You know that little note that pops up when you rest your mouse pointer on a button? That's a ScreenTip. Like it? Great; it's on by default. Don't like it? Tell it as much and away it goes.

To hide ScreenTips

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Options tab.
3. Clear the checkbox for Show ScreenTips on toolbars.

Hint: If you totally dig ScreenTips and want them to offer more, check the box that says Show shortcut keys in ScreenTips. It's like having your own personal hospitality specialist giving you shortcuts to the best spots in town.

Change the size of a toolbar button or drop-down list box

No more squinting!

To increase the size of a button

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. Click the Options tab.
3. Select the Large icons check box.

To change the width of drop-down list boxes

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize.
2. With the Customize dialog box open, click the list box you want to change — for example, the Font or Font Size box on the Formatting toolbar.
3. Point to the left or right edge of the box. When the pointer changes to a double-headed arrow, drag the edge of the box to change its width.

Add, change, or delete sounds used with buttons or menu commands

Some Office programs (Excel, Microsoft Outlook®, Microsoft PowerPoint®, and Microsoft Word) have fun audio cues that play while you work. Some of you like to hear bells, while others prefer sirens. Others like something more gentle, like, say, the wind whispering through the trees. And some of you prefer silence.

To turn sound on or off

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the General tab.
2. Select or clear the Provide feedback with sound check box.

To change sounds in Windows XP

1. On the Start menu, click Control Panel, and then double-click the Sounds and Audio Devices icon.
2. Click the Sounds tab.
3. In the Program Events list, scroll down to Microsoft Office, and select the sound you wish to turn on or off — for example, Delete row. I happen to like Explode. (Rest your mouse pointer on the word Explode, and when it changes color, click it):
   

4.  Note   If Microsoft Office doesn't appear in the Program Events list, install Office XP/2000 Add-in: Office Sounds.

5. If the sound you want to use is not listed, click Browse to locate the sound.
6. Adjust the volume by sliding the Volume bar on the Volume tab.
7. Click OK.

 Note   To find out how to change sounds in Microsoft Windows® 2000, Windows® NT, Windows® ME, or Windows® 98, see Help for those operating systems. (Between you and me, it's time to upgrade.)

Restore original settings, commands, or toolbars

Ack! Freaking out because what you thought you wanted isn't what you wanted at all? Relax: You can restore the default settings in each individual program and try again.

To restore original settings for buttons, commands, or toolbars

1. On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Customize.
2. Do one or more of the following:
   • To restore original settings for a menu:
     1. With the Customize dialog box open, right-click the menu you want to restore, and then click Reset on the shortcut menu.
     2. On the Customize dialog box, click Close.
   • To restore original buttons and menus and a built-in toolbar:
     1. Click the Toolbars tab.
     2. In the Toolbars box, click the name of the toolbar you want to restore.
     3. Click Reset.

Lost? Ask for directions — in Help

I could give you a list of about 1,237 different online Help topics that cover even the the most esoteric aspect of each and every Office program's toolbar and button customization procedures. Frankly, I'd like to see you do something on your own. All the various Office programs access and deal with all these features a little differently.

The best way to find out how your program works is to access the program's Help by pressing my favorite key: F1. The Help window will pop up, and if you type toolbar or button into the search box, you're bound to find what you need.

I hope you enjoyed your stay with us. There is so much more to explore in customization land — I just can't cover it all here. In a future column I'll cover other features you can customize, such as spelling and grammar, folder locations, and templates.

"Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn." — Gore Vidal

About the author

Annik Stahl, the Crabby Office Lady columnist, takes all of your complaints, compliments, and knee-jerk reactions to heart. Therefore, she graciously asks that you let her know whether this column was useful to you — or not — by entering your feedback using the Was this information helpful? tool below. And remember: If you don't vote, you can't complain.

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