How to Customise the Quick Access Toolbar in Word
(Note: Suitable for users of PowerPoint 2016, 2019, 2021, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.)
Objective
Improve efficiency when working on documents by customizing the Quick Access Toolbar.
The Quick Access Toolbar Explained
The Quick Access Toolbar or QAT as it’s more commonly known contains a set of commands independent from the tabs on the ribbons. We can change the position of the QAT, add commands from a pre-defined list of common commands, or access advanced customization features and add any command available in Word.
The idea of the QAT is to improve efficiency. Instead of hunting through the ribbons looking for a command, we can add it to the QAT and display it above our ribbons or our document so we can get to it easily. We can even group commands of similar types together using separators to give the QAT some structure. Also, in the latest update to Microsoft 365, we can choose if we want to show or hide the QAT.
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Show/Hide the Quick Access Toolbar
One of the more recent updates gave Microsoft 365 users the ability to show or hide the Quick Access Toolbar. Previously, the Quick Access toolbar was displayed by default and couldn’t be turned off. Now, we get to choose.
There are three ways to show/hide the Quick Access Toolbar.
Show Ribbon
- From any ribbon, click the small arrow on the right-hand side to display the Show ribbon menu.
- Click Show or Hide Quick Access Toolbar.
Word Options
We can also toggle the Quick Access Toolbar off and on through Word Options.
- Click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- Click on the Quick Access Toolbar page.
- Check the box Show Quick Access Toolbar.
Customize Quick Access Toolbar Menu
The final way we can hide the Quick Access Toolbar is to toggle it off in the customize Quick Access Toolbar menu. Once it is toggled off using this method, we can toggle it back on through the ribbon options menu.
- With the Quick Access Toolbar displayed, click the drop-down arrow.
- From the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu, click Hide Quick Access Toolbar.
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Add Common Commands to the Quick Access Toolbar
We add commands we use frequently to the Quick Access Toolbar, so they are easy to access. The commands users add vary depending on the type of work they do and what is most useful to them.
For example, if we spend lots of time formatting documents, we might want to add our paragraph alignment commands, font formatting commands, and styles to the QAT. If we are putting together a paper for university studies, we might prefer to have tools like the table of contents, page and section breaks, and bibliographies. What we add to the QAT is entirely up to us.
We can add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar in a few different ways.
Customize Menu
- Click the drop-down arrow to the right of the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Note the commands in the list.
We can add any of the listed commands simply by clicking the mouse. Commands with a tick next to them are shown on the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Click to add any command from the list.
Commands will show as an icon on the Quick Access Toolbar. We can display the associated icon label by selecting Show Command Labels from the Customize Menu.
Add Commands with Right Click
Another way to add commands to the Quick Access Toolbar is to use the right-click menu.
- Navigate to the ribbon that contains the command you would like to add.
- Right-click on the command.
- Select Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
Add Commands from Options
Not all commands available in Word can be found on the ribbons. There are simply too many of them! Also, many commands are located on contextual ribbons which only show when needed. We can add any command available in Word, by customizing the Quick Access Toolbar in Word Options.
- Click on the File tab.
- Click on Options.
- Go to the Quick Access Toolbar section.
The list on the left shows all commands in Word that are part of the Popular Commands group. We can switch this group by selecting another option from the drop-down menu. To see every command, choose All Commands.
The list on the right shows all commands currently on the Quick Access Toolbar. We can select one or more commands from the list on the left and add them to the list on the right.
- Select a command from the list on the left.
- Click the Add button.
Organise Commands
We can organize our commands using the arrow buttons to move commands up or down the list.
Add Separators
We can give our Quick Access Toolbar a bit of structure by adding separators. Separators allow us to group commands of similar type together making it easier to find our commands.
- Click the File tab.
- Click Options.
- Go to the Quick Access Toolbar section.
- Select any group from the drop-down menu, i.e. All Commands, Popular Commands etc.
- Scroll to the top of the list.
- Select Separator.
- Click Add.
- Use the Move Up and Move Down arrows to move the separator into place.
- Click OK.
Remove Commands
To remove commands from the Quick Access toolbar, simply select the command in the list on the right and click the Remove button.
To remove commands directly from the Quick Access Toolbar, right-click on the command and select Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.
To create a section, we first need to select all the slides that belong in that section. We want 3 slides in the first section.
- Click on the first slide.
- Hold down the CTRL key and click on the other slides to select them.
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Deborah Ashby
Deborah Ashby is a TAP Accredited IT Trainer, specializing in the design, delivery, and facilitation of Microsoft courses both online and in the classroom.She has over 11 years of IT Training Experience and 24 years in the IT Industry. To date, she's trained over 10,000 people in the UK and overseas at companies such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament, SKY, Microsoft, Kew Gardens, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.She's a qualified MOS Master for 2010, 2013, and 2016 editions of Microsoft Office and is COLF and TAP Accredited and a member of The British Learning Institute.
