The Quick Access toolbar

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook all include the Quick Access toolbar, which provides super quick access (as its name implies) to common commands.

The Quick Access toolbar, shown in Figure 3-2, appears by default at the top of every document window. It can’t be moved or resized, so it’s said to be docked.

To find out what any button on a toolbar does (or on a ribbon or pane, for that matter), move the mouse cursor directly over it and then don’t move the cursor for a few seconds. The button’s name then appears in the little tooltip box.

Reveling in the ribbon

Think of a ribbon as a group of context-sensitive toolbars designed to make your life easier. Each ribbon has multiple tabs; each tab contains tools suited for specific tasks.

You can, of course, click any tab to activate it, but the ribbon is context-sensitive. Note in Figure 3-2 that the PowerPoint ribbon has 11 tabs, including Home, Transitions, Animations, Chart Design, and Format. That’s because a chart in one of the slides is selected; were the chart not selected, you wouldn’t see the Chart Design and Format tabs.

Compare this ribbon with the one shown in Figure 3-3, where we've selected a text box instead of a chart. Note that the new tab, Shape Format, now appears on the ribbon and that the Format tab and the Chart Design tab have been removed, indicating that we’re no longer working with a selected chart but are working with a text box.

Click the tab that’s already selected on the ribbon to hide it and leave only its tabs showing. You can also choose View ⇒ Ribbon on the menu at the top of the screen to toggle between hiding and showing ribbon tabs.

That’s really all you need to know to get started with ribbons. Trust us, there’s much more to come throughout the rest of the book.

You can add or delete commands from the preconfigured tabs and menus or create your own custom tabs from scratch. We show you just how to do so for each app in the coming chapters.

Panes are anything but a pain

In addition to toolbars, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have numerous panes, which are basically like windows within the main window of your document, workbook, or slide. In PowerPoint, for example, some of these panes include Comments, Format Shape, Design Ideas, Format Picture, and Stock Images.

Each pane opens on the right side of the current window; you can have multiple panes open at once, with each one represented by a tab that you can select to navigate between them. Most panes have a number of panels, often nested within subtabs, that you can hide or disclose by clicking the little arrow to the left of their names. To close a pane, click the x in its upper-right corner (or on the pane’s tab if multiple panes are open).

In Figure 3-4, the Format Picture pane (in PowerPoint) is displaying its tabs — Fill & Line, Effects, Size & Properties, and Picture, each represented with an icon — with the Picture tab selected. The Picture Color panel is open, or disclosed; note that the gray arrow to the left of its name points downward. The three other panels — Picture Corrections, Picture Transparency, and Crop — are closed, so their disclosure arrows point to the right rather than down.

We discuss various panes, subtabs, and panels throughout the rest of this tome, but because describing every item on every menu, pane, or ribbon tab is beyond the purview of this book, we urge you to take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with the items on each one in all the Office apps.

Customize the Quick Access toolbar

The Quick Access toolbar is a great place for tools you routinely need fast access to in any document, workbook, or slide, and it can be customized to suit your tastes.

Once you customize the tools in the Quick Access toolbar for one document, workbook, or slide, they’re the same in every new window in that app going forward.

Follow these steps to customize the Quick Access toolbar in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint (Outlook doesn’t apply here, we're afraid):

1. Choose App Name ⇒ Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.
2. Click the Ribbon & Toolbar button.
3. Near the top of the Ribbon & Toolbar dialog, select the Quick Access Toolbar tab.
4. Select an option in the Choose Commands From pop-up menu, scroll through the list of available commands, and then click to select the one you want.

5. Click > in the middle of the dialog, shown in Figure 3-5, to add the selected command to the Customize Quick Access Toolbar commands list.

   To remove a command from the Quick Access Toolbar, select it under the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list and click < in the middle of the dialog.

6. (Optional) Drag-and-drop commands in the order you would prefer them to appear in the Quick Access toolbar.

   If you want to revert to the original Quick Access toolbar, click the options icon (three dots in a circle) under the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list and select Reset Only Quick Access Toolbar.

7. To save your changes, click Save in the lower right.

   Changes appear in the Quick Access toolbar immediately.

Customize ribbon tabs and menus

The Quick Access toolbar isn’t the only way to have a whirlwind of a time customizing and modifying. The ribbon likes — one could almost say it begs — to be tinkered with, too.

To modify existing ribbon tabs and menus:

1. Choose App Name ⇒ Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.
2. Click the Ribbon & Toolbar button.
3. Select the Ribbon tab near the top of the Ribbon & Toolbar dialog.
4. Select an option in the Choose Commands From pop-up menu, scroll through the list of available commands, and then click to select the one you want.
5. Select an option in the Customize the Ribbon pop-up menu, and then click to select the tab and tab group to which you want to add the command you chose in Step 4.

6. Click > in the middle of the dialog to add the selected command to the selected ribbon tab.

   To remove a command from a tab, select it under the Customize the Ribbon list and click < in the middle of the dialog to send it packing.

   Show or hide ribbon tabs and tab groups by selecting or deselecting the check box to the left of their names.

7. Click the Save button to save your changes.

   Your new command can now be found in the ribbon tab you added it to.

As shown in Figure 3-6, the main tabs in the tabs list often include tab groups, which are subcategories within the tab. (For example, the Edit Master subtab is listed under the Slide Master tab.) Click > next to a tab group to expand it. You can place commands within tab groups by selecting the tab group in Step 5 instead of the main tab itself.

As with commands in the Quick Access toolbar, you can drag and drop commands to customize their locations in the ribbon tab, too.

Creating ribbon tabs and tab groups

One feature we adore in the latest edition of Office for Mac is the ability to create ribbon tabs and tab groups, instead of being stuck with only the predefined tabs and groups. Why do this? Perhaps you use a set of commands all the time; instead of clicking various tabs and tab groups, keep them in one place for easier access and rejoice in the time you save.

Follow these steps:

1. Choose App Name ⇒ Preferences to open the Preferences dialog.
2. Click the Ribbon & Toolbar button in the Preferences dialog.
3. Select the Ribbon tab near the top of the dialog.
4. Click the + button at the bottom of the tabs list on the right and choose New Tab from the menu that appears.
5. In the tabs list, select New Tab (Custom).
6. Click the options icon (three dots in a circle) at the bottom of the tabs list and then select Rename from the menu.
7. In the Display name field, enter the desired name and then click Save.

Add new tab groups to your new tabs in the same way. Repeat Steps 4–7, but choose New Tab Group instead of New Tab in Step 4.

Customizing keyboard shortcuts

You add or change keyboard shortcuts for commonly used menu commands in Word and Excel. Follow these steps:

1. Choose Tools ⇒ Customize Keyboard to open the Customize Keyboard dialog, shown in Figure 3-7.

2. Select a command to assign a keyboard shortcut to.

   The Categories list (in the upper left) groups all menus and command categories that contain commands to which you can assign a keyboard shortcut. You can select a category and scroll through the list of commands it contains or you can search for a command by typing it in the search field.

   If you’re not sure which category to choose, choose the All Commands category, near the end of the scrolling Categories list, to display all available commands.

   

3. In the Press New Keyboard shortcut box, enter the key combination you want for that command by pressing the keys on your keyboard.

   As you press the keys, the box will populate with the new shortcut. If the shortcut you’re trying to assign is in use by another command, you'll see which command it’s assigned to just below the shortcut you typed.

4. To assign the shortcut to the command, click the Assign button.
5. When you’re finished, click OK.

Clicking the Reset All button restores all shortcuts to their factory settings.

We advise against using a keyboard shortcut that’s already in use by macOS. Check the Keyboard Shortcuts pane in the macOS Keyboard System Preferences pane to avoid conflicts. You can avoid most conflicts if you combine modifier keys. The ⌘   and Control keys combine well and avoid conflicts with most settings. Using ⌘   and Option works almost as well (though Microsoft already uses this combination for a few commands).

Using the gallery to open templates or recent documents

The multipurpose gallery dialog, available in all Office apps, makes it easier than ever to choose a template for a new document or to open a recently used file. The Word Document gallery is shown in Figure 3-8, and the Excel and PowerPoint galleries look almost the same.

If the gallery doesn’t appear automatically when you launch an Office app, choose File ⇒ New from Template (or press ⌘  +Shift+P) to open it.

The gallery dialog contains the following elements:

• New: Click New in the left pane to see templates and categories. In Figure 3-8, the selected category is Newsletter.

• Recent: Click Recent in the left pane to see a list of the most recent documents you’ve opened, listed according to the last time they were opened.

  Many users like to have the gallery open automatically when they launch an Office program, which is how its set by default. If for some strange reason the gallery doesn’t always open automatically when you launch an Office app, here’s what to do: Open the app’s preferences, click the General icon at the top of the Preferences window, and then click the Show Document/Workbook/Presentation Gallery When Opening Word/Excel/PowerPoint check box.

• Shared: Click Shared in the left pane to see documents, workbooks, or presentations that are being shared with you by others.
• Open: Click Open to browse local and online storage to find and open documents quickly.
• Home: Click Home to view a mashup of the New, Recent, and Shared tabs.
• Search field: Type a word or words in the search field at the top right of the gallery window to find files that contain that word or those words.

To open an item in the gallery, you can, of course, select the item by clicking it and then click the Create (for new documents) or Open (for existing documents) button. But simply double-clicking the item is faster and easier.

Finally, if you don’t see anything you want to open in the gallery, click Cancel. The gallery window disappears, but the app remains open (though it may have no document windows open at this time). To close the gallery and quit the app, choose File ⇒ Quit.

Saving a document

Saving a document in any Office app works the same way as in almost every other Mac program. The unique Office wrinkles involve saving files automatically and choosing a file format for your saved document.

We start by describing how to save a file. Saving a document file involves two tasks: saving the file for the first time and resaving the file every so often.

Part II: The resave

After you save a file for the first time, you’re not done with saving — not by a long shot. You still need to resave the document often so that if the app or your Mac crashes, you lose only the work you’ve done since the last time you saved.

This part is much easier than Part I. After you save and name a file, for subsequent saves, you merely need to choose File ⇒ Save or press ⌘  +S.

Save your file. Do it early. Do it often. Just do it, and do it a lot.

Saving a file on a OneDrive or SharePoint location

Saving a file using the OneDrive (or SharePoint) service is a little different than saving a file locally. To save a file in the cloud, choose File ⇒ Save or File ⇒ Save As.

A Save As dialog drops from the title bar. Click the Online Locations button in the dialog box, just to the left of the File Format menu (refer to Figure 3-9). The Save As field is now called Name; type a name for the document in that field. Select a OneDrive or SharePoint location on the left side of the dialog (as we did in Figure 3-10), choose a folder for saving the document, and then click the Save button.

If you see an On My Mac button next to the File Format menu, you’re already saving to an online location. If you want to save it locally (on your computer) instead, click the On My Mac button.

You may have noticed the AutoSave button in the upper-left corner of your documents. This feature saves documents you’ve stored in OneDrive or SharePoint automatically, preventing you from losing your precious content in the event something goes wrong. This button toggles to On automatically when you save a file to OneDrive or SharePoint.

By the way, OneDrive and SharePoint require the XML file formats .docx, .pptx, or .xlsx to use the AutoSave feature.

Sharing a file you’ve saved using OneDrive or SharePoint

To share a file you’ve saved using OneDrive or SharePoint, click the Share button in the upper right of any document window and choose either:

• Invite People: Creates an email that you send to whomever you want to share the file with. You can also give them editing privileges.
• Copy Link: Creates a link either allowing or not allowing editing privileges that you can then share with others.
• Send a Copy: Creates a copy of the file in Word, PDF, or HTML format that you can then email to a recipient.

You can find out more about collaboration in later chapters, so we leave it at that for now.

Opening a file you’ve saved on your OneDrive or SharePoint location

Reopening a file from your OneDrive or SharePoint location is easy. Simply use the gallery’s Recent list, as described earlier in this chapter. If you’ve used that file in the past, it’s likely to be in Recent Documents.

When you use the gallery’s Recent list, you might have difficulty discerning which documents are stored on your hard drive and which are stored in the cloud. Simply look at the line of text directly under a filename to see where it’s stored.

The other way to open a file is to choose File ⇒ Open from the menu bar, select the file from the list, and then click the Open button.

App preferences: Why?

As you see in a moment, every Office app has dozens and dozens of different preference settings you can alter to suit your fancy or needs.

Most preference settings let you enable, disable, or specify values for the way features work in the program. The idea is that you choose the setting that makes the feature work the way you want it to work.

For example, Outlook allows you to set up and use multiple email accounts in the Accounts section of Outlook’s Preferences dialog. Word and Excel allow you to choose the unit of measurement they use for their on-screen rulers and page measurements by default — inches, centimeters, points, or picas. The default is inches, but if you’re more comfortable with one of the others, you can choose it in the app’s Preferences, and all rulers and measurements in that app will be displayed in those units forever (or, at least, until you change the preference setting again).

We discuss some preferences in later chapters, but only ones that are pertinent to the discussion at hand. So, you might want to spend some time experimenting with the various preference settings and customizing your Office apps to work the way you prefer.

App preferences: How?

You open the Preferences dialog the same way in each Office app: Choose Preferences from the app’s eponymous (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook) menu or press ⌘  +, (comma).

Although the four Preferences dialogs look slightly different, as shown in Figure 3-11, they all work much the same.

As you can see, each app’s Preferences dialog has many categories, each represented by an icon.

When you click one of these icons, you’re said to be using that category’s preference pane. For example, Figure 3-12 displays Outlook’s Notifications and Sounds preference pane, which offers most of the features — such as check boxes, radio buttons, buttons, and pop-up menus — that you’re likely to encounter in preference panes.

To see the items in a category, click the category’s icon or name. When you do so, the Preferences dialog magically changes to display that category’s preference pane.

Radio buttons are known by this name because, as with the preset buttons on a car radio, you can press only one at a time.

The following three screen elements are in the Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Preferences dialogs but not in the Outlook Preferences dialog:

• Search field: Search for a word or phrase, which is handy if you know of a preference you want to change but can’t remember which pane it’s in.
• Forward and back icons: These icons work the same as the forward and back icons in Finder or a web browser. The back icon (<) displays in reverse chronological order the panes you’ve visited since you opened the Preferences dialog, and the forward icon (>) cycles through panes visited by pressing the back icon.
• The show all icon: You can click this icon (which looks like 12 stacked dots and appears at the top of the window) when you’re done with a preference pane and want to return to the main Preferences dialog with all the icons available.

Help: It’s more than just a Beatles movie

If you’re puzzled about what a menu item does or how to use it, Office Help, shown for Word in Figure 3-13, is much better than in previous versions, primarily because it uses the Apple (not Microsoft) Help system.

To get help, follow these steps:

1. Choose Help ⇒ Word Help (or Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook Help).

   The appropriate Help window appears.

2. Click any topic that appears in blue in the Help window, such as Creating a Document or Text, Lists, and Bullets.
3. To search for a topic, type a descriptive word or two in the Search Help field in the top of the main Help window.

An even easier way to search Help is by typing your query directly in the search field on the Help menu, as shown in Figure 3-14.

This method of searching has the added advantage of pointing out the appropriate menu item, if there is one.

Help isn’t just for menus or Word — it’s extremely useful throughout the Office suite. So, regardless of which Office program you’re using, you can almost certainly find on its Help menu an answer to whatever issue is puzzling you.

Official Microsoft websites

Microsoft knows that more goes into making your user experience a great one than just developing great apps. They also need to provide support for those apps that goes above and beyond their customer’s expectations.

The Microsoft Apple Productivity Experience Group (APEX), formerly known as their Mac Business Unit, is responsible for making great Microsoft apps (primarily the Office suite and OneNote) for their Apple customers. They’re the second largest group of Mac developers in the world, aside from Apple themselves. The good folks in Microsoft’s APEX Group are huge Apple fans, just like us, so they’re jumping through all the hoops to make sure that your experience with Microsoft apps is as good as it can possibly be. Part of that experience includes providing top-notch support for the products they develop, which they do by contributing to Microsoft’s various support resources on the internet:

• Microsoft Support (https://support.microsoft.com): Find support for your favorite Microsoft apps, including training materials, contact numbers, cheat sheets and other helpful documentation, tips to make the most of what your app of choice offers, and more.
• Microsoft Office Templates (https://templates.office.com): Peruse Microsoft’s extensive collection of document templates for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Many are free to download, while others require a Microsoft 365 subscription.
• Microsoft Community Forums (https://answers.microsoft.com): The Community forums connect Microsoft users from all over the world so they can share experiences, guide one another through projects, or just discuss how cool they think the marriage of Apple and Microsoft products is.

Don’t be shy to avail yourself of Microsoft’s support system if you need a helping hand or a bit of good advice from time to time (or every day, for that matter).