IN THIS CHAPTER

Configuring the status bar

Customizing the Quick Access toolbar

Finding special commands for the toolbar

Adding tabs and groups to the Ribbon

I’m not one to customize things. Despite available options, I survive with the stock Windows desktop and background. I don’t modify my phone’s appearance. And I’ve only ever put one bumper sticker on my car. Still, I’m all in favor of having the ability to modify things if I so choose. Customization seems to be a part of everything, and Word is no exception.

A Better Status Bar

Lurking at the bottom of the Word window is an extremely useful gizmo, the status bar. Chapter 1 introduces the status bar but only hints at its potential. Now it's time to reveal all: Right-clicking the status bar produces the helpful Customize Status Bar menu, shown in Figure 29-1.

The Customize Status Bar menu does two things: First, it controls what you see on the status bar (informational tidbits as well as certain controls). Second, it lets you turn on or off certain Word features.

From Figure 29-1, as well as on the screen, you can see the current status for many optional settings. A check mark indicates that an item is either visible or appears when necessary. To add a check mark, click an item; clicking a check-marked item removes the check.

Here are my thoughts:

• Choosing an item from the menu doesn't cause the menu to disappear, which is handy. To make the menu go away, click the mouse elsewhere in the document window.
• The topmost items on the menu display information about the document. To have that information displayed on the status bar, choose one or more of those items.
• The Selection Mode option directs Word to display the text Extend Selection on the status bar when you press the F8 key to select text. Refer to Chapter 6 for more information on selecting text.
• The Overtype item places the Insert/Overtype button on the status bar. You can click this button to easily switch between Insert and Overtype modes. However, most Word users prefer to use Insert mode all the time.
• The last three items on the menu control whether the View buttons or Zoom shortcuts appear on the status bar.

The Quick Access Toolbar

Back in the old days, you could seriously mess with how the Word window looked. You could add toolbars, remove toolbars, modify toolbars, create your own toolbars, and generally use the word toolbars over and over again until it lost its meaning. Today, Word isn’t quite as flexible as it once was, but you’re still allowed to customize a toolbar.

The Quick Access toolbar is illustrated in Figure 29-2. It’s found in the upper left corner of the window.

Click a wee icon on the Quick Access toolbar to activate a feature. You can customize the toolbar by removing icons you don’t use and adding icons you do.

• When the Quick Access toolbar grows too many custom buttons and it begins to crowd into the document’s title, place it below the Ribbon: Choose the Show Below the Ribbon command from the toolbar menu. (Refer to Figure 29-2.) To move the Quick Access toolbar back atop the Ribbon, choose the Show Above the Ribbon command.

• Word is configured to show several buttons on the Quick Access toolbar: AutoSave (for documents saved to OneDrive), Open, Save, Undo, and Redo. If you have a touchscreen PC, another button appears, Touch/Mouse Mode.

Editing the Quick Access toolbar

If your adoration of the Quick Access toolbar turns into an obsession, you can go hog-wild modifying the thing: Choose More Commands from the Quick Access toolbar’s menu. You see the Word Options dialog box with the Quick Access Toolbar area shown, as illustrated in Figure 29-3.

Use the list on the left to choose a new command to add to the Quick Access toolbar.

The list on the right shows items currently on the toolbar. Use the up or down buttons (refer to Figure 29-3) to move items up or down (left or right) on the Quick Access toolbar.

Click the OK button when you finish editing.

• Choose the All Commands item from the Choose Commands From menu (refer to Figure 29-3) to view every possible command in Word. Sometimes, a missing command that you think could be elsewhere ends up being available in the All Commands list — for example, the once-popular Save All command or the Tabs command, which quickly displays the Tabs dialog box.

• When the command list grows long, consider organizing it. Use the <Separator> item to help group similar commands. This item appears as a vertical bar on the Quick Access toolbar.

• Yes, some commands lack specific graphics on their buttons; they show up as large dots on the toolbar.
• To return the Quick Access toolbar to the way Word originally had it, choose Reset ⇒ Reset Only Quick Access toolbar from the Word Options window. (Refer to the lower right corner in Figure 29-3.)

Customize the Ribbon

Word doesn’t let you alter the basic tabs and groups on the Ribbon, which is probably a good thing for the sake of consistency. What Word does let you do, however, is create your own tab on the Ribbon or a new group on an existing tab.

Figure 29-4 shows the My Commands tab that I’ve added to the Ribbon, along with the groups named File Commands, Views, and Browse. This custom tab was created by using the Word Options dialog box. Follow these steps to access the proper location:

1. Click the File tab.
2. Choose Options.

3. In the Word Options window, choose Customize Ribbon.

   The Word Options window changes its appearance. Tabs on the Ribbon are listed on the right, and Word commands are shown on the left. The Ribbon is your oyster.

The commands in the Word Options dialog box, in the Customize Ribbon area, let you craft your own, unique tab as well as mess with the Ribbon in other ways. For full details on the fun and potential hazards available, refer to the book Word 2016 For Professionals For Dummies (Wiley).

If you mess around to create your own tab and goof things up horridly, click the Reset button found in the lower right corner of the Word Options window, in the Customize Ribbon area. Choose the Reset All Customizations command.