MS Word —

Consolidate Your Toolbars into a Custom Toolbar

The Problem:

I use buttons on about 10 different toolbars, and between them they're turning the document window into a document porthole.

The Solution:

Word has plenty of toolbars, as you say, and you can save valuable screen space by consolidating the buttons you use onto a single toolbareither an existing toolbar or (usually better) a custom toolbar. Here's how to create a custom toolbar:

  1. Display all the toolbars that you normally use.

  2. Choose Tools » Customize and click the Toolbars tab.

  3. Click the New button, type a name for the new toolbar, verify that the "Make Toolbar Available to" drop-down list shows the appropriate document or template (again, Normal.dot is usually the best bet here), and click the OK button.

  4. Click the Close button to close the Customize dialog box.

  5. Hold down Ctrl+Alt and drag each desired button from the other toolbars to the new custom toolbar. To rearrange the buttons on the new toolbar, hold down the Alt key and drag a button. To create a separator line between buttons, drag the righthand button a short distance to the right (or drag the lower button down a short distance if the toolbar is vertical rather than horizontal).


Make Word Start Automatically When You Log On

The Problem:

I need to use Word all the time in my work. It'd be handy to have Word start automatically when I log on.

The Solution:

Click the Start menu and navigate to a Word icon, then drag it to the All Programs » Startup submenu. Next time you log on, Word will start.

If your PC doesn't have a Startup submenu on the Start menu, choose Start » Run, type %userprofile%\start menu\programs\startup, and press Enter to open a Windows Explorer window to your Startup folder. Drag a Word shortcut to this folder.