Faster Using Microsoft Office 2010 Quick Access Toolbar

Who doesn’t like a good shortcut every now and then? I know I certainly do. If you are new to MicrosoftOffice 2010, then you may be struggling with the Ribbon Toolbar. It took some getting used to for me as well, however, I have become a fan. Let me give you a quick tip about a new feature in Office 2010 that you might appreciate. If you open up an Office 2010 application, you will notice there is a small toolbar located in the top left corner by default. You can see this toolbar highlighted in the picture below. This toolbar is called the “Quick Access Toolbar”.

If you have trouble navigating the ribbon, you might appreciate this little feature. This “quick” toolbar allows you to add custom commands that you would find on the various tabs of the ribbon toolbar. There are a few rules you need to be aware of in regards to the “Quick Access Toolbar”. According to the Microsoft Office website:

• You cannot increase the size of the buttons representing the commands by an option in Microsoft Office. The only way to increase the size of the buttons is to lower the screen resolution you use.
• You cannot display the Quick Access Toolbar on multiple lines.
• Only commands can be added to the Quick Access Toolbar. The contents of most lists, such as indent and spacing values and individual styles, which also appear on the ribbon, cannot be added to the Quick Access Toolbar. However, you can customize the ribbon to personalize the ribbon the way that you want it. For example, you can create custom tabs and custom groups to contain your frequently used commands.

I would like to take a moment to show you how you can add commands to the “Quick Access Toolbar”. If you look to the right of the toolbar, you will notice a black downward pointing arrow. If you click the arrow you will get a menu like the one pictured below.

Notice that there are several popular command choices already listed on the menu. For instance, the “Quick Print” option is one that I almost always select. If you don’t see the command that you wish to have quick access to, click the “More Commands” option. You will notice in the picture above that it is circled in red.

Once you click the “More Commands” option, you will get a dialog box like the one pictured below. There are two columns. The left side lists available commands from which you can choose. The right side shows you commands that are already added to the “Quick Access Toolbar”. In the example below, I chose commands that were listed on the “Insert Tab”. I selected the “Screen Clipping” command and clicked the “Add>>” button to move that command to my “Quick Access Toolbar”. I then clicked “OK” at the bottom of the dialog box to complete the action.

You will see in the picture below that the “Screen Clipping” command has been added to my “Quick Access Toolbar”. Now, I only need to click the button to get this functionality, instead of having to navigate to the “Insert Tab” and try to find it every time that I want to use it.

I hope you find this to be a useful tip. You will find this toolbar in most of the Microsoft Office 2010 applications. Hopefully it will help speed up your day and help you be more productive.

I would appreciate your feedback and maybe tips on how you might use this toolbar feature in Office 2010.