Office 2007: The Quick Access Toolbar

Information about the new Quick Access Toolbar available in Office 2007.

In its newest release of the Office System, Microsoft has made an effort to make tools and options as accessible as possible through its use of the Microsoft Office Button, Ribbon, and Quick Access Toolbar. These items have reorganized commonly used commands into logical menus and submenus that change with the task that the user is performing. One menu that doesn't change, however, is the customizable Quick Access Toolbar that is available in Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and Access.

The Toolbar is found in two locations in these programs: to the immediate right of the Microsoft Office Button (in the top left hand corner of each application), and at the bottom of the Ribbon. This can be changed by using the small arrow on the right-hand side of the Toolbar to bring up a dropdown menu that allows the user to change it from one location to the other.

Customising the Toolbar is a very simple process. When the user finds a command that they would like to add (basically the user can choose from anything found in the Ribbon), they need only to right-click on it, and choose "Add to Quick Access Toolbar" from the options that pop up. The same dropdown menu within the Toolbar itself will also bring up the option to customise it from there. Users can also remove items or minimise the Quick Access Toolbar from this menu.