COMPUTER TIPS & TRICKS

November 2004

Tool Bar Tear-offs for Microsoft Office

Have you noticed that you kept accessing the same menu or palette of choices over and over again, and you would like to have a tool bar for quick access. Microsoft Office applications have many tool bars that can be put on your screen. But, how do you get them there?

When in doubt, right click. If you do this in the tool bar area, you will get a menu of different tool bars. Now select the ones you will need.

Now you have so many useful tool bars at the top of your screen that you don't have enough space to do your work. There is a solution for that too.

You can tear off a tool bar and locate it anywhere on the screen. The space gained can be used for your work. To do the "tear off" you should click and hold the two verticle lines to the left of the tool bar. Then simply drag the box into the window. When you release the mouse button you will have a floating toolbar of the choices.

Also, if you want to keep the color pallet available without opening the little menu next to the A icon each time, open the menu once and click in the bar across the top of the menu or palette. Then drag the box into the window. If you leave any of theses toolbars open when you close the program then you should still have the toolbar when you restart the program later.