WD97: Customizing and Sharing Toolbars in Microsoft Word

• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows

SUMMARY

This article describes how to create a custom toolbar, how to distribute it to other users, and how to allow other users to share it over a network.

The built-in toolbars provided by Microsoft Word cannot be changed or replaced because they are stored as Microsoft Word program code. However, you can create custom toolbars, save them in templates, and then do any of the following:

• Send those templates for other people to use.



• Copy the toolbars into the Normal template.



• Place the templates in a folder so they can be shared globally and used automatically by Microsoft Word.

MORE INFORMATION

Creating a Custom Toolbar in Normal.dot

1. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and then click the Toolbars tab.



2. In the Customize dialog box, click New and type a toolbar name in the Toolbar Name box.



3. In the "Make toolbar available to" box, select Normal.dot, and then click OK.
   
   Note that an empty floating toolbar appears on your screen.



4. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab.



5. Drag the desired commands to the empty toolbar.



6. Dock your toolbar by dragging it near the other toolbars.



7. Click Close.

Creating a Custom Toolbar in a New Template

1. On the File menu, click New.



2. Click the General tab and click Blank Document. Under Create New, click Template, and then click OK.



3. On the File menu, click Save As.



4. In the Save As dialog box, enter a file name and click Save.



5. On the Tools menu, click Customize, and click the Toolbar tab.



6. Click New and type a toolbar name in the Toolbar Name box.



7. In the "Make toolbar available to" box, type or select the name for your newly created template, and then click OK.
   
   Note that an empty floating toolbar appears.



8. In the Customize dialog box, click the Commands tab.



9. Drag the desired commands to the empty toolbar. Dock your toolbar by dragging it near the other toolbars, and then click Close.

SHARING A TOOLBAR

Method 1: Copy the Toolbar from the Network Template to the Normal.dot File

1. On the File menu, click Open.



2. Locate the folder where the template is stored and open the template.



3. On the Tools menu, click Templates And Add-ins.



4. Click Organizer, and then click the Toolbars tab.
   
   The Organizer contains two windows. One side contains Normal.dot and the other contains the network template you opened in step 2.



5. On the network template side, click to select the customized toolbars you want available in Normal.dot, and then click Copy.



6. Click Close.

Method 2: Loading the Network Template Globally

1. Quit Microsoft Word.



2. Using Windows Explorer, copy the network template to your startup folder for Microsoft Word. Following is the default startup folder location for Word 97:




Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Startup

REFERENCES

For additional information about custom toolbars, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q141995 How to Create Custom Toolbars and Toolbar Buttons

Q97687 Starting Word for Windows with a Template Other Than "Normal"

Q119126 Organizer Cannot Copy Default Toolbars

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbdta word97
Version : WINDOWS:97
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto