Locked lesson.
About this lesson
Prepare your work area by setting up the tools you’ll need most often.
Lesson versions
Multiple versions of this lesson are available, choose the appropriate version for you:
2016, 2019/365.
Quick reference
Quick Access Toolbar
The Quick Access Toolbar contains your most used and favorite tools, saving you future time in finding them in the ribbons.
When to use
Setting up the Quick Access Bar is a productive way to have your most-used tools ready from the beginning. Once it is set up, it stays in place and you will soon rely on the easy accessibility to all your favorite buttons.
Customize the Quick Access Bar (initially located above the FILE ribbon)
- Click the dropdown arrow on the right side of the Quick Access Bar and select “Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon”
- Add checkmarks to each of the first set of items (see photo >>>)
- Click the drop down again and choose “More Commands”
- Find “Save As” in the list and Double Click it to add to the list of buttons on the right column.
- Rearrange the buttons by clicking the move-up and move-down arrows on the right side
- Tip: As you find buttons on the ribbons that you’d like on the Quick Access bar, just Right Click the button and select “Add to Quick Access bar”
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- 00:04 This lesson is how to customize a quick access bar.
- 00:07 It resides above the ribbons, on the top left hand corner of the program.
- 00:13 Notice at the end of this short little toolbar is a drop down arrow.
- 00:17 When you click the drop down arrow, you need to put a check mark
- 00:20 on every one of the options that doesn't already have a check mark.
- 00:24 I realize that list keeps disappearing but the good news is,
- 00:27 you only have to do this once.
- 00:29 Go ahead and add all of them down to to the touch mouse mode.
- 00:33 We won't do the last two, but I don't know if you noticed but when you hit that last
- 00:36 one it pushed the name of the title over to the right hand side, so it's pretty
- 00:41 obvious that if we keep adding buttons to this we're going to run out of room.
- 00:45 So there's another option.
- 00:47 Go ahead and hit that drop down arrow one more time and
- 00:49 take a look at the very bottom option, Show Below the Ribbon.
- 00:53 When I click this, you're gonna notice it land right below my ribbon, and
- 00:58 above my ruler, right there.
- 01:00 Now I've got all the space to add more buttons, and
- 01:03 also I'm not bumping into my title up on top of my program.
- 01:06 All right, so when you want to add new buttons, it's fairly simple.
- 01:13 So on the home ribbon, for instance, there's this button right over here.
- 01:16 It's grayed out because I'm not using it, I don't have anything highlighted.
- 01:20 It's a format painter,in my opinion one of the best buttons ever invented in
- 01:24 the Microsoft family.
- 01:27 I just have to add that to my Quick Access bar.
- 01:30 What I'm going to do is hit my right mouse button on top of it, right-click, and
- 01:34 read the list.
- 01:36 The very top option says, Add to Quick Access Toolbar.
- 01:39 When I left click on that, there it is, it landed right over here.
- 01:44 So now you can continue to add more and more buttons.
- 01:47 One of the most common problems is that if you're surfing around to other ribbons,
- 01:53 your home ribbon isn't in front of you, isn't very apparent.
- 01:57 But your font style and size is one of the most referenced features.
- 02:02 So let's go back to the home ribbon, and let's add our font style box and
- 02:06 our font size.
- 02:07 Just to show you I'll go ahead and
- 02:08 click into this text box that I've previously made.
- 02:12 So I have a font style and size show up.
- 02:15 Now when I right click on the word Calibri, when I right click there.
- 02:18 My list has Cut, Copy, Paste, it doesn't say Add To Ribbon.
- 02:23 That's because I need to right-click on the drop-down arrow.
- 02:26 When I right-click the drop-down arrow, there's my Add To Quick Access.
- 02:30 When I go ahead and left-click on there, there it is.
- 02:33 Now my font style is at a glance above my work.
- 02:36 No matter what ribbon I'm on, there it is.
- 02:39 This is good information.
- 02:41 This helps you do a better job when you're making decisions during your design
- 02:45 process.
- 02:46 Now I'm going to do the same thing to the font size.
- 02:48 Instead of right clicking on the number, I'm going to right click on the drop down
- 02:51 arrow, right-click, Add to Quick Access Bar.
- 02:55 Now, on the bold italicize underline, Ctrl+B is bold,
- 02:59 Ctrl+I is italicize, Ctrl+U is underline.
- 03:03 I don't necessarily need to add these to my quick access,
- 03:06 because I use them all the time with my keyboard shortcuts.
- 03:10 But there might be other options you want to add.
- 03:12 For instance, here's a little tip, by the way,
- 03:15 any little button on your toolbar that has a letter a, stands for alphabet.
- 03:20 I like the alphabet big, alphabet small button so I'm going to go ahead and
- 03:24 add those two to my quick access bar.
- 03:26 And as you can see we're building this as it grows.
- 03:30 So, you have plenty of room to add more to this.
- 03:33 But that is basically how you add it, how you add buttons on the fly.
- 03:38 If I decide I don't like one of them,
- 03:40 like this touch mouse mode which is basically for touch screen people.
- 03:43 If you activate that, it'll skinny up your buttons if you're using a mouse,
- 03:48 it'll widen them if you're using a touchscreen.
- 03:51 So maybe I don't want that at all, I can simply right-click and
- 03:54 I have the option to remove from Quick Access Bar.
- 03:57 See, so you do have options.
- 03:59 Anyway, go ahead and that would be a homework assignment.
- 04:01 Please customize your Quick Access Bar.
- 04:03 Show it below the ribbon cuz that's where mine is gonna reside for
- 04:06 the rest of these lessons.
- 04:07 All right, thank you.
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