Office: Get faster access to the tools you use the most

One of the first things I teach my students in every Office class is how to move their Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) below the ribbon and how to customize it. If you’re not familiar with it, the QAT is the little toolbar that sits above the Home tab with the Save, Undo, and Redo tools. In Outlook, the tools are Send/Receive and Undo.

The default location is above the ribbon, but I move it below the ribbon so it’s closer to my work.  Then I add the tools I use the most to make them readily available. Here’s my QAT in Word for Windows 2016.

To customize your QAT, follow these steps.

To move the QAT below the ribbon:

1. Click or tap the arrow at the end of the QAT (More button).
2. Near the bottom of the menu, click or tap Show Below the Ribbon.

To add a tool on the ribbon to your QAT:

1. Right-click the tool you want to add.
2. Click or tap Add to Quick Access Toolbar.

To add an entire group to your QAT, like the Illustrations group in the screenshot above, right-click the name of the group and then click or tap Add to Quick Access Toolbar. You can also right-click a dialog box launcher to get quick access to dialog boxes and task panes. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s the little square with an arrow in the lower right corner of most groups, such as the Clipboard and Font groups.

To remove a button from your QAT:

1. Right-click the button you want to remove.
2. Click or tap Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.

For more customization options, click or tap the arrow at the end of the QAT and then click More Commands. In the dialog box that displays, you’ll find options to reorder the buttons on your QAT and the ability to add buttons that aren’t in the ribbon.