Office 2007: customize Quick Access Toolbar

Prior to Office 2007 I enjoyed the familiar menu structure like a good pair of shoes you grow into. It has been a while since the ribbon was introduced with Office 2007 but I still sometimes feel lost accomplishing even the most basic task.


Excel 2000: easy switching between open workbooks

Someone asked me how to switch windows in Excel 2007. Prior to 2007 you could simply pull down the Window menu and switch to another workbook. If you want the same easy access in Excel 2007, you could add that and other commands to the Quick Access Toolbar.

1. Click on the arrow beside the Quick Access Toolbar in order to customize it.

A menu unfolds with several commands that you could already add to the menu. But the command to switch windows is not on there, so we need to drill down deeper.

2. From the menu that unfolds, select More commands.... This will open up the holy grail of the Quick Access Menu customization.

3. From Choose commands from, select All commands. If you don't see All commands, you can use the View tab commands.

This will now display all commands in alphabetical order. It can be tricky finding the one you are looking for. The one we want is called Switch windows.

3. Select the Switch windows command and click on the Add button.

This will add the button to the right, where all our commands currently on the Quick Access Toolbar are listed.

While you are at it, you may as well add other commands that you find useful, such as Print and Print preview.

You can manually sort the commands on the right by using the up and down arrows.

Note: I know the Switch Windows command is part of the View tab on the ribbon, but for frequently used commands this is a hassle. I just dislike the Office 2007 ribbon concept.