Customising Menus in Microsoft Office Introduction

This document deals with modifying existing Microsoft Office menus and creating your own. Depending on which Office application you are using, the changes you make to the menus may be saved automatically or only when you confirm that you want them to be retained. With Microsoft Word, for example, you will be asked whether you want to save the changes to a file called normal.dot when you exit from the program. This file is Word's default template - you can, if you prefer, save the settings to a new template. This allows you to create special menus for particular pieces of work (you then create a new document based on whichever template is most suitable). Most users never make any changes to the menus provided by Microsoft. However, as you will see, it's very easy to remove menu commands which you never use and replace them with commands which you do use. Also, if you develop your own macros, you might like to run these from a menu. You can even develop your own menus - you can have several, if you like, each with a set of commands for specific tasks. You can also change the position of the Menu Bar on the screen.

Adding a Command to a Menu

To make any changes to the menu system you have to use Customize. This command is available from Toolbars in the View menu, or via a shortcut menu as described below.

1. Load up the application as usual - the instructions apply to any Office application 2. Right click on the menu bar or any toolbar 3. Select Customize... from the bottom of the shortcut menu 4. The Customize window appears, click on the Commands tab

The system is now in a state for you to add new commands to the menus.

5. Under Categories: choose the menu where the command you require is usually found - note that Word has an entry for All Commands 6. Under Commands: scroll down to find the particular command you want - if you are just practicing, choose any command in any category 7. Drag the command from the Customize window into the most appropriate menu - release the mouse when the command is positioned where you would like it 8. Repeat steps 5 to 7 for any other commands you would find useful - the [Description] button tells you what a selected command does 9. Click on the menu heading to close it

If you are using Microsoft Word, you have the added choice of applying the changes to all of your documents or just this one.

10. For Word only, choose whether to Save in: normal.dot or the Current_Document 11. Confirm the changes by pressing or clicking on the [Close] button

Note that you can assign your own macros to a menu in the same way. Near the bottom of the list of Categories in the Customize window is an entry for Macros. In Word you can also add fonts, styles and autotext to a menu; in Access you can add tables, queries, forms, reports etc. Removing a Command from a Menu

To remove a command from a menu:

1. Right click on the Menu Bar or any toolbar and select Customize... 2. Open the menu containing the command to be removed 3. Right click on the command and choose Delete from the shortcut menu

Tip: You can also drag a command you don't need out of a menu.

4. Confirm the changes by pressing or clicking on the [Close] button

Moving a Menu Command

Another modification you might want to make to a menu is to change the order of the commands. You can move these up/down the menu or even between menus. As with adding or deleting commands, the Customize window must be displayed before any changes can be made:

1. Right click on the Menu Bar or any toolbar and select Customize... 2. Open the menu whose order you wish to change 3. Point the mouse cursor to the command to be moved then hold down the mouse button and drag the command to the required position - release the mouse when it's correctly placed

It's a good idea to group commands performing a similar function together. In the default menus, commands such as New, Open and Close are in one group; Cut, Copy and Paste are in another. When you create a group, a horizontal line appears in the menu to separate the sets of commands.

4. Right click on the command which is to define the first member of the group 5. From the shortcut menu choose Begin a Group

To remove a group separator:

6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 to untick the Begin a Group option

Restoring a Menu to its Default Settings

Whenever the Customize window is open, you can reset a menu to its original setting:

1. Right click on the menu to be restored and choose Reset 2. Repeat step 1 for any further menus to be restored to normal 3. [Close] the Customize window when all your menus are restored

Repositioning the Menu Bar

Conventionally, the Menu Bar is displayed at the top of the screen, but it can be placed anywhere you like. To move it:

1. Place the mouse cursor at the far left of the bar - the cursor appears as a 4-direction arrow 2. Hold down the mouse button and drag the bar to the required position (either floating or at the left/right or bottom of the screen) 3. Release the mouse button to fix the position

If the Menu Bar is floating, it can be moved (like any other window) by placing the mouse cursor in the blue window title bar. It can also be resized (again, like any other window) by using the mouse to drag in/out one of the edges.

4. End by returning the bar to its original position

Creating Your Own Menu

If you want to create your own menu, for storing your own special set of commands:

1. Right click on the Menu Bar or any toolbar and choose Customize... 2. In Word only, decide whether you want to Save in: normal.dot or the Current_Document 3. Scroll to the bottom of the Categories list and choose New Menu 4. A New Menu item will appear under Commands - drag this up onto the Menu Bar 5. Right click on the New Menu and change the Name: to whatever you like - eg &Personal (and press ) 6. The new menu will be added to the Menu Bar, ready for you to add commands to it. The ampersand you typed into the Name: creates a key combination you can use to open the menu from the keyboard. You can similarly add an ampersand to the Name: of a command in your new menu to run it from the keyboard.

6. Move commands into your new menu, as dealt with earlier - the first command must be placed carefully in the empty box beneath the menu heading (if you drag it onto the heading it will become an icon on the Menu Bar) 7. Close the Customize window - press or click on the [Close] button 8. Finally test out the key combination - press and your new menu should open

Tip: As well as being able to place commands into your personal menus, you can create sub-menus within menus. Simply drag a New Menu into an existing menu then rename it and fill it with commands, as before. Deleting a Menu

In order to delete your own (or a built-in) menu, the Customize window must be open:

1. Right click on the Menu Bar or any toolbar and choose Customize... 2. Right click on the menu you no longer require and choose Delete 3. Close the Customize window - press or click on the [Close] button

Note: If you delete a built-in menu then you can restore it by opening the Customize window and selecting Built-in Menus under Categories: on the Commands tab. Select the menu from the list under the Commands: heading and drag it up to the Menu Bar.

Saving Your New Menus

With most Office applications, the changes you make to your menus are saved automatically when you close the application. With Microsoft Word, however, you are asked whether or not you want to save the changes to normal.dot (if you have chosen this option rather then restricting the changes to a particular document). When asked, reply [Yes] to save the changes or [No] to return to the standard menus. To save the menu changes as a new template, choose Save As... from the File menu and Save as type: Document Template (*.dot). You can, of course, make further changes to your menus whenever you choose - adding new commands or deleting ones no longer required.