Customizing icons in the QAT

[Paul]

In customizing the QAT in Word 2007, I'm finding that a few icons and/or
their tooltip descriptions are not very clear. In fact, one icon is repeated
for two commands (Legacy Tools and the WorkDocument addin). Is there any way
to customize either the icons themselves, or at least, their tooltip? I
didn't see any way to do this in Word's Help file. When I look in the
Customize section of the Word Options window, the "modify" button is grayed
out for every icon I have up on the QAT. I don't know if this is b/c I have
d/l a trial version or not...

 

[Jay Freedman]

Hi Paul,

Last things first... It has nothing to do with the trial version; all copies of
Word 2007 (and all other ribbon-based Office 2007 programs) have the same
limitation.

No, the Quick Access Toolbar icons are not customizable. The Modify button is
available only for macros, not for built-in commands; and that allows you only
to choose from the relatively small number of icons in the palette that appears.

If that steams you as much as it does you, you'll need to learn a bit about
customizing the ribbon itself. Greg Maxey has done a terrific job of writing
about that: http://gregmaxey.mvps.org/Customize_Ribbon.htm. If you still have
access to a copy of Word 2003, you can use Graham Mayor's method from
http://www.gmayor.com/Toolbars_in_word_2007.htm.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so all
may benefit.

 

[Paul]

Thanks, Jay. THat does clear it up. I'll bookmark those two links (yes I do
have Office 2003 still on, but I'll uninstall it as soon as I get the paid
version of 2007 on, b/c I've read that there is a bit of a slowdown with
both versions installed at once). I'll be sure to look at the 2003 method
before I do that. This will be a project for a weekend when I've got a bit
of free time.

Its an inconvenience, but it doesn't steam me, actually. Having just gotten
over a round of trials with open-source versions of word processors, the
"problems" I have with Word are really just how much can I push the
software, instead of "how long will it take to load?" or "Can I even tweak
the toolbars at all?" like I have with the, well, competition is a bit too
strong of a word, but you know what I mean.

 

[Jay Freedman]

You don't have to remove 2003 if you don't want to; I have three computers
happily running both versions -- sometimes simultaneously. For simple
instructions for avoiding conflicts between them, see
http://word2007bible.herbtyson.com/2007/04/15/word-2007-and-word-2003-coexisting/

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix at news.microsoft.com]

Paul,

You needn't worry about running both versions of Word simultaneously. There
is a MSFT KB article on how to install both correctly, and if you want to
avoid the Word installer running whenever you switch between versions, there
is a registry hack to get around it. If you do decide to keep both versions,
post back and someone will provide the links to both articles. (I'm on a
computer at a client site and don't have the pages bookmarked, or I'd do it
myself.)
--
Cheers!

Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup.

Read the original version of this post in the Office Discussion Groups - no
membership required!

 

[Gordon Bentley-Mix at news.microsoft.com]

You beat me by _that much_ Jay. And now I have the link to add to my
Favourites on this machine. Woo-hoo!
--
Cheers!

Gordon Bentley-Mix
Word MVP

Please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup.

Read the original version of this post in the Office Discussion Groups - no
membership required!

 

[Paul]

Got that bookmarked as well. Even so, I'll probably still uninstall
2003.Apart from a few things I've been posting in this newsgroup about, I
really do like 2007 much better--that right-click toolbar is a godsend. The
3-device license of HOme and Student will allow me to keep 2007 on this
laptop even when I give it to a family member, and still be able to install
it on my new laptop some years down the road, so I sincerely doubt there
would be a need on this box for 2003. Thanks, regardless.

--
Paul
Office 2007
XP SP3
Dell Inspiron 1501


"Gordon Bentley-Mix at news.microsoft.com"

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Just be aware that Home & Student doesn't include Outlook, so if you have
Outlook 2003 installed, you may want to keep that.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org