Carol's Corner Office

Do not be intimidated by the new user interface in MS Word.  A lot of folks were very slow to purchase this latest version of Word because they loved being able to customze their toolbars and starting with version 2007 you could no longer do that unless you were a software programmer.

The good folks at Microsoft listened to the complaints of many though and gave users the ability to add custom tabs and groups in version 2010, as well as enabling you to make other tweaks to the Ribbon.

You can make the following changes to the Ribbon in version 2010:

• Create new tabs.
• Create new groups within custom tabs and/or within built-in tabs.
• Add commands to custom groups (but not built-in groups).
• Rename any tab, group or command.
• Change the icons for commands.
• Move tabs around on your ribbon.
• Hide custom tabs and/or built-in tabs.
• Remove groups from custom tabs and/or built-in tabs.

And that’s not all!  Once you have customized your ribbon, you can export your customizations to a file and use them on another computer!

Follow the steps below to create a Custom Tab and Custom Group:

1. Right-click your Ribbon or the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).
2. Click the Customize the Ribbon…. option, or
3. Click on File | Options | Customize Ribbon.

Either of the above methods will take you to the Customize Ribbon screen.

To add your own tab, follow the steps below:

1. Determine where you would like your new tab to appear on your Ribbon, but don’t stress over it because you can move it later.
2. Click to select the built-in tab that you want displayed in your Ribbon to the left of your new custom tab.
3. Navigate to the right-hand side of the screen and you should see your new tab button at the bottom, beneath the diagram of the Main Tabs.
4. Click the New Tab button.

Word will create both a new tab and within that tab, a new group. The new tab will appear below the tab you selected above.

You will most likely want to change the names that MS Word assigned to your new tab and group.

1. Be certain that the New Tab is selected rather than the New Group, otherwise you will rename your group instead of your tab.
2. Now locate the Rename button toward the bottom on the right and click it.
3. When the dialog box displays, key in a name for your new tab.
4. Click OK.

To rename your custom group:

1. Select the group.
2. Locate the Rename button toward the bottom on the right and click it.
3. This time, when the Rename dialog displays you will see dozens of icons.
4. Key in a name for your new group. You can use any but I opted for Legal.
5. Click OK.

I will cover adding commands to your Custom Group in the next post!