Deleting Menu Items

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 11, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Excel is remarkable in both its flexibility and capabilities for customization. This includes allowing you to completely change the menus within Excel, if you so desire. For instance, you may want to delete a menu item so it cannot be selected by other people using your computer. To delete an item from a menu, follow these steps:

  1. Select Customize from the Tools menu. You will see the Customize dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    2. Figure 1. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

  2. Click on the menu from which you want to delete a menu item. (Not in the Customize dialog box, but actually within Excel while the Customize dialog box is open.) This displays the menu.
  3. Drag the item you want deleted off of the menu.
  4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 to delete additional menu items.
  5. Click on Close in the Customize dialog box when done.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2646) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inserting a Text Box

Text boxes are a great way to implement non-standard ways of laying out your document. They allow you to put text at ...

Discover More

Adding Individual Styles to the Template

One of the things you can store within templates are styles. When you use styles, it is critical that you understand how ...

Discover More

Typing Pronunciations of Words

Take a look in a dictionary at the way that words are phonetically spelled. Those special characters used to type those ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Moving Items On a Menu

Want your copy of Excel to reflect the way you want to work with the interface? Fortunately, you can modify where various ...

Discover More

Resetting Dynamic Menus

Excel's menus, by default, only display the most common commands that you use. After a time you may want to reset the ...

Discover More

Making Short Work of Menu Names

If your menu bar has become cluttered due to different add-ins you've added, you can free up space by shortening the menu ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 0 + 7?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.