Creating a New Toolbar

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 22, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


As you are customizing Excel to reflect your working habits, there may be times when you want to create your own custom toolbar. You can create a toolbar by following these steps:

  1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. This displays the Customize dialog box.
  2. Make sure the Toolbars tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box.

  4. Click on New. This displays the New Toolbar dialog box. (See Figure 2.)
  5. Figure 2. The New Toolbar dialog box.

  6. Provide a name for your toolbar in the Toolbar Name box.
  7. Click on OK to close the New Toolbar dialog box. The toolbar appears at the bottom of the list of toolbars on the Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box. The empty toolbar should also be visible on your screen.
  8. Click on the Commands tab in the Customize dialog box. (See Figure 3.)
  9. Figure 3. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

  10. In the list of Categories, select the major category which contains the command you want to add to the new toolbar.
  11. In the list of Commands, select the command you want to add to the toolbar.
  12. Use the mouse to drag the command from the Commands list to its new location on your toolbar. When you release the mouse button, the icon or wording for the command appears.
  13. Repeat steps 7 through 9 to add more toolbar commands.
  14. Click on Close to dismiss the Customize dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2722) 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

Changing Kerning

When you need to adjust the space Word uses between characters, you need to adjust what is called "kerning." This tip ...

Discover More

Automatically Updating Charts for Additional Data

Add information to the data on which a chart is based, and you may find out that the information is excluded from the ...

Discover More

Word Counts for a Group of Documents

Getting a word count for a single document is easy. Getting an aggregate word count for a large number of documents can ...

Discover More

Dive Deep into Macros! Make Excel do things you thought were impossible, discover techniques you won't find anywhere else, and create powerful automated reports. Bill Jelen and Tracy Syrstad help you instantly visualize information to make it actionable. You’ll find step-by-step instructions, real-world case studies, and 50 workbooks packed with examples and solutions. Check out Microsoft Excel 2019 VBA and Macros today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Changing a Toolbar Button Image

Excel allows you to modify virtually all aspects of its user interface. One of the things you can change is the images ...

Discover More

Getting Rid of Stubborn Icons

Ever tried to clean-up the icons on your toolbar only to have one that won't go away? This tip explores some possible ...

Discover More

Resetting Toolbars to Their Default

Once you've edited your toolbars, you may want to change them back to their default appearance and behavior. This tip ...

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.

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 seven less than 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.