Making Short Work of Menu Names

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated January 4, 2017)

Most third-party add-ins for Excel add their own menus to your menu bar. Add a few add-ins, and before you know it you could expand your menu bar beyond what can be easily displayed in a single row. (This depends on the resolution of your monitor, of course.)

If you find your menus running beyond what can fit in a single row, one solution is to configure Excel so that your individual menu names are shorter. Follow these steps:

  1. Right-click any choice in the menu bar. Excel displays a Context menu.
  2. Choose Customize from the Context menu. (It should be the last choice in the menu.) Excel displays the Customize dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The Customize dialog box.

  3. Right-click the menu name you want to shorten. (Right-click on the actual menu name; don't click on anything in the dialog box. For instance, right-click the Windows menu name.) Excel displays a list of configuration options for the menu.
  4. Change the name shown in the Name field. (For instance, shorten Window to Win.)
  5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for any other menu names you want to shorten.
  6. Close the Customize dialog box.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2381) 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

Finding Out the Folder for an Open Document

If you work with a lot of documents at the same time, it can be difficult to remember the folder in which any given ...

Discover More

Changing the Legend Location

When you create a chart, Sheets helpfully adds a legend to better explain the data that is in the chart. If you don't ...

Discover More

Replacing Highlighted Words

The Find and Replace capabilities of Word are quite powerful. Knowing how to find and replace highlighted text can be a ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Problem with Missing Context Menu Option

When you right-click a cell, does it seem that the Context menu is missing an item or two? Here's how to get those items ...

Discover More

Resetting Excel Menus

Excel allows you to easily change what appears on its menus. If you later want to return to Excel's default menu ...

Discover More

Deleting Menu Items

Excel allows you to customize your menus so that they contain the commands you want on them. If you later want to delete ...

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}] 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 minus 4?

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 AUTHORS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2019 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.