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.

  3. Click on New. This displays the New Toolbar dialog box. (See Figure 2.)

    4. Figure 2. The New Toolbar dialog box.

  4. Provide a name for your toolbar in the Toolbar Name box.
  5. 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.
  6. Click on the Commands tab in the Customize dialog box. (See Figure 3.)

    7. Figure 3. The Commands tab of the Customize dialog box.

  7. In the list of Categories, select the major category which contains the command you want to add to the new toolbar.
  8. In the list of Commands, select the command you want to add to the toolbar.
  9. 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.
  10. Repeat steps 7 through 9 to add more toolbar commands.
  11. 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

Making Sure Changes and Comments are Anonymous

When using Track Changes, Word normally notes the originator of a particular comment or change. This information can then ...

Discover More

Comments Don't Appear when Cell is Pointed To

One way that you can view comments in a worksheet is to have them appear when you hover the mouse pointer over a cell. If ...

Discover More

Averaging a Non-Contiguous Range

Figuring out how to average data that is in a contiguous range of cells is easy. When the data is spread over a group of ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Large Toolbar Buttons

Do you wish that the buttons on your Excel toolbars were easier to see and use? The answer could be to turn on the large ...

Discover More

Editing a Toolbar Button Image

Don't like the toolbar button images in your version of Excel? Don't fret; you can pull up the button editor and make ...

Discover More

Making the Formula Bar Persistent

If your Formula bar disappears when you load a workbook, it could be due to the presence of a macro that turns it off. ...

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 6 - 1?

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 © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.