Changing the Office Assistant

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 30, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Some days you feel like a paper clip, other days you feel like a genius or a dog. You can change the Office Assistant to reflect your moods, if you so desire. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. If the Office Assistant is not visible on your screen, asking you what you would like to know, press F1. This displays a cartoon balloon above the Office Assistant that has two or three buttons at the bottom.
  2. If the Office Assistant does not appear when you press F1, close the Help system (which should have appeared) and then choose Show the Office Assistant from the Help menu. This displays the Office Assistant, along with a cartoon balloon with two or three buttons in it.
  3. If the cartoon balloon doesn't appear as described in steps 1 and 2, click once on the Office Assistant. It should now appear.
  4. Click on the Options button. This displays the Office Assistant dialog box.
  5. Click on the Gallery tab. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Gallery tab of the Office Assistant dialog box.

  7. Scroll through the available Office Assistant characters by using the Back and Next buttons.
  8. When you find an assistant you like, click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2871) 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

Maintaining the Active Cell

Move from one worksheet to another, and Excel selects whatever cell was last used in the worksheet you are selecting. If ...

Discover More

Using Strikethrough Formatting

Need a line through the middle of your text? Use strikethrough formatting, which is easy to apply using the Format Cells ...

Discover More

Calculating a Future Date

Need to figure out a date a certain number of days, weeks, months, or years in the future? It's easy to do using the ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

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 four minus 2?

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.