Changing the Office Assistant

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 5, 2025)
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.

  6. Scroll through the available Office Assistant characters by using the Back and Next buttons.
  7. 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. ...

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