Animated Menus

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

One of the ways that Excel attempts to add spice to life is through menu animation. Normally menu animation is turned off, but if you have some CPU cycles to spare, you may want to give it a try.

Choose Customize from the Tools menu and then click on the Options tab. The Menu Animations drop-down list has these possible settings:

  • System Default. This is (oddly enough) the default; there is no menu animation.
  • Random. Results in a menu using the Unfold or Slide method, at random.
  • Unfold. The menu opens up from top to bottom and left to right.
  • Slide. The menu "slides" onto the screen, progressing from top to bottom.
  • Fade. The menu "fades" in, from light to dark.

Make your selection, then click on the Close button.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (3326) 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

Picking Up Where You Left Off

Need a quick way to get back to a where you previously edited? Here's a shortcut that will serve you well.

Discover More

Unique Name Entry, Take Two

If you need to make sure that a column contains only unique text values, you can use data validation for the task. This ...

Discover More

Protecting Print Settings

Need to have your print settings always be a certain way? Tired of resetting the settings after others use the workbook ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

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

Making Short Work of Menu Names

If your menu bar has become cluttered due to different add-ins you've added, you can free up space by shortening the menu ...

Discover More

Adding Items to a Context Menu

Context menus can be very helpful for presenting common operations you can perform, based on the context in which the ...

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 seven minus 5?

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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.