How to Customize Office 2007

Office 2007 includes applications such as Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Publisher, Outlook and SharePoint Designer. Customizing Office 2007 applications helps you work more efficiently, find tools more easily and save time. The toolbar menu in some Office applications has been replaced by the Office Button, Ribbon and Tabs. While the following customizations apply to Office 2007 in general, you can also customize specific Office applications for each program as well.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Customize Your Desktop to Include Office 2007

1. Go to "Start > All Programs" and navigate to "Microsoft Office."

2. Select the "Microsoft Office" group to drag it to a different area of the Start menu.

3. Create a desktop shortcut for an Office 2007 application by going to "Start > Programs" and selecting the Office application you'd like to add to your shortcut.

4. Right-click on the application and click "Send To > Desktop (create shortcut)."

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar in Office 2007

5. Open an Office 2007 application (Word, Excel, PowerPoint.) Select the "Office Button" and "Options" for that application and choose "Customize" in the Options dialog box.

6. Display the "Quick Access Toolbar" below the Ribbon by placing a checkmark beside "Show quick Access Toolbar Below Ribbon." Otherwise, leave it unchecked.

7. Add a command to the "Popular Commands" displayed in the Ribbon by selecting "Popular Commands" under "Choose commands from" in the Options dialog box. Highlight the command you want to add (from the left column) and hit the "Add" button. To remove a command from "Popular Commands" by highlighting it on the right column and hitting the "Remove" button.

8. Add a command to your tabs by selecting the tab name under "Choose commands from" in the Options dialog box. Highlight the command you want to add (from the left column) and hit the "Add" button. To remove a command from a tab, highlight it (from the right column) and hit the "Remove" button. To reset the Office 2007 customization, hit the "Reset" button.

Customizing the Shortcut Keys in Office 2007

9. Open an Office 2007 application (Word). Select the "Office Button" and "Options" for that application and choose "Customize" in the Options dialog box.

10. Hit the "Customize" button beside keyboard shortcuts. Select the tab or group the command is in from "Category." Choose the command under "Commands."

11. Place your cursor in the "Press New Key" textbox and use your keyboard to enter the command shortcut.

12. Hit the "Assign" button and then click "Close." Remove a shortcut key by highlighting it, hitting the "Remove" button and then clicking "Close."

13. Reset your shortcut keys by hitting the "Reset" button and then clicking "Close."

Customize the Office 2007 Color Scheme

14. Open an Office 2007 application and select the "Office Button."

15. Click on "Options" for that application. Highlight the "Popular" category.

16. For "Color scheme," click on the color you'd like to use.

Customizing Spell-Check in Office 2007 Products

17. Open an Office 2007 application and select the "Office Button."

18. Click on "Options" for that application and highlight the "Proofing" category.

19. Place a checkmark beside the commands you'd like Office 2007 to use (under "When correcting spelling in Microsoft Office programs").

20. Click on the "Custom Dictionaries" button to change your dictionary settings.

Customizing Office 2007 Add-Ins

21. Open an Office 2007 application and select the "Office Button."

22. Click on "Options" for that application and select "Add-Ins." Your active application add-ins will be listed first and your inactive ones, second.

23. Select the "Manage" button and click "Go" to manage your add-ins.

24. Place a checkmark beside the add-in you'd like to add. Uncheck the add-in you'd like to remove. Hit "OK."

References

• Office 2007 Customization
• Customizing Toolbars and Menus