Small Business

Microsoft Word Tip: Turn Off Unnecessary Buttons and Toolbars

By Rick Broida

Updated on: April 11, 2008 / 12:00 PM EDT / MoneyWatch

Calling all Word 2003 (and earlier) users: The more toolbars you've got stacked up, the less space you have for viewing your actual document. So rid the word processor of the ones you seldom use. Here's how:

Right-click anywhere on any toolbar.
Left-click any toolbar that has a checkmark next to it. It'll immediately disappear from the screen. (You can restore a toolbar using the same method.)

Complicated, huh? For the record, many users need only the Standard and Formatting toolbars. Want to remove unnecessary buttons from an individual toolbar? Right-click anywhere on it and then click Customize. Then right-click any unwanted button and choose Delete. Don't worry: You can still access the functions from the pull-down menus if need be.