The Toolbars

There are 15 to 20 toolbars in Microsoft Word (depending on your version of Word and how many add-ons you have installed). The 2 most important and most used toolbars are the Standard Toolbar and the Formatting Toolbar. Look at the top of the screen just under the Menu Bar and you will see those 2 toolbars.

To show or hide the toolbars, you click on the View menu and select Toolbars. The toolbars with a check mark are currently visible on the screen. Simply click on a toolbar to either show it or hide it. Try clicking on some of the toolbars.

Remember that you always want to show the Standard Toolbar and the Formatting Toolbar.

Toolbars can be moved to the top of the window, the bottom of the window, or to the left or right side of the window. To move a toolbar, place the cursor on the dim vertical line on the left side of the toolbar. When you get a cursor that has vertical and horizontal double arrows, click and drag the toolbar to the desired location. Try it. It will be a little awkward at first, but practice a little bit until you get the hang of it.

The toolbars that you will most frequently use (besides the Standard Toolbar and the Formatting Toolbar) are the Picture Toolbar, the Drawing Toolbar, and the Tables and Borders Toolbar.

Another way (a very convenient way) to show and hide toolbars is to use the right-click method. Try this. Right-click at the top of the screen and to the right of one of the toolbars. You will see a pop-up menu appear. Just click on any of the toolbars that you want to show or hide.

We will do some exercises using the Formatting and Standard Toolbars.