Save time hunting for menus in Word by creating your own

by Mary Ann Richardson | Aug 29, 2006 7:00:00 AM

Tags: Word processors, Microsoft Office, Mary Ann Richardson, Microsoft Word, New Menu, Categories, menu bar, Microsoft Office Suite Word Tips Newsletter

Takeaway: Did you know you can create your own menus? In this tip from Mary Ann Richardson, learn how you can put all of your most-used Word applications into one easy, accessible list.

Are you tired of having to click multiple times to get to a single menu in Word? Would your job be easier if the menus you use most often were all in one place?

For example, suppose your job frequently involves reviewing documents that require you to insert your own comments. You like to bookmark a section you reviewed before going on to the next one, and you also like to turn another reviewer's marks on and off as you perform your own edits. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Go to Tools | Customize.
2. Under Categories, select New Menu.
3. Under Commands, click and drag New Menu to the Menu bar.
4. Click the Modify Selection button.
5. Select Name: New Menu.
6. Select New Menu, type a new name (such as, My Menu), and press [Enter].
7. Under Categories, select View.
8. Under Commands, click and drag Markup to My Menu in the menu bar.
9. Under Categories, select Insert.
10. Under Commands, click and drag New Comment to My Menu.
11. Click and drag Bookmark to My Menu.
12. Click Close.

Now you can perform all of your frequent tasks from one menu. If you are working on another user's computer, you can still add this menu—just remember to delete it from the menu bar by pressing [Alt] as you click and drag it off the menu bar into the document area.

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