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What are Toolbars & Menus ?

A menu (or drop-down menu) is the way in which actions can be performed.

A toolbar is just a collection of icons that provides a shortcut to using a drop-down menu.

Toolbars offer quick shortcuts to commonly used commands and can be moved and repositioned.

The image that appears next to a command on a drop-down menu is usually an indication that this command also exists on a toolbar.

Excel contains two main menu bars, over fifty pre-defined toolbars and over fifty pre-defined shortcut menus.

You can re-position any of the toolbars using the mouse and they can be docked to any side of the application window.

To quickly display another toolbar select (View > Toolbars) and select the toolbar from the sub menu.

The ticks show all the toolbars that are currently displayed on the screen.

If the toolbar you want to display is not there you can press the Customise button at the bottom and select the Toolbars tab to get a full list.

When you first open Excel there are two toolbars displayed, the Standard toolbar and the Formatting toolbar. These are displayed on the same row initially although they can easily be adjusted to occupy two rows.

Alternatively you can right click on any toolbar to quickly display the (View > Toolbars) list.

The commands on a drop-down menu are divided into groups. This is to help you identify and remember the commands and to associate any commands that might be related.

Can I use the Keyboard ?

You can select menu commands by using the mouse or by using the keyboard.

Pressing the Alt key will activate the Menu Bar. Pressing the ESC key will deactivate the Menu Bar.

You can move between the menus by pressing the Arrow Keys or the Tab key. You can expand a particular menu by pressing the Enter key or the Up or Down arrow keys.

Alternatively you can select a particular drop-down menu by pressing the letter that is underlined on that menu.

Once the drop-down menu has expanded you can use similar methods to select the individual commands.

Once the command is highlighted you can press the Enter key to select it.

For example you could press (Alt + E, S) to display the Paste Special dialog box.

It is possible to use a different shortcut key to activate the menus and this can be changed from (Tools > Options)(Transition tab, Excel menu or Help key).

The slash (\) key can be used as an alternative to using the Alt key.

You can move between the visible toolbars by pressing (Ctrl + Tab) or (Ctrl + Shift + Tab).

Are there any Menu Conventions ?

All the Microsoft Office applications have standard conventions as far as the toolbars and menus are concerned.

Icons

Icons are located to the left of some commands and indicate that there is a toolbar providing an alternative way to activate the command. The icon is the same as that used on the toolbar.

Shortcut keys

Shortcut keys are located to the right of some commands and indicate that there is an alternative (and faster) way to activate the command using a shortcut key (Alt + G).

Triangular Arrows

Triangular arrows are located on the far right of some commands and indicate that there is a submenu.

These are also known as Cascading menus.

Ellipsis (…)

Ellipsis's are located on the right of the commands and indicate that a dialog box will be displayed in order to confirm the action.

Disabled

These are commands that are greyed out and indicate that the commands are unavailable at that time.

What are Screen Tips ?

A screen tip is the name given to the yellow box that appears when you hover over a command button.

These are extremely useful and can help identify the commands.

Make sure the Show screen tips on toolbars check box is ticked on the (View > ToolBars > Customise)(Options tab) dialog box.

Why are there Two Menu Bars ?

There are actually two Menu Bars and these behave exactly the same as a toolbar.

The Menu Bar can also be moved although no other toolbar can be placed on the same row.

The Worksheet Menu Bar is the most prominent and is typically the one that is displayed most of the time.

The Chart Menu Bar is automatically substituted for the Worksheet Menu Bar whenever a chart is active.

The only difference is that the Data drop-down menu has been replaced with a Chart drop-down menu.

You will notice that a lot of the commands on the other drop-down menus have been disabled.

Docked or Floating Toolbars ?

Some of the toolbars you open are "floating" and some are "docked".

Floating toolbars can appear over the worksheet area and can be moved and dragged around.

Docked toolbars are anchored to the edge of the application window.

The different toolbars can be displayed or hidden at any time. A screen displaying fewer toolbars provides a larger and less cluttered working area.

You can move a floating toolbar by dragging its title bar. To anchor it you can double click its title bar.

To transfer a docked toolbar into a floating toolbar hover the mouse over a space in the toolbar and click and drag over the worksheet area.

When a toolbar is floating you can change its shape by dragging the borders or alternatively hide it by pressing the small cross in the top right corner.

You can use the Move Handle to drag and dock your toolbars.

This resembles a vertical line and can be found on the left of most toolbars.

Things to Remember

Be aware that toolbars will overlap when there is not enough room on the screen.

Excel's new personalised menus only show commands you frequently use.

Some toolbars are context sensitive and will appear on the screen automatically when you perform a specific task.

You can close a toolbar by clicking on the small cross in the top right corner. This is only available when the toolbar is floating.

It is possible to make your toolbars and buttons larger by using the "Options" tab of the (Tools > Customise) dialog box. This can be done by checking the "Large Icons" check box.

To quickly display a toolbar, press the Right mouse button when over a menu or toolbar to display the (View > Toolbars) list.

Depending on the task you are performing Excel may display additional toolbars automatically.

To close a menu that you might have opened accidentally press ESC or click the menu item again.