As you probably know, Office 2007 groups related commands on a new interface object known as the Ribbon.

While this is convenient most of the time, it means that commands aren’t always available. Sometimes users have to switch between Ribbon tabs to access a command. Switching from one tab to another isn’t a big deal, but if you do it a lot, it can become a nuisance. Fortunately, it’s a nuisance you can avoid.

If users add a command to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), it will always be available, regardless of the current tab. It is advisable to be discriminating about what you place on the QAT, because it can fill up in a hurry. Good candidates to add, include those commands you have to search for when you need them:

To quickly add an item to the QAT, find it on the Ribbon, right-click it, and choose Add To Quick Access Toolbar. To quickly remove an item from the QAT, right-click it and choose Remove From Quick Access Toolbar. To add an item that’s not on the Ribbon, do the following:

• From the QAT’s drop-down list - Choose More Commands
  
  
  
  to display the Word Options dialog box.
  
  
• From the Choose Commands From control, choose a Commands Not currently In The Ribbon, as shown above, to update the list of items.
• Click the Add button to add the Command to the QAT
  
  
  The Selected Command will then appear on the QAT
  
  
• Repeat until all the required commands appear on the QAT e.g.
  
  • Select the command you want to add to the QAT.
  • Click Add to move the item to the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list. You can add many items at one time.
• When you’re finished, click OK.
  

It’s very much up to you to decide what items end up on your QAT. There are however several that you’ll probably want to add as soon as you upgrade to Office 2007. For example...

• Word: New, Open, Save, Quick Print, Print Preview, Spelling & Grammar
• Excel: Open, Save, Quick Print
  
• Access: Open, Print Preview
  
• PowerPoint: Open, Save, Spelling & Grammar