Customize Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) in Excel – The Efficiency Booster

By default only one seventh of the commands are visible on the ribbon due to which you need to switch between tabs to use multiple options which consumes time.  The solution for this problem is to have all the commands which we use frequently at one place. Is it possible to have all our frequently used options at one place for an easy access? The answer is Yes. You can do this using the Quick Access ToolBar in Excel. This feature is available from Office 2007 and above.  

In this post, Let us see what QAT is and how to customize it to improve our efficiency.

What is Quick Access Toolbar

Quick Access Tool Bar (QAT) is a customizable tool bar located at the left most corner of the window on the top of the ribbon. This tool bar contains a set of commands that are independent of tab on the ribbon that is being visible currently.  By default save, undo and redo commands along with an arrow pointing downward are available on the QAT. Adding up all the required/ most frequently used commands to the QAT helps to do your work much quicker.

Positioning the Quick Access Toolbar

By default the position of the QAT is on the top of the ribbon. You can change the position of the QAT from the top of the ribbon to below the ribbon. (Above the formula bar in case if you want to use it more frequently). To do this Right Click on the Quick Access Tool bar and select the option “Show below the Ribbon”. (See below image)

Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar

Adding/ Removing Commands

The QAT provides you with the option of adding other features/ options/ commands which you use frequently to it apart from the default options of save, undo and redo which helps to reduce the time to switch between the tabs in the ribbons.

To add an option/ feature/ command to the QAT

click on the drop down/ arrow pointing downward and you can see the most frequently used commands. Click on any of them to add it to the Quick Access Tool bar.  

If you want to add other features/ commands that are not there on the QAT and you use them frequently,  Right click on the QAT and select the “Customize Quick Access Toolbar”. A new window opens up listing all the features/ options/ commands that are available. Alternatively you can also click on more commands option in the drop down to display the Excel Options window.

In the Excel Options window, from the list of commands choose the command you want on the QAT. Click on Add button to add the command to QAT.

Excel Options Window

The Excel Options window provides with various options to customize your Quick Access Tool Bar.

• This window provides you the option of using the customized QAT only for the current workbook or for all other documents.
• You can arrange the Icons on the QAT by using the arrows available in the right pane along with adjusting the position of the QAT above/ below the ribbon. 
• You can access more than 2000+ commands from different tabs along with the commands that are not available on the ribbon through the dropdown available on the left.
• Seperate the Icons on the QAT by using the separator option. This helps to group the icons.
• As an alternative , you can export the settings and use on a different system to replicate the QAT. You can reset to default QAT by clicking on the Reset button available at the bottom.

Adding/ Assigning Macros

To add/ assign a macro to QAT choose “Macros” option from the drop down on the right and you can see a list of all available Macros. Click on the Macro you needed and then click on “Add” button to add it to the QAT.

Every Macro added to the QAT gets an identical icon. However, you can select an icon in the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list box. Then click the Modify button which helps you choose an icon from the 55 set icons which are available. These icons are easy to identify and are related to the task they do. For Example Save icon is well known and have a meaning.

You can also type a text for a display name to reflect when you hover your mouse on the icon.

Removing Icons

We can remove the commands on QAT from the same window. Select the command which you don’t need on the QAT from the right side block. Then click on the remove button.

Alternatively, remove the commands by right clicking on the icon on the QAT and select “Remove from Quick Access Tool Bar”

Shortcut to Access icons in Quick Access Toolbar

Access the QAT by pressing the ALT key on the keyboard. Press and release the Alt key and you can see the numbers appearing below each icon on the QAT.

ALT+{the icon number} is the shortcut for the command.

Points to Remember

• Quick Access Tool Bar cannot be in displayed/ seen in multiple lines. It is always a single line.
• Increasing/ Decreasing the size of the buttons/ Icons on the QAT is not possible. To see bigger icons adjust the screen resolution.
• Only commands can be added to the Quick Access Toolbar. Contents of lists, such as indent and spacing values and individual styles, which appear on the ribbon, cannot be added to the Quick Access Toolbar. 

What Commands/Icons do you use on Quick Access Toolbar?

Please do share what commands you use on the QAT. Also which commands do you feel it necessary to be on the QAT for any excel user.