Resetting Ribbons

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 14, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word 2010 and later versions allow you to customize the appearance of the ribbons that appear at the top of the program window. If you run across a system in which the ribbons have been modified, you can change them back easily by following these steps:

Right-click the mouse anywhere on the ribbon. Word displays a Context menu.
From the Context menu choose Customize the Ribbon. Word displays the Word Options dialog box with the Customize Ribbon option selected at the left. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Customize Ribbon options of the Word Options dialog box.

If you want to reset a single ribbon tab, use the controls at the right side of the dialog box to select the tab.
Click the Reset drop-down list. Word presents you with two options: Reset Only Selected Ribbon Tab is used to reset whatever tab you selected in step 3 and Reset All Customizations is used to set everything back to its default.
Select the option that represents what you want to reset.
Click OK.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10391) applies to Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Understanding and Using Batch Files

Batch files are a hold-over from the days of DOS, but they still provide some great features in the lastest versions of ...

Discover More

Pasting Clean Text

One of the most helpful tools in Word is the ability to paste straight text into a document. This is used so much on my ...

Discover More

Saving Print Specifications with a Document

When you create a document, you may envision that document being printed in a specific way. What if you want to save ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

A Shortcut for Switching Focus

Word provides keyboard shortcuts for lots of things, but it doesn't provide one for switching to the desktop and back to ...

Discover More

Understanding ASCII and ANSI Characters

Two of the most common character coding schemes used in computers go by the acronyms ASCII and ANSI. This tip explains a ...

Discover More

Leaving Minimized Documents Minimized

If you have open documents minimized on the Taskbar and then open another document, all of the previously minimized ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 1?

2021-08-16 11:08:56

Cynthia Heimann

i have a situation I'd like to resolve that I do not know how to describe, but here's a try. The ruler at the top of a document does not show the 'top half' of the ruler with the arrow one would use, with the lower arrow, to set a hanging indent. See attached (see Figure 1 below) - how can this be fixed?
Thanks!

Figure 1.

2021-08-16 09:54:01

Cynthia Heimann

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.