Quick Access Toolbars and Templates

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 6, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016

Stephen wonders if it is possible to save or somehow embed a customized Quick Access Toolbar into a template. He wants other users to immediately have access to his customized QAT when they create a new document based on the template.

The short answer is that this isn't directly possible—at least not as Stephen is probably envisioning. Quick Access Toolbars are, by default, stored in a file called Word.QAT if you are using Word 2007 or Word.OfficeUI if you are using a later version of Word. (You can use the search capabilities in Windows to locate the appropriate file on your system.)

Note that the QAT information is stored in its own file—it is not something that can be embedded in a document or a template. To associate a custom QAT with a template, what most developers do is to develop the VBA programming steps that, when executed, modify the user's QAT to include whatever tools necessary. This, as you can imagine, is no small undertaking. Combined with the need to "undo" the QAT changes when the user changes to a different document or when the user exits Word, it can be a downright monumental task.

If you decide you want to try your hand at developing a customized QAT and then making it work with a particular template, you can't go wrong by checking out this page on Greg Maxey's site:

http://gregmaxey.com/word_tip_pages/customize_ribbon_main.html

You'll want to study the entire article (and the links to which Greg calls attention), but pay particular attention to his third example, which deals with how to add your own commands to the QAT.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (402) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016.

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

Hiding Spelling Errors

When you are typing in a document, Word normally checks your spelling in the background, marking possible spelling errors ...

Discover More

Using Find and Replace to Change Text Case

Can you really use Find and Replace to change the case of text in your document? Not really, but that shouldn't stop you ...

Discover More

Changing the Footnote Continuation Separator

When you add a really long footnote to a document, it could be that the entire footnote might not fit on the page where ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Inconsistent Prompting to Save Normal Template Changes

You can configure Word to notify you when it is about to save updates to the Normal template. There may be some ...

Discover More

Managing Corporate Templates

Templates are used to store styles and lots of other customizations that affect how you use Word. On a single-user ...

Discover More

Understanding Templates

Templates are used to store a pattern for how a document should look. As such, they can be a very powerful tool for ...

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 6 - 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.