Excel Quick Access Toolbar; Meaning, Purpose, and How to Use It

In this tutorial, you will learn what is excel quick access toolbar, its functions, and how to use it.

If you want to finish your work faster in excel, then quick access toolbar is something you can use. After you understand it through this tutorial, you should be interested to use it more to help your excel work.

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Quick Access Toolbar Meaning is…

Before we learn further about it, we should answer this question first: what is the quick access toolbar?

The quick access toolbar meaning is a feature that contains shortcuts to some command buttons.

By default, you can access it in the top left of your excel file. You can see its exact location in the screenshot below (in the box with the red lines)

The Purpose of a Quick Access Toolbar

Generally, the purpose of a quick access toolbar is to make access to the command buttons you want to use easier. With this feature, you don’t need to trouble yourself locating the command buttons you want to use. Just move your pointer to the top left part of your excel file and click the button you want to use.

Because of that, it is great if you fill your quick access toolbar with the command buttons you often use. Doing that will make it much easier for you to access the buttons whenever and wherever you need them.

How to Change the Excel Quick Access Toolbar Position

If you use Windows, then you can change the quick access toolbar position in your excel.

Just click the dropdown on the far right of your quick access toolbar and choose Show Below the Ribbon.



Excel will immediately move your quick access toolbar under your excel ribbon.



Want to return it to its original position? Click its dropdown again and choose Show Above the Ribbon. Your quick access toolbar will return to its original position!

As an alternative, you can also move it by right-clicking on your excel ribbon. Then, choose Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon or Show Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon to move it.

How to Add Shortcuts to the Quick Access Toolbar

Do you feel there are some shortcuts missing from your quick access toolbar and you want to add them? There are 3 methods to do that in excel.

The first method is to use the quick access toolbar dropdown. Click on the dropdown and check the button shortcuts you want to add to your quick access toolbar by clicking them. The button choices there are those that excel users often use.



The second method is by pulling them directly from your excel ribbon. Please note that only Windows users can use this method.

Right-click on the ribbon command button you want to add to your quick access toolbar. And then, choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar.



Excel will immediately add that ribbon button shortcut to your quick access toolbar!

The last method is by using the Quick Access Toolbar dialog box.

There are also three methods to access the dialog box (two for Mac). The first one is by clicking File, Options, and then Quick Access Toolbar.



The second method is by right-clicking on anywhere in your excel ribbon area and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

The third method is by clicking the dropdown in your quick access toolbar. Then, choose More Commands… (For Mac, click the Excel text on the top left of your Mac screen and choose Preferences… and then Ribbon & Toolbar. After that, go to the Quick Access Toolbar tab in the dialog box shown. You can also click your quick access toolbar dropdown and choose More Commands…)

In the quick access toolbar dialog box, add the shortcuts you want by highlighting their command buttons in the left box. Next, click the Add >> button.



Excel will immediately move the buttons to the right box which contains the shortcuts your quick access toolbar will display. Note that you can also add macro buttons or buttons that aren’t in your ribbon in this dialog box.

After done adding your button shortcuts, click OK. Your quick access toolbar will contain the command buttons you just add to it.

How to Remove Shortcuts from the Quick Access Toolbar

To remove several shortcuts from your quick access toolbar, the methods are almost similar to adding them. However, the choices your choose during the process are a bit different.

The first method is by clicking your quick access toolbar dropdown and remove checkmarks from the shortcuts you want to remove. Those shortcuts will disappear from your quick access toolbar.



The second method is by right-clicking the quick access toolbar buttons you want to remove. And then, choose Remove from Quick Access Toolbar.



The third method is by using the Quick Access Toolbar dialog box in excel. We have discussed the methods to access this dialog box in the tutorial to add the shortcuts earlier.

In the dialog box, highlight the shortcuts you want to remove in the right box. Next, click the << Remove button there.



And then, click OK. The button shortcuts you want to remove have been removed!

How to Restore the Default Interface of the Quick Access Toolbar

Have modified the shortcuts in your quick access toolbar but, suddenly, you want to restore its default interface? Probably, some mistakes happen when you modify your quick access toolbar.

For that, you can use the Reset All Customizations… button in the Quick Access Toolbar dialog box.



Click the button and then click Yes in the subsequent dialog box. Your quick access toolbar display and contents will return to their original form before you start modifying it.

Additional Note

You can start using the quick access toolbar since excel 2007, the same version as the other Microsoft Office programs.



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