Customize Excel ribbon with your own tabs, groups or commands

Master Excel Ribbon Customization: A Comprehensive Guide

This tutorial empowers you to personalize the Excel ribbon, adding tabs, commands, and groups, hiding or showing elements, and managing settings. Since Excel 2010, ribbon customization has been readily available, allowing you to tailor the interface to your specific workflow.

Customization Capabilities and Limitations

Before diving in, understand what's possible and what's not:

Customizable Elements:

• Show, hide, rename, and rearrange tabs.
• Create new tabs with custom commands.
• Add, remove, and rearrange groups within tabs.
• Export/import custom ribbon settings.
• Customize contextual tabs (those that appear when specific elements are selected).

Non-Customizable Elements:

• Built-in commands (names, icons, order) cannot be altered.
• Ribbon size, text size, icon size, and ribbon color are fixed. You can, however, hide or collapse the ribbon.
• The overall Office color scheme can be modified, but not the ribbon's color independently.

Accessing the Customization Settings

Ribbon customization is managed through the "Customize the Ribbon" window, accessible in two ways:

1. File > Options > Customize Ribbon: Navigate through the Excel menu.
2. Right-click the Ribbon: A context menu appears; select "Customize the Ribbon…"

The following instructions apply to Excel 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and later versions.

Creating a New Ribbon Tab

To create a tab for frequently used commands:

1. In the "Customize the Ribbon" window, click "New Tab." This automatically adds a custom group.
2. Rename the tab (e.g., "My Tools") and the group (e.g., "My Group") using the "Rename…" button.
3. Click "OK" to save changes. The tab appears in the ribbon, but the group remains empty until commands are added.

Adding a Custom Group

To add a group to an existing tab (default or custom):

1. Select the target tab in the "Customize the Ribbon" window.
2. Click "New Group." A new group is added (e.g., "New Group (Custom)"). Rename it appropriately.
3. Click "OK."

Adding Commands to a Group

Commands are added only to custom groups:

1. Select the custom group.
2. From "Choose commands from," select a command source (e.g., "Popular Commands," "Commands Not in the Ribbon").
3. Select a command and click "Add."
4. Click "OK."

Hiding Command Labels (Showing Icons Only)

To save space, hide labels and display only icons:

1. Right-click the custom group.
2. Select "Hide Command Labels."
3. Click "OK."

Renaming Ribbon Items

Rename tabs, groups, or custom commands (but not built-in commands):

1. Select the item.
2. Click "Rename…"
3. Enter the new name and optionally select a symbol.
4. Click "OK."

Moving Ribbon Items

Rearrange tabs, groups (within a tab), or commands (within a custom group):

1. Select the item.
2. Use the up/down arrows to reposition.
3. Click "OK."

Removing Ribbon Items

Remove custom tabs, groups, or commands (not built-in items):

1. Select the item.
2. Click "Remove."
3. Click "OK."

Hiding and Showing Tabs

Hide or show tabs (except the "File" tab):

1. Check or uncheck the tab's box.
2. Click "OK."

Customizing Contextual Tabs

Customize contextual tabs (appearing when specific elements are selected) by selecting "Tool Tabs" from the "Choose commands from" dropdown.

Resetting the Ribbon to Default Settings

To revert changes:

• Reset All: Click "Reset" and select "Reset all customizations."
• Reset Selected Tab: Click "Reset" and select "Reset only selected Ribbon tab."

Exporting and Importing Custom Ribbon Settings

To share or back up your customizations:

1. Export: Click "Import/Export," then "Export all customizations."
2. Import: Click "Import/Export," then "Import customization file." Note: Importing overwrites existing settings.

This guide provides a thorough overview of Excel ribbon customization. Experiment and tailor your ribbon to enhance your productivity!

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