How to Stop the Mini Toolbar from Popping Up in Microsoft Word

Sometimes it is the smallest tip that makes the biggest difference to a brand new computer user who is  just starting to use Microsoft Office for the first time.

One feature that I notice is very confusing (and honestly, borderline annoying) is the way the Mini Toolbar pops up whenever text is selected.

It is designed to be helpful, providing quick access to your formatting tools so you don’t have to move your cursor up to the Home Ribbon to change basic formatting settings like the font size or font colour.

However, the Mini Toolbar tends to get in the way more than anything.

As we work with students and show them how a right-click on selected text opens up both the Mini Toolbar and the More Options menu, they start to say: “I wish I could just turn off the Mini Toolbar when selecting text.”

Well you can!

In Microsoft Word 2016, click on File > Options. In the General section, look in the User Interface options. You will find a checkbox for “Show Mini Toolbar on selection.”

Remove the check mark from the checkbox so the box is empty.

You will now only see the Mini Toolbar when you right click on selected text!

I hope you find that tip helpful.

– Kelly Marshall, Senior Microsoft Instructor, Q College and Q Academy

*****

To learn more tips and tricks for Microsoft Word, consider taking a Microsoft Word course with Q Academy. We can help match you with the course level that’s best for you, or design a custom course to meet your needs.