How to reduce spacing between icons on quick access toolbar?

Anonymous
2013-03-13T22:55:12+00:00

Office 365 seems ok, though can't yet identify any improvements over 2010. However a HUGE negative is the increased spacing between icons on the QAT, which means that about 14 fewer icons fit across the screen. I appreciate that MS did this to allow easier access to the macros through touch, but I don't need this (even though I have a touch computer). I want my old icon spacing back. If anyone knows how to do this I will buy them a (metaphorical) beer. Otherwise, it is probably back to 2010 for me, unless I can find any ways in which 365 is better.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Answer accepted by question author
Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2013-03-14T01:07:15+00:00

Edit: The answer below was correct for the Office Technical Preview at the time it was written. In a later update of the Preview, the ability to reduce the spacing of the Quick Access Toolbar was removed, and it is still absent in the released version as of September 2015. Please visit http://office.uservoice.com/forums/285186-general/suggestions/9906966-office-2016-quick-access-toolbar-too-wide and vote to have the Mouse Mode spacing of the Quick Access Toolbar restored.

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The Office 2013 / Office 365 programs have a touch mode with wider spacing, and a mouse mode with the same spacing as previous versions. (This affects both the Quick Access Toolbar and the ribbon.)

Click the down-arrow at the right end of the Quick Access Toolbar and click the item "Touch/Mouse Mode". The button that appears shows a hand with the index finger extended and touching a blue spot. Click that button and choose the mouse mode.

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  1. Anonymous
    2015-09-30T18:38:54+00:00

    I see no difference between Touch Mode and Mouse Mode--the same ridiculously wide spacing is present, using up valuable screen real estate (or is it "virtual estate"--"virtual real estate" just seems wrong.)

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  2. Anonymous
    2015-09-26T11:27:33+00:00

    Yes, exactly, DOCX created in 2003 will run in compatibility mode in the newer versions of Office.

    Thanks for the reminder. I forgot we could import 2003 toolbars.  So that is an alternative for creating ribbons with more custom buttons.

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  3. Anonymous
    2015-09-26T07:32:03+00:00

    Good to hear that 2003 can save as well as read in XML, though it would certainly save in "Compatibility Mode" making interaction with users of more recent versions a tiny bit tricky. XML is my main reason for sticking to 365/2013 as its file sizes are typically around half of those of .doc or .xls files. But if 2016 spaces my QAT buttons more widely I will happily return to 2003 provided it can save new docx files.

    It might interest/amuse you to see my 365/2013 QAT etc. Luckily Ron de Bruin worked out a way to bring 2003 macros and buttons across to 2010. I have around 10 of them on my QAT - all I can fit in. Many of the rest are in ADD-INS. How MS could take a perfectly good program and f__k it up never ceases to amaze me. Fingers crossed that they can take their blinkers off long enough to see this AND FIX IT.

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  4. Anonymous
    2015-09-26T05:46:05+00:00

    Problem is that it won't save docx files (as far as I know) so that alone would stop me going back to 2003.  I now have 3500 docx files out of 7000 Word files, so apart from the file size issue, sadly I can't go back to doc (SGML?) files

    Wrong.  I just looked in my copy of 2003 and with the compatibility pack it does have the option of saving DOCX.  It says 2010 format, but I haven't tested that. I suspect that text description is based on the default application associated with DOCX.

    So if you save a DOCX from 2003, it will be in an older format (2007 or 2010). It won't be able to support all of the new features in 2010/2013/2016, but it will support MOST features that most people use.

    I too have a mix of document files.  Some remaining "old" DOCs, more DOCX and many more HTML that I created with Word. I Use DOCX for new, files with images (copies of web articles), and HTML for text only with simple formatting (like hyperlinks).

    What do you do you mean by the file size issue?  DOCX's are typically smaller than DOCs? Maybe we can solve that issue too.

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