Quick Access Toolbar Office 2016 Icon Spacing too big

Smorck: FYI a better way to say you agree is click on "Helpful" button in the reply you agree with.  That makes it easier for MS to count how many people agree.

Well, it's good news that MS is going to sort out this shambles and hopefully take the experience into the next upgrade phase.  However, putting it through as a regular update will not help me.

I reverted back to previous version of Office as the upgrade was completely unusable for me.  So please make sure you advise on here when it is safe to upgrade.  Or send an email ;)

Hope it doesn't take the team long to get this sorted.

Folks, our shared UX controls team have been following this thread (and others), as well as your requests on UserVoice and are spinning up some work to address your concerns. I can't promise a specific date for getting this work out to you all, but they recognize the impact this has had on those of you who work with customized QAT and are moving very quickly.

When they're done you'll see the improvement arrive as part of the regular updates we send all subscription customers.

Thanks again for the clear feedback, both here and on UserVoice - keep it coming!

Cheers...pc

In the context of improving usability of QAT, I use a lot of tables and distribute workbooks to 'users'. If putting the cursor in the table, the Table Tools - Design tab [TTD] pops in and slashes the QAT in half. Even with the workbook protected, the DDT comes and does this, [When the ribbon in protect has about zero useable functions, except 'Refresh All [rest grayed, when I have the books loading with extra refresh buttons on QAT already. In short, as a user, the design tab has -zero- function. Yes, I could put the QAT below the address / formula / entry input bar, but this is not how most work.... we want max work area when it's needed.

Anyway, short story, options to -not- get certain ribbon push their foot in sideways would improve the QAT use substantially, with or without the excessive button spacing. The same book has custom shapes on the sheet with assigned macros. At least the the Drawing Tools and Picture Tools ribbon tabs do not pop in.

(Looked for a VBA solution, but [sorry for you] searched with Google and could not find any references to achieve the matter programmatically)

I find it notable that Microsoft has made their products less user friendly by rendering the QAT usless. Looking at the long list of comments and the inaction reflects their attitude towards customers. They are showing themselves to be large, bloated and unresponsive to customer needs.

My only option is back to 2013.  My preference now is to spend my time to look at freeware products.

They have now created a lot of work for me and are losing loyal customers.

I cut and pasted some alternatives from:  https://www.scoro.com/11-user-friendly-excel-alternatives/

I'll try some and get back.

Good luck

11 User-Friendly Excel Alternatives

Karola Karlson | 13.10.2015

Excel is the essential tool in every company’s work kit. Complex features and commands turn Excel into a comprehensive tool that stores information and enables arranging information for project planning and data analysis. Nobody can manage without Excel. Or maybe you can. Take a look at this list of 11 Excel alternatives and decide for yourself, whether or not it’s an irreplaceable analytics tool.

Did you know that there are many daily tasks that can be accomplished even more efficiently without a spreadsheet? See the processes that desperatelyneed an Excel alternative.

1. Google Docs Spreadsheet

Google Docs is probably the most easily manageable alternative to Excel. It looks similar to Excel’s layout and has pretty much the same features, except that it’s free for all Google account owners (of you have a Gmail account, you also have access to Google Docs).

Pros of Google Docs Spreadsheet:

• Cloud storage means that Google Docs is accessible from anywhere as long as you have a computer or mobile device and internet connection. It’s invaluable if you require access to your documents from another computer.
• Collaboration is taken to a new level by Google. Instead of working on an Excel file on one device and sharing it by Slack or email, you can share a Google Spreadsheet document with others and make edits simultaneously, enhancing teamwork and raising project management to a new level.
• Apps Script: Just like Excel has a VBA (Visual Basic for Applications), Google Apps Script allows additional programming based on Javascript. You can run scripts and connect to APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).

Why use Excel:

• Chart formatting: Excel has extensive options for formatting data charts – changing axis name, formatting data values etc. Google Sheets has limited formatting capabilities compared to Excel.
• Work that requires high processing power is where Excel really stands out. If you have to analyse 10 000+ rows of data, Excel is the leading tool for the job. Still, it’s not all-powerful. If the amount of data exceeds 300 000+ Excel rows, it is best to use a real data analysis tool like Matlab.
• Do not use Google Docs if you’re going to China – Google Apps are blocked around there.

2. Apache OpenOffice

This free data analysis tool is increasingly popular among businesses. It’s a comprehensive tool and a perfect alternative to Excel whenever you need to manage small sets of data (under 10 000 rows). Over 100 000 000 computers already have this OpenOffice software installed. Once you’ve downloaded it to your computer, OpenOffice does not require an internet connection to use it.

OpenOffice runs perfectly on Windows, Mac OSX and Linux, so everyone is able to download it. This Excel alternative has an open source code, meaning that the program can be improved and adapted to your company’s needs. It can also be used to open Excel documents, that makes switching between these two tools effortless.

Get OpenOffice here.

3. LibreOffice

Also derived from the original Openoffice.org like Apache Open Office, these two open source Excel alternatives are quite similar. In fact, it’s an alternative to the whole Microsoft Office app bundle, not just Excel.

Excel features like pivot table and text to columns are also available in LibreOffice but it lacks extensive formatting. It also tends to crash sometimes so it’s fine for personal use but not for a comprehensive business analysis,

Get LibreOffice here.

4. Bime

Bime Analytics is a new way of expressing and analysing data in a more presentable display. It’s not quite the formal Excel functionality you find in Bime but when you need to create beautiful data visualizations to share with your organization or partners, this is an excellent tool to use.

Bime is an innovative data analytics tool that allows you to integrations with third party applications and software enabling data to be imported to one place. If you’re looking for a new way of understanding your data, you should consider Bime. Still, it’s not the leading alternative for analyzing extensive amounts of data; compared to Excel it’s great at delivering beautiful visualisations but not for conducting a comprehensive financial analysis.

Look up Bime here.

5. ThinkFree

This free Excel alternative is quite similar to Google Drive Apps and lets you create several different types of online documents. It’s three main features are Write, Calc and Show are compatible with other office programs. ThinkFree enables you to write documents, create spreadsheets and presentations. It also enables online collaboration provides you with 1 GB free online storage (although compared to Google Drive’s 15 GB, it’s fails to compete).

ThinkFree has a mobile service that allows you to examine office documents and edit them whilst on the move. Uni-Paper, Think Free’s online viewer program is very handy when you need to view any type of spreadsheet document. With Uni-Paper, you can open documents online without requiring installation of office software to your computer.

Find out more about ThinkFree here.

6. Excel Web Application

Microsoft built Web Apps to allow users store their documents in cloud and share them with other users – namely colleagues, project members or bosses. And of course in the process offering an alternative to the free Google Spreadsheet. MS Excel Web App is similar to Google Spreadsheet, allowing unlimited sharing and co-working on a document. Instead of sending an Excel spreadsheet via email, you can upload it to Excel Web Application and share it even quicker.

The best feature about Excel Web Application is that it is available for free. The only requirement is that you own a Microsoft account. However You don’t get all MS Excel features within the web app – business analysis features like VBA, macros etc.

Use this alternative to MS Excel if  you work with small amounts of data and need your team collaborating on the same document.

7. Numbers for Mac

Of course Apple could not leave their users out to dry. So they created Numbers for Mac to be the Apple alternative to Excel. An interesting feature in this Excel alternative is that in Numbers, a new document does not begin with an endless grid but a plain sheet. It allows you to choose fonts, style cell borders and move everything around the canvas. The result – a clear sheet with charts that are a pleasure to look at.

Numbers for Mac is a perfect spreadsheet when you need to make  beautifully visualized presentations with small amounts of data. To make it easier, Apple also added prebuilt templates and over 250 functions that support comprehensive analysis. If you’re an iPhone or iPad user, Numbers documents are accessible from everywhere. You can also edit the documents in cooperation with other team members. There’s even the option of saving a Numbers document as an Excel Spreadsheet. Yes, Apple has thought of everything.

Read more about Numbers for Mac.

8. SPREAD32

SPREAD 32 is another free Excel alternative that includes over 300 functions in mathematics and trigonometrics, reference, logic, engineering and financial categories and work with basic spreadsheet files like XLS, CSV, and PXL. When analyzing or organizing small amounts of data, this free spreadsheet enables almost all important features including filtering data, inserting charts and setting up to three conditional formatting settings.

If you have to go through a comprehensive data analysis, SPREAD32 should not be your go-to tool as it doesn’t support working with huge amount of data. This Excel alternative requires downloading before it’s used so if your computer’s hard drive is crammed with data, it might be best to stick to online spreadsheets.

You can get SPREAD32 here.

9. Gnumeric

Gnumeric is a simple open-source spreadsheet application that has all the basic Excel features. Like many other free Excel alternatives, it’s a fine tool for less complicated data analysis. It can open documents created with Excel, Lotus 1-2-3, Open Office etc.  A strange detail about Gnumeric is that menus and dialogue boxes open under the main interface, it will probably take some time to get used to the applications navigation.

Gnumeric is licensed under the terms of General Public License that permits auditing and making custom extensions to the spreadsheet application. It is part of the open-source GNOME desktop environment.

Get Gnumeric here.

 10. BIRT Spreadsheet

Formerly named Actuate e.Spreadsheet, this downloadable application is quite a powerful companion when you need to automate and centralize spreadsheet production, maintenance, archiving, and security. The BIRT bundle also includes Free BIRT Spreadsheet Designer – an easy-to-use report writer for creating authentic Excel files and reports that retain formulas, formatting, live charts and data connections.

This Excel alternative has many many features that enable thorough data analysis: live formulas, pivot tables, hyperlinks to navigate to other Excel documents, data-driven layouts etc.

Download BIRT Spreadsheet here.

11. Zoho Sheet

Another cloud-based free Excel alternative that empowers your productivity and enables workig in an Excel-like environment, creating new spreadsheets and editing documents written in other spreadsheet applications. It offers functionality that legacy Excel users are familiar with and you can conveniently switch between .xlsx, .xls, .csv, and .ods without any problems. The spreadsheet application supports charts and pivot tables and lets you engage the whole team to work together on a document. Did we mention you can access your documents anytime and also from mobile devices?

Another excellent feature about Zoho Sheet is that it’s part of an extensive cloud-based software bundle, designed to change the way we manage and create our documents and presentations. It should be noted that some Zoho applications aren’t free.

Use Zoho Sheet for free here.

Conclusion

Well folks, it’s time to wrap it up and announce the winner. As you might think, Excel has so many more features than its free and paid alternatives. If you prefer to analyse data on a spreadsheet, this should be your go-to tool.

But don’t let the Excel shine blindfold you. Although it is a great tool for some types of analysis and storing information, there are software solutions that do the job for you. If you need to analyse the company’s budget and income, it might be more effective to use accounting software; and whenever you need a clear overview of your client base, a CRM (Client Relationship Management) tool let’s you arrange and analyse data even faster than Excel.

Keep in mind that there are spreadsheet alternatives to Excel, but an even more powerful solution lies in business tools designed especially for storing and analysing business data, for example software that lets you create performance dashboards.

If you’d like to learn more about the software required for creating a well-designed KPI dashboard, see this guide to KPI tracking dashboards.

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Since the spacing causes so many QAT buttons to drop off the screen, a shortcut macro to show them all, much 'quicker' [pun] than letting your eye search for the >> button (More Controls) and then steer the mouse there, then click.

Sub QuickAccessToolbarExpand() 'Shortcut Ctrl+t

'

    With Application

        .SendKeys ("%"), True

        .Wait (Now() + TimeValue("00:00:01"))

        .SendKeys "00"

    End With

    DoEvents

End Sub

Mind you, the "00" ( the alt code for the >> button) is for my system setup and works for both when no extra tabs as Design is showing as when none are, but if less button are present, maybe the "00" has a different alt code.

NB, Sendkeys is not exactly a reliable function, sometimes the 00 goes to the sheet instead of the QAT. In my case, the True statement had to be omitted to let these keystrokes go to the QAT on a consistent basis and a wait of 1 second to give time to the QAT to show up.

Edit: For the MS developers: If using Alt 00 it becomes very painful to actually see the icons of the bar. The typed black square overlays with 1 or 2 characters to choose the action, overlays the icon to leave about 1 quarter at the top, very hard to see which icon you want. Fortunately it can be blindly trusted for 00 on to mean 'expand the QAT'

(BTW, I'm trying all this on my testbed machine with the Office 2016 interface.)