Changing Button Images in Microsoft Office Introduction This document deals with creating and modifying the button images used on Microsoft Office toolbars. Rarely is there a need to modify a toolbar button (one reason might be to make them clearer if you are visually impaired), however, creating your own distinct buttons is useful if you want to add your own macros or additional built-in commands to a toolbar. The document also shows you how to change the Screen Tip which appears when the mouse cursor is placed over a button. Some Microsoft Office applications also let you change other button properties. Choosing a Different Button Image Start up any Microsoft Office application: 1. Load up the application as usual 2. Right click on any toolbar 3. Select Customize... from the shortcut menu The system is now in a state for you to modify an icon: 4. Right click on the icon to be modified - here click on the first ([New]) button on the upper Standard toolbar 5. From the shortcut menu choose Change Button Image A selection of 42 built-in button images appears:
6. Click on the preferred image - the [New] button image should have changed To restore the old button: 7. Right click on the [New] button 8. Choose Reset from the shortcut menu Modifying an Existing Button Another option available from the shortcut menu is Edit Button Image. Try this next: 1. Right click on the icon to be modified - here click on the [New] button again 2. From the shortcut menu choose Edit Button Image... The Button Editor window appears:
In the editor you have a 16x16 grid of squares which forms the button image. There is also a palette of 16 colours plus an Erase button which can be used to make parts of the button transparent. You also have a Preview area, which displays the button at normal size, and a set of Move buttons, which moves the whole image around. 3. Try using the Move buttons - the image stops moving in a particular direction when it reaches the edge 4. Try recolouring the button by selecting a colour from the palette and then clicking on the grid squares to be changed (you can also drag through squares to colour several at a time) 5. Try erasing part of the image by selecting Erase: and then clicking on the grid squares Tip: If you click a second time on a coloured grid square (using the same colour) it erases the colour. You can also drag through squares to erase them. 6. End by saving your modified image - press <Return> or click on [OK] To restore the button to its original setting: 7. Right click on the [New] button and choose Reset from the shortcut menu
Copying Button Images Sometimes it's useful to be able to copy an existing button image and use that as the basis for a new button. 1. Click on the Commands tab in the Customize window 2. Under Categories: choose File then under Commands: scroll down to display Save As... Note that this particular command doesn't have a pre-defined image. You are going to create a new one for it, based on the current [Save] button. 3. Drag Save As... from the Customize window onto the Standard toolbar, immediately to the right of the [Save] button - release the mouse when the button is correctly positioned Because it has no button image, words are used instead - the button is labelled as [Save As...]. 4. Right click on the new button and from the shortcut menu choose Default Style A blank button is now displayed. 5. Right click on the old [Save] button and choose Copy Button Image 6. Now right click on the blank [Save As...] button and choose Paste Button Image You could now use Edit Button Image... to distinguish this button from the normal [Save] button, if you like. Or you could decide that Save As is a more useful command than Save and replace the one permanently by the other (right click and choose Delete or drag the original [Save] button off the toolbar) - you can always use <Ctrl s> to save your work to the existing file. Creating a New Button Image Creating your own button designs is fun, but it's not that easy to produce one which represents the command (or macro). One solution is to use letters. In the example below you are going to replace the current [Save As] button image with the words Save As.
1. Right click on the new [Save As] button and select Edit Button Image... from the menu 2. In the Button Editor click on the [Clear] button to erase the current picture 3. Click on the appropriate squares, as shown below, to create the required effect 4. Press <Return> or click on [OK] to save the new button image This takes up less space than the original text but, if you don't like this effect, try designing your own image starting at step 1 as above. Changing the Screen Tip You can change various other properties of a toolbar button (in some applications), as well as its image. The most useful property to change is the screen tip: 1. Right click on the [Save As] button 2. In the shortcut menu, click in the box to the right of Name: 3. Type in the new screen tip - e.g. change Save &As... to just Save 4. Press <Return> to fix the tip Note: The ampersand in the screen tip denotes the letter to be underlined when the command appears as text on a button or in a menu. 5. To see the new screen tip in action, [Close] the Customize window and move the mouse cursor over the button Saving the Changes With most Office applications, the changes you make to your toolbar buttons are saved automatically when you close the application. With Microsoft Word, however, you are asked whether or not you want to save
the changes to normal.dot. When asked, reply [Yes] to save the changes or [No] to return to the standard toolbars. You can, of course, make further changes to your toolbar buttons whenever you choose - adding new buttons, deleting ones no longer required or resetting them to their default images.