19 June 2003

Depersonalize Office and Windows

When you click on a top-level menu item in Microsoft Word 2000 (or higher), Microsoft Excel 2000 (or higher), Internet Explorer 6 (or higher), and most other Microsoft programs, you can only view part of the menu. By default, you see the most recently used items plus a double Down Arrow. You then have to click on the arrow to show the full menu. How do you get the full menu to open immediately?

The personalized-menu feature is controlled in a number of different locations. In Microsoft Word, select Customize from the Tools menu and click on the Options tab. Check the box titled Always show full menus. Do the same for Excel, Access, Publisher, Powerpoint and Outlook. To turn off personalized menus in Internet Explorer 6's Favorites menu, select Internet Options from IE 6's Tools menu, click on the Advanced tab, remove the check next to Enable Personalized Favorites Menu, and click on OK. You will have to restart IE for this to take effect.

In Windows 2000 and XP, the personalized-menu feature is an option in the Start menu as well, and it is enabled by default. To turn it off, right-click on the taskbar, choose Properties, remove the check next to Use Personalized Menus, and click on OK.