Changing a toolbar's or menu's contents
Release 9.2 Last modified November 9, 2006	Print all topics in : "Customizing the user interface"

About changing a toolbar's or menu's contents

You can modify the contents of any toolbar or menu by adding, moving, and removing commands. Grouping commands together on a toolbar can help to visually separate commands used for different tasks (such as browsing and querying). After modifying a core toolbar, you can always return it to its original contents; you might want to do this if you accidentally remove a command from the toolbar.

How to change a toolbar's or menu's contents

Adding a command to a toolbar or the Main menu

1. Click the View menu, point to Toolbars, then click the toolbar to which you want to add a command.
   
2. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
3. Click the Commands tab.
   
4. In the Save in combo box, click the drop-down arrow and choose the location in which the changes to the toolbar will be saved.
   
5. Click the category that contains the command you want to add.
   
6. Click the command you want to add.
   
7. Drag the command you want to add to any location on the target toolbar and drop it.
   
You can also drag the command over a menu button on the Main menu. Once the menu opens, drop the command at the desired location within that menu.

8. Repeat steps 5 through 7 until all the commands you want are added.
   
9. Click Close in the Customize dialog box.
   

Tips

On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the changes you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template. Be sure to select the Save in location before you make any changes to avoid saving it in the wrong location. The list of commands can be filtered by entering a search string in the Show commands containing edit box. The search is case insensitive and only commands with matching caption will be listed. The category list changes based on the matching commands. Note that the Macros, Menus, New Menu, UIControls categories are always listed. To cancel filtering, leave the box empty and delete any blank space. Certain commands, such as the map scale dropdown and the line color selection palette, can only be added once in the user interface. However, you can always move these commands to new positions.

Moving a command

1. Click the View menu, point to Toolbars, then click the toolbar with the command you want to move.
   
2. If you're moving the command to another toolbar, show the destination toolbar by clicking the View menu, pointing to Toolbars, then clicking the toolbar name to turn it on.
   
3. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
4. Drag the command to its new position and drop it.
   
The command appears in the new position.

5. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
   

Tip

On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template. Be sure to select the Save in location before you make any changes, to avoid saving it in the wrong location.

Removing a command

1. Click View, point to Toolbars, and check to show the toolbar containing the command that you want to remove.
   
2. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
3. Drag the tool you want to remove from the toolbar and drop it in the display area. For example, drag the tool to your desktop.
   
The mouse pointer changes to a line through a circle.

4. Drop the command.
   
5. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
   

Tips

When you remove a command from a toolbar, you're not permanently deleting it—you're just removing it from that toolbar. The command still appears in the Commands list on the Customize dialog box, and it may still exist on another toolbar. Later, you can always add the command back to the same toolbar or a different one. On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template.

Adding a new, empty menu to a toolbar

1. Click View, point to Toolbars, and check to show the toolbar to which you want to add a new, empty menu.
   
2. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
3. Click the Commands tab.
   
4. Click [New Menu] in the Categories list.
   
5. Click and drag the New Menu command from the Commands list and drop it on the toolbar.
   
An empty menu, New Menu, appears on the toolbar.

6. Right-click New Menu on the toolbar.
   
7. Type an appropriate caption for the menu in the text box.
   
8. Press Enter.
   
9. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
   

Tips

All menus on the Main menu and their commands have an underlined character called an access key in their caption. The access key allows you to access the menu from the keyboard by holding down the Alt key and pressing the underlined letter. To create an access key, place an ampersand (&) in front of a letter in the menu's (or the command's) caption. On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template.

Adding a command to a context menu

1. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
2. Click the Toolbars tab.
   
3. Check the Context Menus toolbar.
   
4. Click Context Menus on the Context Menus toolbar.
   
A list of all the context menus in the application appears.

5. Click the drop-down arrow for the context menu to which you want to add a command.
   
The context menu's commands are listed.

6. Click the Commands tab on the Customize dialog box.
   
7. Click the category that contains the command you want to add to the menu.
   
8. Click and drag the command from the Commands list and drop it on the context menu.
   
The command appears on the context menu.

9. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
   

Tips

On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template. The list of commands can be filtered by entering a search string in the Show commands containing edit box. The search is case insensitive and only commands with matching caption will be listed. The category list changes based on the matching commands. Note that the Macros, Menus, New Menu, UIControls categories are always listed. To cancel filtering, leave the box empty and delete any blank space. Tools cannot be added to a context menu. Tools can only be added to toolbars.

Grouping commands

1. Click View, point to Toolbars, and check to show the toolbar containing the commands that you want to group together.
   
2. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
3. On the toolbar, right-click the command located to the right of where the grouping bar should be placed.
   
4. Check Begin a Group.
   
A grouping bar appears on the toolbar.

5. Click Close on the Customize dialog box.
   

Tips

Displaying the Customize dialog box places the application in a state in which you can make changes to the properties of interface elements (such as adding or deleting a tool). Therefore, even though you don't make use of this dialog box in an operation, such as grouping commands, it must be displayed. On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template.

Resetting a built-in toolbar

1. Click the Tools menu and click Customize.
   
2. Click the Toolbars tab.
   
3. Click the core toolbar that you want to reset.
   
4. Click Reset.
   
5. Click the drop-down arrow and choose the template in which the changes to the toolbar settings were made.
   
6. Click OK.
   
7. Click Close.
   

Tips

You can reset the toolbars that are core to the applications, but you can't reset custom toolbars (ones created with the New button on the Customize dialog). On the Commands tab of the Customize dialog box, there is a Save in combo box that lists the names of the currently loaded document and templates. In ArcMap, use this setting to specify whether the change you are about to make will be saved in the document, the Normal template, or another template. The default setting is the Normal template.

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