Get rid of Office XP Sidebar

[Ian]

Will be migrating a site from Offce 97 to Office XP (or 2003) and need to
find a way to disable the the right-hand 'New Document Sidebar' which pops-up
every time you execute File->New...

I know of the "show at startup option" but this _doesn't_ do the job
properly - this sidebar will still keep reappearing under certain
circumstances.

The users on this site are speed-typists. They need to be able to create new
documents based on a selection of preset templates. They need to be able to
do this quickly and efficiently. In Word 97 this was easy to program using a
custom New.. button on the toobar, and Workgroup Templates. This brought-up a
folder-based view of the available templates. Which is what I want to achieve
here.

The Office XP 'sidebar' however prevents this method of working, since any
attempt to create a new document causes this (screed of useless technobabble)
to appear instead of the template view.

Any ideas? I asked this (and did a fair amount of testing trying to solve
it) in the days of Word 2000, but no-one had an answer. Just hoping Word 2003
might be better!

 

[Jay Freedman]

To prevent the task pane from appearing at startup, download and
install the Task Pane Controller from
http://www.word.mvps.org/FAQs/Customization/ShowTaskPane.htm.

To get the New... dialog you're used to, go to Tools > Customize,
select the All Commands category, and drag the FileNewDialog command
to a toolbar or menu. Right-click the new button/menu item and change
its name from "Other" to "New..." and remove the old button/menu item.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Ian]

Thanks for link, unfortunately while this add-on allows you to control when
the Task Pane closes, it still doesn't prevent the Task Pane from hijacking
File..New calls.

Pity, as I though I had a solution there.

thx anyway,

Ian.

 

[Jay Freedman]

That's why I suggested that, after installing the FileNewDialog
command, you get rid of the existing File > New command (both toolbar
button and menu item). That way there's nothing left to call the task
pain.

The Controller is suggested only to keep the pane from popping up at
startup (which it sometimes does even if you uncheck "Startup Task
Pane" in Tools > Options > View).

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Ian]

Thanks, I didn't realise there were two such very-similarly-named items.

That now seems to give a direct route to the templates.

Why MS make it so difficult to banish this intrusive sidebar I don't
understand, it MUST lose them upgrade sales. Image an Office with a
nonstoppable Clippy...

 

[SassheyNW]

Using Word 2003. I selected the New... button and removed the other toolbar
button. This is usually the first thing I do to the software when I get a
new computer or someone else gets a new computer at the office.
Unfortunately, I still get the new document task pane coming up on some. (My
task pane at start-up is disabled--another item I usually disable ASAP.) I
hate the task panes. I hope MS made Word 2007 more consumer adaptable
instead of telling us how we want to use the software. I want to be able to
turn features on or off, depending upon my preference. That's just my gripe
.. . . no response necessary.

 

[Graham Mayor]

You will find Word 2007 less adaptable than 2003. Many of the features of
2007 are set in stone.

--
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Graham Mayor - Word MVP


<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

As you've seen, in Word 2002/2003, the New... command opens the New Document
task pane. The command you need to open the New dialog is FileNewDialog.
Find instructions in
http://sbarnhill.mvps.org/WordFAQs/CustomizingWord2002.htm