What Is a Command Bar?

Back in the early days of computers, you had to type cryptic commands in a window and wait for the computer to process them. Those days are long gone, and using the computer is as easy as pressing a toolbar button or making a selection from a menu.

In Microsoft Office, buttons are now referred to as commands, whereas toolbars and menus are now command bars. Old habits die hard and many people still call commands and command bars by their old names: buttons, toolbars, menus, and menu bars.

You can activate commands using three methods:

• Use your mouse to click toolbar buttons

• Use your mouse or keyboard to navigate menus

• Use keyboard shortcuts

Most people use their mouse to select commands, including navigating submenus, although it slows you down when you move your hand from the keyboard and pick up the mouse, especially if you're using submenus.

Outlook's command bars are highly configurable and creating custom toolbars with your frequently used commands will help confirmed mouse users work faster. As you'll see later in this chapter, creating your own toolbars is fun, easy, and something anyone can do.