Project 2010 Bible

Chapter 16. Customizing Microsoft Project

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Customizing the interface

• Using custom fields

You can customize the Project working environment in several ways. For example, you can change the way various elements appear on-screen and how you use Project's tools and commands. Suppose you use a particular command for sharing resources all the time; you can perform that action quickly if you add it to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) or the Ribbon. Or maybe you never use the Task Note tool and prefer to get it off the Ribbon. Or perhaps you'd like to create your own tab on the Ribbon that contains all the buttons you use most often — that way you don't need to switch tabs on the Ribbon to do the work you do most often. In addition, you can use custom fields to store and manipulate custom data in a project file.

Microsoft Project enables you to customize most of its elements. This chapter shows you how to make changes to the behavior of the Project interface, create and modify Ribbon tabs and groups, add buttons to and remove buttons from the QAT, and create and use custom fields to make Project work the way that's best for you.

Modifying Project's Behavior and Interface

Project contains dozens of ways you can customize its interface — way too many for me to cover here. In this section, I'll cover just a few of the options I think you might find useful in making Project support the way you work.

Customizing the status bar

You can use Project's status bar to change the appearance and ...