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How to: Customize Toolbars (Visual Studio)

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You can change the layout, position, and content of toolbars in the integrated development environment (IDE). You can also add buttons to toolbars and change the assigned icon for any button.

Create new toolbars

To create a new toolbar

  1. On the Tools menu, choose Customize.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Toolbars tab.

  3. Choose New.

  4. In the NewToolbar dialog box, type a name for the toolbar.

  5. Choose OK.

To add a command button to a toolbar

  1. On the Toolsmenu, choose Customize.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab.

  3. Click Rearrange Commands.

  4. Under Choose a menu or toolbar to rearrange, select Toolbar and then choose the correct toolbar from the drop-down list.

  5. Click Add.

  6. In the Add Command dialog box, select category name from the Categories list and then choose an appropriate command from the Commands list.

  7. Click OK.

  8. Click Close and then click Close again.

To group commands on a toolbar

  1. On the Toolsmenu, choose Customize.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab.

  3. Click Rearrange Commands.

  4. Under Choose a menu or toolbar to rearrange, select Toolbar and then choose the correct toolbar from the drop-down list.

  5. Select the command you want to begin a visual group.

  6. Click the Modify Selection drop-down list and select Begin a Group.

    A separator bar appears on the list of commands, above the selected command.

  7. Click OK, then click Close, and then click Close again.

    The command appears on the toolbar with a separator before it.

Customize toolbar button images

The IDE provides forty-two button images that can be exchanged with the default toolbar icons.

To change toolbar button images

  1. On the Tools menu, choose Customize.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab.

  3. Click Rearrange Commands.

  4. Under Choose a menu or toolbar to rearrange, select Toolbar and then choose the correct toolbar from the drop-down list.

  5. Select the toolbar command of which you intend to change the image.

  6. Choose ModifySelection.

  7. Choose ChangeButtonImage and select an alternative on the cascading menu.

    Tip

    If you are unsatisfied with the alternative images provided, you can customize a selected system image.

To edit button images

  1. On the Tools menu, choose Customize.

  2. In the Customize dialog box, select the Commands tab.

  3. Click Rearrange Commands.

  4. Under Choose a menu or toolbar to rearrange, select Toolbar and then choose the correct toolbar from the drop-down list.

  5. Select the toolbar command of which you intend to change the image.

  6. Choose ModifySelection.

  7. Choose EditButtonImage.

  8. Use the ButtonEditor dialog box to customize the selected button's image.

    Note

    The Customize dialog box can be used to customize menus as well.

For more information about improving the usability and accessibility of toolbars see, How to: Set Accessibility Options.

See Also

Reference

Customize Dialog Box (Visual Studio)

Other Resources

Customizing the Development Environment