How to: Show the Developer Tab on the Ribbon
To access the Developer tab on the ribbon of an Office application, you must configure it to show that tab because it doesn't appear by default. For example, you must show that tab if you want to add a GroupContentControl to a document-level customization for Word.
Applies to: The information in this topic applies to document-level projects and application-level projects for the following applications: Excel 2013 and Excel 2010; InfoPath 2013 and InfoPath 2010; Outlook 2013 and Outlook 2010; PowerPoint 2013 and PowerPoint 2010; Project 2013 and Project 2010; Visio 2013 and Visio 2010; Word 2013 and Word 2010. For more information, see Features Available by Office Application and Project Type.
To show the Developer tab
Start any of the following Office applications:
Excel 2010
Word 2010
Outlook 2010
PowerPoint 2010
Excel 2013
Word 2013
Outlook 2013
PowerPoint 2013
On the File tab, choose the Options button.
The following figure shows the File tab and Options button in Outlook 2010.
Figure 1: The Options button in Outlook 2010.
.png "Choosing File, Options in Outlook 2010")
The following figure shows the File tab in Outlook 2013.
Figure 2: The File tab in Outlook 2013 Preview.
.png "The File tab in Outlook 2013")
The following figure shows the Options button in Outlook 2013.
Figure 3. The Options button in Outlook 2013 Preview.
.png "The Options button in Outlook 2013 Preview")
In the ApplicationNameOptions dialog box, choose the Customize Ribbon button.
The following figure shows the Customize Ribbon button in Excel 2010. The location of this button is similar for Outlook 2010, Outlook 2013, Word 2010, Word 2013, PowerPoint 2010, and PowerPoint 2013.
Figure 4: The Customize Ribbon button in Excel 2010.
.png "The Customize Ribbon button")
In the list of main tabs, select the Developer check box.
The following figure shows the Developer check box in Word 2010 and Word 2013.
Figure 6: The Developer check box in Word 2010 and Word 2013 Preview.
.png "The Developer check box in the Word Options dialog")
Choose the OK button to close the Options dialog box.