The Mini toolbar is a floating palette which automatically appears when you highlight text. Initially all the options it contains are discreetly dimmed. However, when you position the cursor over its controls, the Mini toolbar becomes activated.

It contains a number of options for formatting your text. All of these options can be found in the Home tab of the Word Ribbon. The top row of icons allows you to change the font, size and colour of our text and also contains Word’s nifty Format Painter. The Format Painter allows you to copy the format of the selected text to other areas of your document.

The second row of the Mini toolbar contains buttons for making text bold, italic, centre aligned. It also has options for changing the colour of the highlighted text, indenting text and inserting bullets.

The Mini toolbar offers a very convenient way of quickly formatting your text without having to go back to the Ribbon to find the options you’re looking for. However, there are times when it can be inconvenient. This is particularly true when using the drag-and-drop facility within Microsoft Word.

This feature enables you to highlight text and simply drag it to a new location. However, as you are about to drag, it’s very easy for the cursor to collide with the Mini toolbar and instead of dragging your text you end up changing its format.

Each Word user can decide for himself or herself whether they like the Mini toolbar facility. If you decide it is more of a hindrance than a help, Word allows you to deactivate the Mini toolbar facility. From the Office button, select Word Options. In the Popular category, the very first option is labelled “Show Mini Toolbar on selection”. If you have had enough of the Mini toolbar, simply uncheck this option. Now, whenever you highlight text, that pesky Mini toolbar will not appear.

Even when you have asked Word not to display the Mini toolbar, it is still possible to show it by simply right-clicking on selected text.

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