If you work on the computer a lot, every click you save can save time and wear and tear on your wrists. When working in QuickBooks you do a lot of clicking.
There are shortcut keys you can memorize or lookup to help you keep your hands off the mouse, but customizing the Icon Bar to meet your needs can save lots of time.
First think about what you do most – Do you enter sales receipts? Create purchase orders? Are there reports you run frequently? Decide what you want on your Icon Bar and then begin.
I like the top Icon Bar but the changes work the same if you are using the Left Icon Bar. You can control which Icon Bar you see by clicking on View and then making your selection.
Start by clicking on View, then choose Customize Icon Bar. If you are using the Top Icon Bar you can right click on the Icon Bar and choose Customize Icon Bar. If you are using the Left Icon Bar you can right click and choose Customize Shortcuts.
The Customize Icon Bar window will open allowing you to Add, Edit and Delete icons and rearrange the order.
When customizing shortcuts the choices for Show Icons and Text/Show Icons Only or Show Search Box in Icon Bar will be greyed out.
I generally start by removing the icons I don’t use. Just click on an icon and choose to delete. You can reorder icons by clicking on the icon’s diamond and dragging up and down. Separators allow you to put a thin line in between groups of icons. Click OK when you are done.
If you click on edit you can change the label for the icon, the picture associated with the icon and the description you see when hold your mouse over the icons on the Icon Bar. Click OK when you are done to return to the customize screen.
When you click on Add you will get a list of the things you can add, but there’s an easier way. From any screen you are viewing click on View at the top of the screen and choose Add xxx to Icon Bar (where xxx is the name of the window you are viewing). This also works for reports, but customize and memorize them before adding to Icon Bar so that they will come up with any changes you have made.
The default for the Icon Bar is dark blue and white. If you are prefer to see your icons in color, go to Edit > Preferences. Click on Desktop View and My Preferences, then check the box Switch to colored icons/light background on the Top Icon Bar.
Customizing your Icon Bar is easy, and the reward is quick. And if you change your mind, you can always change your Icon Bar (over and over again).