Generally, when you open Microsoft Word, the menu bar will automatically appear at the top. However, if the menu bar doesn't appear you can fix it by clicking the ribbon icon next to the exit button. To redisplay, select ' Show tab ribbon ' so that the missing menu bar will appear again.

Microsoft Word provides a built-in feature to restore a toolbar to itsoriginal configuration. To do this, follow the appropriate instructionsbelow.

• Jan 14, 2021 First, properly open Microsoft Word in Windows 8 or 10. Generally, when you open Microsoft Word, the menu bar will automatically appear at the top. However, if the menu bar doesn't appear you can fix it by clicking the ribbon icon next to the exit button. To redisplay, select ' Show tab ribbon ' so that the missing menu bar will appear again.
• Missing Microsoft word tool bar Well I hope you made sure that your toolbars are 'checked' to be shown in view menu. If they are checked, to be shown but are not appearing on the screen, then you should try customizing the toolbar.
• 'After translating footnotes in Word all toolbars disappear from Microsoft Word Symptoms You have just finished translating the footnotes from a Word 2000, Word 2002 (also known as Word XP) or Word 2003 document in the footnote document window. When you return to the main document window, all Word toolbars and the menu bar disappear.
• When you view a Microsoft Excel worksheet or a Microsoft Word document in full-screen mode, the menu bar may not be displayed. Or, the Minimize Window, Restore Window (or Maximize Window), and Close Window buttons may be missing.

Word 2007 for Windows

1. Right-click the Quick Access Toolbar and selectCustomize Quick Access Toolbar....
2. Make sure the drop-down menu under 'Customize Quick Access Toolbar:'is set to For all documents (default).
3. Click Reset below the right column and then clickOK.

Word 2003 and earlier for Windows

Microsoft Word Menu Bar Missing

1. From the Tools menu, select Customize....
2. Click the Toolbars tab, and then select the toolbar youwould like to restore. Click the Reset... button.
3. In the window that appears, choose Normal to apply thisto all documents, or choose the specific document you are working on.Then click OK.
4. In the Customize window, click the Closebutton.

Word for Mac OS and Mac OS X

1. From the Tools menu, select Customize....
2. Click Toolbars, and in the list on the left side of thewindow, highlight the toolbar you wish to restore.
3. Click Restore or Reset. In the dialog box thatappears, click OK to reset the toolbar.
4. When you have finished making changes to all the toolbars you wishto restore, click OK or Close to close theCustomize window.

Dave reported a situation in which one of his Word users had somehow completely lost the menu bar. Theoretically, the menu bar should not be 'losable,' so when such an event does occur, it is a good sign that something is wrong.

There are a few things you can check. First, because the menu bar is treated pretty much like a toolbar, it is possible to undock it and move it anywhere desired on the screen. If you run Windows at a high resolution, undock the menu bar and move it to the far right of the screen, and then change to a lower resolution in Windows, it is possible that the menu bar won't be visible because it is now outside the area of the screen you can see.

How Do I Get My Menu Bar Back In Word

If you suspect this is the case, trying changing back to the higher resolution—just temporarily—and moving the menu bar back where it belongs. When you later switch to the lower resolution, the menu bar should still be visible.

If this doesn't do it, try these steps:

1. Choose Customize from the Tools menu. Word displays the Customize dialog box.
2. Make sure the Toolbars tab is displayed. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Toolbars tab of the Customize dialog box.

3. Scroll down the list of available toolbars until you see the Menu Bar option.
4. It should be impossible to uncheck the check box beside the Menu Bar option, but you can still select the option. Do so and click the Reset button. Word displays a dialog box asking if you want to reset changes to the menu bar. (See Figure 2.)

Figure 2. The Reset Toolbar dialog box.

5. Click Yes.

Hopefully, this will display your menu bar. If it doesn't, try starting Word from the command line with the /a switch. Depending on the problem that may be causing the missing menu bar, this could trigger Word to do some repairs to itself. You can also try exiting Word and deleting or renaming the Normal.dot file, which is the default location for saving many customizations in Word.

If the menu bar is still not visible, there is one other macro-based solution you can try. Run the following macro:

This macro steps through every one of the command bars (which means both menu bars and toolbars) and, if they are floating and visible, puts them back in their default position at the top of the Word window.

Microsoft Word Menu Bar Missing In Internet Explorer

If you are wondering how you can run the macro when you cannot get to the VBA Editor by using menus you cannot see, remember that you can display the Macros dialog box by pressing Alt+F8, or you can jump directly to the VBA Editor by pressing Alt+F11.

Microsoft Word Menu Bar Missing Word

Microsoft Word Menu Bar Missing Letters

If you continue to have problems with the menu bar, then more drastic action is necessary. There is an excellent article at the Word MVP site that indicates some of the steps (including the drastic ones) that you can take: