Step-by-Step Guide: Activating and Using Ribbon Interface on Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook

Quick Links

• Show Your Office Ribbon When You Can See the Tabs
• Show Your Office Ribbon When You Don’t See Any Tabs

Key Takeaways

To bring your Office ribbon back, either double-click a ribbon tab or right-click a ribbon tab and disable “Collapse the Ribbon.” If you don’t see any ribbon tabs, in your screen’s top-right corner, click the up-arrow icon and choose “Show Tabs and Commands,” and then click “Auto-Hide Ribbon.”

Has your Excel, Word, or Outlook app’s ribbon suddenly disappeared? It’s easy to hide it accidentally, and sometimes the tabs disappear too. In either case, you can bring it back in your Office app on your Windows or Mac machine in a few clicks. Here’s how.

The following guide uses Excel for demonstration. You’ll use the same steps in both Word and Outlook.

Show Your Office Ribbon When You Can See the Tabs

If you can see the ribbon tabs but not their commands at the top of your Excel, Word, or Outlook app, follow the instructions here to make the commands visible.

One way to unhide your tab’s commands is by double-clicking a tab name. This method works for Office’s current and upcoming Visual Refresh interface.

Another way to unhide your tab commands is by right-clicking a tab and choosing “Collapse the Ribbon.” (Doing so disables the option, allowing your tab commands to be visible.)

The third way to enable your Office app’s tab commands on Windows is by first clicking the up-arrow icon at the top of your Office app.

In the open menu, select “Show Tabs and Commands.”

Your full ribbon is now back in your app.

If you’re a Mac user you have one more option: open Excel and select Excel > Preferences. Choose “Ribbon” and enable the “Turn On the Ribbon” option.

Related: How to Create a Customized Tab on the Microsoft Office Ribbon

Show Your Office Ribbon When You Don’t See Any Tabs

If your ribbon has disappeared completely, meaning you don’t even see the ribbon tabs in your Excel, Word, or Outlook app, use the following instructions to unhide your ribbon temporarily or permanently.

To unhide your ribbon temporarily, in your app’s top-right corner, click the three dots.

Your ribbon’s now visible, but know that it will disappear as soon as you bring your cursor to a cell in your spreadsheet.

If you’d like to unhide your ribbon permanently, then in your app’s top-right corner, click the up-arrow icon.

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In the open menu, choose “Show Tabs and Commands.” Then, in the same menu, select “Auto-Hide Ribbon.” This disables the feature that automatically hides your ribbon.

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If you’re on a Mac, you’ll head into the Excel > Preferences > Ribbon menu and activate the “Turn On the Ribbon” option.

And that’s how you bring your favorite Office app’s ribbon tabs and commands back. Enjoy!

Related: How to Switch Back to the Classic Ribbon in Microsoft Office