Prevent Word From Displaying The Startup Task Pane (Word 2002)

Each time you start Microsoft Word, the Startup Task Pane is displayed along the side. It presents you with a list of common tasks that includes:

• Open an existing document
• Open a new document
• Open a new document from an existing document, and
• Open a new document from a template

Some people never use the Startup Task Pane when they open Word and close it each time. If you are one of these people, you may want to consider hiding the Startup Task Pane all together so Word never displays it when opened. You can accomplish this using the steps below.

1. Open Word.
2. From the Tools menu, click Options.
3. Click the View tab from the Options window.
4. Clear the box beside the Startup Task Pane option.
5. Click OK to apply your changes.

Should you ever need access to the Startup Task Pane, you can easily display it by selecting the Task Pane option from the View menu.

[tags]word, taskbar, startup, task pane, word 2002, diana huggins[/tags]