How to Customize the PowerPoint Quick Access Toolbar With Designer

You want to add the PowerPoint Designer button to your Quick Access Toolbar so you can access design suggestions without navigating through multiple tabs. The Quick Access Toolbar is a small strip above the ribbon that holds your most-used commands, but Designer is not added by default. This article explains how to locate the Designer command, add it to the toolbar, and rearrange or remove other buttons. You will also learn how to customize the toolbar for different presentations and avoid common setup mistakes.

What the PowerPoint Designer Feature Does and What You Need Before Customizing

PowerPoint Designer is a tool that automatically generates slide design ideas based on the content you add. When you insert a picture, chart, or list, Designer appears in a pane on the right side of the window and offers layout and styling suggestions. The feature requires an active Microsoft 365 subscription. It is available in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, and PowerPoint 2019. Designer is not available in PowerPoint 2016 or earlier standalone versions.

By default, the Designer button is located on the Design tab in the ribbon under the Designer group. Many users prefer to add it to the Quick Access Toolbar so they can open the Designer pane with a single click from any tab. The Quick Access Toolbar sits in the title bar area above the ribbon or below the ribbon if you choose to show it there. You can add any command that appears in the ribbon or in the full list of all commands, including Designer.

Steps to Add the Designer Button to the Quick Access Toolbar

Follow these steps to add the Designer command to the Quick Access Toolbar. The steps work the same in PowerPoint for Microsoft 365, PowerPoint 2021, and PowerPoint 2019 on Windows 11 and Windows 10.

1. Open the Quick Access Toolbar customization dialog
   Click File in the top-left corner of PowerPoint. Click Options at the bottom of the left pane. In the PowerPoint Options dialog, click Quick Access Toolbar on the left side.
2. Switch the command list to all commands
   In the right pane of the dialog, locate the dropdown labeled Choose commands from. Click the dropdown and select All Commands. This shows every available command in alphabetical order.
3. Find and select the Designer command
   Scroll down the list until you see Designer. The icon next to it shows a small star with a wand. Click Designer to select it.
4. Add the command to the toolbar
   Click the Add button in the middle of the dialog. The Designer command moves from the left list to the right list under Customize Quick Access Toolbar.
5. Reorder the button if needed
   With Designer selected in the right list, click the Move Up or Move Down arrow buttons on the right side of the dialog. Place the button in your preferred position relative to other toolbar buttons.
6. Save the change
   Click OK at the bottom of the dialog. The Designer button now appears in the Quick Access Toolbar at the top of the PowerPoint window.

Alternative Method: Add Designer From the Ribbon

You can also add Designer without opening the Options dialog. Click the Design tab on the ribbon. Find the Designer button in the Designer group. Right-click the Designer button. From the context menu, click Add to Quick Access Toolbar. The button appears immediately in the toolbar. This method is faster but does not let you reorder the button at the same time.

Common Customization Mistakes and Limitations

Designer button is grayed out or unresponsive after adding it

The Designer button becomes active only when PowerPoint detects content that can generate design ideas. If your slide is blank or contains only text without a supported element such as a picture, chart, or SmartArt, the button appears grayed out. Insert an image or a list on the slide, then click the Designer button. The pane opens with suggestions.

Designer does not appear in the All Commands list

If you are using PowerPoint 2016 or an earlier version, the Designer command does not exist. The feature requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or PowerPoint 2019 or later. Check your version by clicking File > Account > About PowerPoint. If you have a valid subscription but the command is missing, repair your Office installation from Settings > Apps > Microsoft 365 > Modify > Quick Repair.

Quick Access Toolbar resets after closing PowerPoint

This issue occurs when your user profile is corrupted or when group policy settings prevent toolbar customization. On a work computer, your IT administrator may lock the toolbar. To test, add a different command such as Bold and restart PowerPoint. If that command also disappears, contact your IT department. On a personal computer, run the Office repair tool from the Control Panel.

Designer button opens the pane but shows no suggestions

Designer requires an internet connection to generate suggestions. If you are offline, the pane displays a message that no internet connection is available. Connect to the internet and click the Designer button again. Also verify that Designer is enabled under File > Options > General > PowerPoint Designer. Ensure the checkbox for Automatically show me design ideas is checked.

Quick Access Toolbar Customization Options: Designer vs Other Commands

Item	Designer Command	Other Commands (e.g., Undo, New Slide)
Location in command list	All Commands list under D	Varies by command; most are under Popular or All Commands
Icon appearance	Star with a wand	Standard Office icons (arrow, page, etc)
Requires internet	Yes, to generate design ideas	No, except cloud-based commands like Save to OneDrive
Available in all PowerPoint versions	No, only Microsoft 365, 2021, 2019	Yes, most commands work in all versions
Can be added via right-click	Yes, from the Design tab	Yes, from any ribbon tab

The Designer command is unique because it requires an active subscription and internet access. Other commands such as Undo or Save work offline and in all modern PowerPoint versions. When customizing your toolbar, consider adding Designer alongside Undo, Redo, and New Slide for a balanced set of frequently used tools.

You can now add the Designer button to your Quick Access Toolbar using either the Options dialog or the right-click method. Try reordering the toolbar so Designer sits next to Undo or Redo for faster access. For advanced customization, export your toolbar settings from File > Options > Quick Access Toolbar > Import/Export to use the same layout on another computer.