Office Settings & Configuration

How to Permanently Remove the Touch or Mouse Mode Icon in Office

Steve K Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to permanently hide the Touch/Mouse Mode icon from the Quick Access Toolbar because it keeps reappearing after being removed.

How to Permanently Remove the Touch or Mouse Mode Icon in Office

Product: Microsoft Office
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Customizing the Quick Access Toolbar to remove unnecessary icons for a cleaner workspace.
Observed behavior: The Touch/Mouse Mode icon successfully disappears when removed from the toolbar, but immediately returns as soon as a new document or spreadsheet is opened.

Before you start

Ensure you have administrative privileges on your computer, as roaming profiles or organizational Group Policies might be continuously overriding your personal Office preferences.

Solution 1Recommended

Save Quick Access Toolbar Changes to the Global Template

Apply your toolbar customizations universally so they affect all future documents rather than just the current session.

Often, Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) customizations are accidentally saved only to the current document. To make the removal of the Touch/Mouse Mode icon permanent, you must ensure the settings are applied to all documents globally.

Access Excel or Word Options

Open Microsoft Excel or Word. Click on 'File' in the top-left corner, then select 'Options' at the bottom of the left-hand menu.

Navigate to Quick Access Toolbar Settings

In the Options dialog box, click on 'Quick Access Toolbar' in the left pane.

Apply Customizations to All Documents

Look for the 'Customize Quick Access Toolbar' drop-down menu on the top right side of the window. Ensure 'For all documents (default)' is selected.

Remove the Icon and Save

In the right-hand list, select 'Touch/Mouse Mode' and click the 'Remove' button in the middle. Click 'OK' to save the changes. Restart the application to verify the icon is permanently gone.

Save Quick Access Toolbar Changes to the Global Template

Check Your Sync Settings: If you are logged into a Microsoft account, your Office UI settings might sync across devices. Ensure you allow a few moments for the new global settings to sync to your cloud profile.

Solution 2

Test Office in Safe Mode to Isolate Add-in Conflicts

Use Safe Mode to determine if a third-party add-in is continuously forcing the Touch/Mouse Mode icon to reappear.

Solution 3

Reset the Office User Interface Configuration Files

Clear corrupted toolbar configuration files that fail to save your customized preferences.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why does the Touch/Mouse Mode icon keep coming back in Excel?

This usually happens because the toolbar changes are only being saved to the current session instead of the global template, or because a third-party add-in or roaming profile is syncing old configuration data every time a new workbook is opened.

Can a company Group Policy force the Touch/Mouse mode icon to display?

Yes. In enterprise environments, IT administrators can enforce specific Quick Access Toolbar layouts using Group Policy. If your computer is managed by an organization, these policies will override your manual customizations upon opening a new file.

Where is the Quick Access Toolbar configuration file located on Windows?

The toolbar customizations are typically stored in the AppData folder. You can find these '.officeUI' files by navigating to C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office. Deleting them resets the Quick Access Toolbar to its default state.

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