Add a Work Menu to quickly open files

Many of us open Word, then we open other documents we want quick access to while we are working. You can add a built-in button to a toolbar that performs this function so you do not have to go to File / Open and search folders for those files.

1.  Right-click on a blank area of the Menu bar and select Customize.
2.  Select the Commands tab.
3.  Select Built-In Menus from the Categories list.
4.  Select Work from the Commands list and drag it to an existing toolbar (the Menu bar is best suited for this shortcut).
5.  Press Enter (or click OK) to close the dialog box.

To Add Documents to your Work menu:

1.  Open a saved document.
2.  Click the Work button and select Add to Work Menu.
3.  Now when you want to access this document, even when it is closed, use the ALT + Underlined Letter shortcut, or click on the Work menu and select the document, or create a macro to open your documents.

To Remove Documents from your Work menu:

1.  Press ALT + CTRL + - (hyphen next to the zero, not on the number pad). Your mouse pointer will change to a heavy horizontal line.
2.  Click the Work menu, then click on the document to be removed.

Putting this command on the Menu bar (File / Edit / View, etc.) allows you to use the ALT key for quick access.  If you drag this command to a normal toolbar, you need to click the down arrow to access your file(s). 

TIP: There is a lot of room on the Menu bar to add icons or commands rather than taking up valuable screen space with additional toolbars.