The office shortcut bar is one of the most useless pieces of code ever created. This tech-recipe explains how to uninstall it.
This works for win2k and XP.
1. Start -> Control Panel
2. Add/Remove Programs
3. Click on Microsoft Office
4. Click Change
5. Click Add/Remove Features
6. Click the “+” before Office Tools
7. Click on the gray box before Microsoft Office Shortcut Bar
8. Click Not Available with the red X
9. Click Update
10. Office will update itself.
The office shortcut bar should be uninstalled.