Leonid Nemirovsky sent this tip for making mtext work in a familiar way in AutoCAD 2009 with the Text Formatting toolbar when the ribbon is on and active. Simply set the MTEXTTOOLBAR variable to 1. Here are all possible settings for this variable:

    * 0 -- The Text Formatting toolbar is never displayed.
    * 1 -- The Text Formatting toolbar is displayed upon selection of an mtext object.
    * 2 -- The Text Formatting toolbar does not display when the ribbon is on.

NOTES FROM CADALYST TIP PATROL:
AutoCAD provides several customization options -- sometimes too many for our liking. Depending on your mtext needs, this setting can save you screen real estate or provide an all-access toolbar for your clicking desires.