Formatting a document in MS Word can be confusing at times. Word allows you to apply multiple formatting settings at one time by employing Styles. A style consists of character and formatting settings under one name. For instance, you can create a style called Newsletter text that is left aligned with six points after each paragraph, Veranda font, 12 point with kerning. Thereafter, every time you use that style, your text is going to exhibit those very same attributes. It is a fast and easy way to do your formatting on the fly.
You should be able to just key in text without worrying about formatting until your document is finished and then you can simply apply styles. For instance, say you work in a law office and you have to create a pleading. You key in all of your text and when you are finished, You simply highlight your paragraphs and apply the body text style and then your text that should be a block quote so you select that text and apply the block quote style. I think you get the idea. Sounds easy doesn't it? That's because it is!
To work with Styles, click the Styles and Formatting button on the Formatting toolbar to show or hide this Task Pane.
Styles are stored in Templates. When you create a new document, you must base it on a template. You can use the default document template, which is Normal.dot or one of the other prototypes that are installed with MS Word or you can use a custom template that you have created and saved. There is a template behind just about every style.
The Normal document template includes many predefined styles, including Heading 1, Heading 2, and Heading 3, the Normal paragraph style, and many other styles used for formatting tables of contents, footnotes, bulleted and numbered lists, etc.
There are paragraph styles and character styles.
Paragraph styles control all the characteristics of a paragraph. Settings that are part of a paragraph style include centering, spacing, widows/orphans and other settings that appear when you choose Format | Paragraph. Paragraph styles also include bullets and numbering, borders and shading, tab stops, and the language Word uses for proofing tasks such as spell checking and grammar.
Character styles are similar except they carry only character formatting. That includes the font, font size, style and color, super/subscript, underscore and other attributes that you can select when you use Format | Font. Character styles can also define borders and shading and proofing settings.
To apply styles manually, follow the steps below:
- Click once inside a paragraph whose style you would like to change. You may also select multiple paragraphs.
- Select the paragraph style from the Styles and Formatting task pane or from the drop down Style list on the Formatting toolbar.
To apply a character style, follow these steps:
- Select the characters whose style you would like to change.
- Choose the character style from the Styles and Formatting task pane.
Once you have created your own custom styles, you can modify them very easily should the occasion arise.
I can speak for many secretaries when I tell you that signature block styles save tons of time and frustration! Or say you have a complex table set up. You don't want to have to go through all of that every time you need it do you? Of course not! Save it as a style!
Word ships with tons of templates and hundreds more are available for download from Microsoft's Online Web site.
You can customize any of the templates that you expect to use more than once, for instance Word's Professional Fax template. You can make it reflect your tastes - not Microsoft's.
To use one of the templates, follow the steps below:
- Click on File | New.
- This opens the Task Pane on the right.
- Under Templates, select On my computer.
So now that you have this template open, you can modify and customize it so that every time you open it now, it will be exactly the way you want it. To do this, follow the steps below:
- Make any changes you like.
- Apply Styles and Formatting.
After you have finished customizing your document:
- Select File | Save As.
- In the Save as Type box, select Document Template.
- Give the template a name that is intuitive to you.
- Click the Save button.
To attach a new template to a document and update the document's styles, follow the steps below:
- Click on Tools | Templates and Add-Ins.
- Click the Attach button.
- Navigate to the template that you want to attach to the document.
- Click Open.
- Select the Automatically Update Document Styles check box.
- Click OK.
- Save, close and then re-open your document.
NOTE: If the document has any styles defined inside it, save a copy of the document first. The process above can completely override styles in the document and you cannot bring them back!
This topic is voluminous and so I will stop here and take up this theme again in part 2!
Carol Bratt is the Office Applications Editor at Daves Computer Tips. She has authored several informative Microsoft Office books and writes the monthly Word Bytes Newsletter with more tips and tricks in each issue. Visit Carol's website for more great Microsoft Office tips and tricks! Click here to see her latest books! You can read more about Carol here.