Topic 5: Styles

The use of styles in Word will allow you to quickly format a document with a consistent and professional look. Paragraph and character styles can be saved for use in many documents.

Applying a Style

1. Place the cursor in the paragraph where the style will be applied.
2. Click the Style drop-down menu on the Formatting toolbar and select a style by clicking on it.
3. To apply the same style to multiple paragraphs, double click the Format Painter button on the standard toolbar and click in all the paragraphs that the style should be applied to. Press the ESC key to disable the Format Painter.

Apply a Style from the Style Dialog Box

Choose from a larger selection of styles from the Style dialog box.

1. Click in the paragraph you want to add a style to.
2. Select Format|Style... from the menu bar.
3. From the List drop-down menu, choose All styles to view all the styles available.
4. The styles are displayed in the Styles list. Preview each style by clicking once on the name. Paragraph styles are preceded by the paragraph symbol () and character styles are preceded by an "a" icon (). A pointer arrow is located next to the current style. Highlight the style you want to apply to the paragraph and click Apply.

Create a New Style from a Model

To create a style from text that is already formatted in a document, follow these steps:

1. Place the cursor in the paragraph you would like to set as a new style.
2. Click the Style box on the formatting toolbar so the style name is highlighted.
   
3. Delete the text in the field and type the name of the new style.
4. Press the ENTER key to save the new style.

Create a Simple Style from the Style Dialog Box

1. Select Format|Style... from the menu bar and click the New button on the Style dialog box to access the New Style dialog box.
   
   
2. Type the name for the new style in the Name field.
3. Select "Paragraph" or "Character" from the Style type drop-down menu.
4. Click the Format button at the bottom of the window and choose the paragraph element that will be formatted for the style. Continue to make changes from the options from the Format button menu, making changes to the dialog boxes for each element you choose.
5. Click OK to set the style and close the New Style dialog box.
6. Click Apply on the Style dialog box to apply the new style to the current paragraph.

Modify or Rename a Style

An existing style can be changed from the Style dialog box.

1. Select Format|Style... from the menu bar.
2. Highlight the style from the Styles list that you want to modify and click the Modify button.
   
3. Use the same methods to modify the style from the Modify Style dialog box that were used for the New Style box.
4. To only rename the style, type a new name in the Name field.
5. Click OK when you are finished making modifications.
6. Click Apply to update the style in the document.

Delete a Style

Preset styles created by Word cannot be deleted, but to delete a style you have made, follow these steps:

1. Select Format|Style... from the menu bar
2. Highlight the style from the Styles list that you want to delete.
3. Click the Delete button.
4. You will be asked if you really want to delete the style. Click Yes.
5. Click Close on the dialog box.