"Style not defined" error message in STYLEREF field in Word (275962)

For a Microsoft Word 97 version of this article, see 247639.

For a Microsoft Word 2000 version of this article, see 247608.

SYMPTOMS

When you use a STYLEREF field that references a style name, and you open the document in a different language version of Microsoft Word than the one that the document was created in, you may receive the following error message, rather than the expected style reference:

Error! Style not defined

The error message may appear in the language of the version of Word that is in use. For example, in the French version of Word, you may receive the following error message:

Erreur ! Style non defini

CAUSE

This problem can occur because the STYLEREF field references styles by name, and Word does not translate built-in style names to the language in use.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, change the STYLEREF field to point to the correct style name. To do so, follow these steps:

Display field codes by pressing ALT+F9.
Change the reference to the correct name. For example, change the contents of the STYLEREF field from "Titre 1" to "Heading 1" if you are converting from the French version of Word to the English version of Word.
Press F9 to update the field.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.