WD98: Changing Text Formatting Also Changes Paragraph Formatting (190426)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 98 Macintosh Edition
This article was previously published under Q190426

SYMPTOMS

If you select all of the text in a paragraph, excluding the paragraph mark, and change the font formatting of the text, the formatting changes will be applied to the paragraph mark also. This will affect any subsequent paragraphs when you press RETURN from any point within this paragraph. This functionality is different from earlier versions of Word.

CAUSE

When you apply font formatting to a selection of text that spans a paragraph, Word assumes you want to change the paragraph formatting even though you did not select the paragraph mark.

WORKAROUND

To format all of the text within a paragraph, without affecting the paragraph formatting (excluding the paragraph mark), select all but one character of the paragraph and then apply the font formatting. Select the remaining character and apply the same font formatting.

MORE INFORMATION

In earlier versions of Word, if you want to apply character formatting to the paragraph mark, you must select it before you apply the font formatting; otherwise, the paragraph mark will not take on the new character formatting.

In Word 98, if all of the text in the paragraph is selected (excluding the paragraph mark), character formatting changes are applied not only to the text of the paragraph, but also to the paragraph mark.

Selecting white space before or after the text has no affect on this behavior.

NOTE: To see the paragraph mark and other nonprinting characters, click the Show/Hide button on the Standard toolbar.

For a more accurate view of the formatting that has been applied to the characters and to the paragraph itself, use the "Reveal Formatting" feature in Word. To use this feature, follow these steps:

  1. On the View menu, click Reveal Formatting. The insertion point should change to a text callout icon.
  2. Place the insertion point over the area you want to see formatting for, and click once. You see information for the following: 
    

      Paragraph Formatting
         Paragraph Style
         Direct

      Font Formatting
         Paragraph Style
         Character Style
         Direct
For more information about character formatting, click the Office Assistant, type "character formatting," click Search, and then click one of the topics.

For more information about paragraph formatting, click the Office Assistant, type "troubleshooting paragraph formatting," click Search, and then click one of the topics.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:10/4/2002
Keywords:kbbug KB190426
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.