MacWD: How to Modify a Style, Create a Paragraph Style, and Create a Character Style in Word (310088)

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Styles are a highly integrated, multifunctional part of the Word program. By selecting a style for a document, you can automatically apply that style's specific paragraph and character formatting. You can create styles for many tasks, including formatting a table of contents, formatting envelopes, building an outline, and numbering chapters.

A paragraph style controls everything that affects a paragraph's appearance, including text alignment, tab stops, line spacing, and borders. A paragraph style can include character formatting.

A character style affects the appearance of selected text within a paragraph, including font, font size, and use of bold or italic formatting.

Modifying an Existing Style

To modify an existing style, follow these steps:

1. On the Format menu, click Style.
2. In the Styles box, select the style that you want to modify, and then click Modify.
3. Click Format, and then click an attribute that you want to change, for example, Font or Numbering.
4. For each attribute that you want to change, specify the new setting and then click OK.

Tip: To apply the modified style to all new documents that are based on the current template, select the Add to template check box. Word adds the modified style to the template that is attached to the document that you are working on.

Creating a Paragraph Style

To create a new paragraph style, follow these steps:

1. Format a paragraph according to the new paragraph style that you want to create, and then select (highlight) text that contains the formatting that you want to use.
2. On the Formatting Palette, click in the Style box under Font. If the Formatting Palette is not visible on the screen, click Formatting Palette on the View menu.
3. To name the new style, type over the existing style name.
4. Press RETURN.

Creating a Character Style

To create a new character style, follow these steps:

1. On the Format menu, click Style, and then click New.
2. In the Name box, type a name for the style.
3. In the Style type box, click Character.
4. Specify the settings that you want to use for the new character style, and then click Format to set the style.

For more information about creating or modifying styles, click the Office Assistant, type Styles, click Search, and then click a topic to view it.

NOTE: If the Assistant is hidden, click the Office Assistant button on the Standard toolbar.