How to Use Styles in Word (The Secret to Tidy Documents)

If you format headings by selecting them and changing the font, size and colour by hand, Styles will change your life. A style is a saved set of formatting. Apply it once, and if you change the style later, every paragraph that uses it updates at the same time.

Why styles matter

• Your document looks consistent from start to finish.
• A table of contents can be built automatically from heading styles.
• The Navigation pane lists your headings so you can jump around.
• Changing the look of every heading takes seconds, not an afternoon.

Quick reference

1. Apply a style

1. Click anywhere in the paragraph (no need to select it all).
2. Go to the Home tab.
3. Click a style in the Styles gallery — Heading 1 for main headings, Heading 2 for sub-headings, Normal for body text.

2. Change a style everywhere

1. Right-click the style in the gallery.
2. Choose Modify…
3. Change the font, size, colour or spacing.
4. Click OK.

Every paragraph using that style updates instantly.

3. Update a style to match your formatting

Prefer to format by eye? Format one heading exactly how you like it, then right-click the style and choose Update Heading 1 to Match Selection. Every Heading 1 now matches.

4. Use the Navigation pane

Press Ctrl + F (or View → Navigation Pane). Your headings appear as an outline on the left:

• Click a heading to jump to it.
• Drag a heading up or down to move that whole section, text and all.
• Right-click to promote, demote or delete a section.

5. Change the whole look in one click

On the Design tab, pick a different Style Set or Colors and every style in the document changes together.

Troubleshooting

My heading doesn’t appear in the Navigation pane. It’s formatted to look like a heading but uses the Normal style. Apply Heading 1 or 2.

Changing one heading changed all of them. “Automatically update” is on for that style. Right-click → Modify… → untick Automatically update.

The style gallery is missing my style. Open the Styles pane (Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S) to see them all.

Wrapping up

Use Heading 1, Heading 2 and Normal for everything, and change the look by modifying the style — never by formatting paragraphs one at a time.