applying styles to headings

[rfgsdfg]

Rather than spending the time to create a style for headings and
highlighting each heading in my document, and applying the style, it
seems it might be easier just to format each heading manually.

Is there an easier way to apply styles to all headings then having to
highlight each one and manually apply them.

Thanks.

 

[Clive Huggan]

Dear rfgsdfg (my goodness, how cruel your parents were),

If you're writing a letter, memo or other short document, go right ahead and
format manually.

BTW, you don't have to select the text to apply a style -- just click
anywhere in the paragraph you want to format.

If you are working on a long document, styles really are by far the quickest
way to format headings. And you then derive the benefits of applying such
characteristics as gluing the heading to the paragraph that follows,
allowing almost instant updating of the table of contents, etc.Long
documents are less liable to corruption if based on styles. Heading styles
allow you to gain a strategic look at a document's structure, and to modify
it, via the Outline view. Others advantages are listed on pages 81-82 of
the downloadable notes I mention below -- there are more than a dozen!

If I'm applying, say, a Heading 2 style to text I'm writing, when I some to
the end of what I want to turn into a heading (or even before, if I'm
pausing) I just key Command-Shift-s and follow that with 2 followed by the
Return key. This is the quickest way of all: about one second. To enable
this I have modified my heading styles so their names are "Heading 1,1" and
so on (note the lack of a space after the comma) in order to do this.

When I apply a heading style immediately I have typed the words in the
heading,

Full details of the above are on page 86 of some notes on the way I use Word
for the Mac, titled "Bend Word to Your Will", which are available as a free
download from the Word MVPs' website
(http://word.mvps.org/MacWordNew/Bend/BendWord.htm), under the heading "The
minimum you need to know about styles". (This is part of a larger section on
styles, which describes how to create your own, among many other things.
You'll also see a useful table headed "Characteristics of Heading 1,1" on
page 87.)

[Note: The document is designed to be used electronically and most subjects
are self-contained dictionary-style entries. Be sure to read the front end
so you can use the document to best advantage and select the right settings
for reading it.]

I also have small buttons to apply heading styles -- including some that
don't create entries in the table of contents. They are easy and quick to
set up.

If you Google this group you'll see other articles on styles too.

If I am applying styles to text received from other people or the web (a
frequent occurrence for me), I go create a new document, paste in the text
as Unformatted Text (Paste Special), do as above for say Heading 1, then go
through progressively and key either Option-Return or Command-y to repeat
the action. Then I go through and apply Heading 2 this way. It's a lot
quicker than you'd think.

Cheers,

Clive Huggan
Canberra, Australia
(My time zone is at least 7 hours different from the US and Europe, so my
follow-on responses to those regions can be delayed)
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[Matthew Smith]

Rather than spending the time to create a style for headings and
highlighting each heading in my document, and applying the style, it
seems it might be easier just to format each heading manually.

Is there an easier way to apply styles to all headings then having to
highlight each one and manually apply them.

You could use the Outline view and then promote the paragraphs that are
headings to be headings. You can change to Outline view under the View
menu.

 

[Clive Huggan]

You could use the Outline view and then promote the paragraphs that are
headings to be headings. You can change to Outline view under the View
menu.

What a great idea, Matthew! Thank you!

Clive Huggan
============

 

[Michel Bintener]

[Š]
Is there an easier way to apply styles to all headings then having to
highlight each one and manually apply them.

You could use the Outline view and then promote the paragraphs that are
headings to be headings. You can change to Outline view under the View
menu.

Also, if your headings have a common element, such as the word "chapter",
you can do an advanced "Find & Replace" where, in the "Find" field, you
enter that word (make sure you enter enough information, such as spacing
before and after, or eventual formatting, so as not to inadvertently
highlight words in the text body), and in the "Replace" field, you select a
style using the Format button (which you can obtain when you expand the
"Find & Replace" window). To do this, simply click on the triangle in the
left-hand corner, and you'll be presented with a series of options to choose
from, which you should also find useful when trying to make your search
criteria as specific as possible.

Michel

 

[rfgsdfg]

Thanks everyone for the advice/help!!!

[Š]
Is there an easier way to apply styles to all headings then having to
highlight each one and manually apply them.

You could use the Outline view and then promote the paragraphs that are
headings to be headings. You can change to Outline view under the View
menu.

Also, if your headings have a common element, such as the word "chapter",
you can do an advanced "Find & Replace" where, in the "Find" field, you
enter that word (make sure you enter enough information, such as spacing
before and after, or eventual formatting, so as not to inadvertently
highlight words in the text body), and in the "Replace" field, you select a
style using the Format button (which you can obtain when you expand the
"Find & Replace" window). To do this, simply click on the triangle in the
left-hand corner, and you'll be presented with a series of options to choose
from, which you should also find useful when trying to make your search
criteria as specific as possible.

Michel