Appying para styles overrides character formatting - sometimes

[Paul B.]

Hi,

I'm trying to figure out the rationale here. In Word '03 on WinXP,
when I press CTRL-A and then the hotkey for a paragraph style, I lose
all existing character mark-up, such as bold, colors, etc.

But if the cursor is in a paragraph and I invoke the new paragraph
style, the existing character mark-up is preserved.

It would be nice if there is a way to apply styles to selected text
without changing existing font mark-up, and indeed, my memory tells me
I have done this before. But it doesn't happen with CTRL-A, and I'm
trying to figure out what's going on and how I might get around this
behavior.

Thanks,
p.

 

[Stefan Blom]

As you apply a style, direct formatting will be preserved if it has been applied
to less than 50% of the text in the paragraph.

 

[Paul B.]

Ok, then, I see the problem. The text that I dropped into the document
was virtually all non-standard, in that its size that differed from
the Normal style. So the 50% Rule kicked in.

I note, however, that that rule applies only when the paragraph is
Selected. If the cursor is merely Inserted, the mark-up is preserved,
while basic font characteristics, like size, are changed to conform to
the new style. And that's basically just how I would like it. So I
guess the way to get at this is a macro to proceed through the
paragraphs and change them one by one.

Thanks,
p.

 

[Stefan Blom]

I note, however, that that rule applies only when the paragraph is

Selected. If the cursor is merely Inserted, the mark-up is preserved,
while basic font characteristics, like size, are changed to conform to
the new style. And that's basically just how I would like it. So I
guess the way to get at this is a macro to proceed through the
paragraphs and change them one by one.

Interesting! I can't reproduce the behavior you are describing, though. If more
than 50% of a paragraph has direct formatting, that formatting is cleared when I
apply a paragraph style, no matter if the paragraph is selected or not.

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP
(Message posted via news.eternal-september.org)



Ok, then, I see the problem. The text that I dropped into the document
was virtually all non-standard, in that its size that differed from
the Normal style. So the 50% Rule kicked in.

I note, however, that that rule applies only when the paragraph is
Selected. If the cursor is merely Inserted, the mark-up is preserved,
while basic font characteristics, like size, are changed to conform to
the new style. And that's basically just how I would like it. So I
guess the way to get at this is a macro to proceed through the
paragraphs and change them one by one.

Thanks,
p.

 

[Paul B.]

Thanks, Stefan. I need to give this more attention. I'm not 100% sure
what's going on. If I find something I'll tack it on here.

Thanks much,
p.