'Automcatic' Formatting

[Andy Smith]

Hiya,

Is there any way to stop Word (and Outlook for that matter) from jumping
between fonts automatically.

I've set a couple of documents to Arial size 10, but sometimes when I hit
return it reverts to Times New Roman size 12. The same happens in Outlook.

Also, when copy from a to b where the font is different, can I force Office
apps to preserve destination formatting all the time?

Thanks

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

For the second problem, see
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/styles/FormatOfTextChanges.html. In Word
2002 and above, using the Paste Options button, you can choose Destination
Formatting.

The first problem is probably related to the first. Word's formatting
(including font formatting) is based on styles. Just one example of how this
might affect your document: Suppose you have selected all the text in your
document and applied direct font formatting (Arial 10) but have not
redefined the Normal style (which remains TNR 12). You then select a
paragraph and apply Heading 1 style (or perhaps Word does this for you via
AutoFormat As You Type because you have not disabled automatic headings).
When you press enter at the end of the heading, you will get Normal style
because it is defined as the default "Style for following paragraph" for all
the heading styles. You have not modified Normal style, so it is still TNR
12, and that's what you get.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Stefan Blom]

For existing documents, you can modify the Normal style, as Suzanne
suggested.

To change the default font for new documents, you can use the Font dialog;
choose the desired settings and click the Default button.

For Outlook, use Tools | Options to set the desired font options.

 

[Andy Smith]

I suspected that is the case (in both 'problems').

Is there no way to stop Word/Outlook etc from doing this, without modifying
the styles? What happens if we receive a doc from a client and they haven't
changed the styles in it - the same problem exists.

Thanks

 

[Andy Smith]

I know about the paste options, but explaining that to unwilling users is not
an enjoyable thing.

Can the default be changed to match the target document, as I believe the
default default is match the source.

 

[Andy Smith]

Also, I have Outlook 2007 set to Arial in the Tools > Options and my
signature is in Arial.

However, if I hit return after my signature, it reverts to Calabri 11. This
is what annoys my users the most, and which I need to prevent.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

In Word 2007, you can customize the paste options in Office Button | Word
Options | Advanced: Cut, copy, and paste. There are separate settings for
pasting within the same document, pasting between documents, pasting between
documents when style definitions conflict, and pasting from other programs.
In previous versions, there is no such control, however.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

 

[Stefan Blom]

Word is a style-based application, so you really cannot get around modifying
the styles to get the settings that you want.

If you are using Word 2007, an alternative is to change the document
defaults: In the Styles pane (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S), click Manage Styles. Click
the Set Defaults tab, and specify the desired settings. Before clicking OK,
select "New documents based on this template."

 

[Stefan Blom]

In my experience, font defaults are tricky in Outlook. I find it easier to
set Plain Text as the default e-mail format, but that may not be an option
for you.