Base style - BodyText or Normal

[Spence]

I'm trying to set up a template for some manuals, but I'm a bit
confused about BodyText and Normal. Which should the base style be? Do
I need both?

I see both in some complex docs I've looked at, but on a blank new
document I only see Normal.

Any advice please?

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NormalVsBodyStyles.htm

 

[Spence]

See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NormalVsBodyStyles.htm

Many thanks for that Suzanne. Lots of really helpful info there.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I'm glad you found it helpful.

 

[Beth Melton]

I'm trying to set up a template for some manuals, but I'm a bit
confused about BodyText and Normal. Which should the base style be? Do
I need both?

I see both in some complex docs I've looked at, but on a blank new
document I only see Normal.

I see that Suzanne provided you an answer but what version of Word are you
using? If using Word 2007 then what you should use for your base style has
changed due to the exposure of the Document Defaults that were previously
hard-coded into the application.

For Word 2007 it's recommended you use the Document Defaults for your base
formatting and leave the Normal style unchanged. The reason for this, to
leave the Normal style unchanged, is this will prevent style bugs that occur
in previous versions and the Normal style "pulls" its formats from the
Document Defaults. As an additional note, when modifying/defining a style,
if you select "Based on" and then select "No Style" then the style is based
on the Document Defaults and if the Document Defaults change they will be
reflected in your style which is a change in behavior from previous
versions.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP
https://mvp.support.microsoft.com/profile/Melton
What is a Microsoft MVP? http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/gp/mvpfaqs

Guides for the Office 2007 Interface:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/HA102295841033.aspx