Styles in Word 2007

[BCP]

This is a question about Styles, I've always avoided understanding too much
about Styles but now need to as something's driving me mad. I'm using Word
2007 in 97/03 compatability mode. (I have to use it in that mode).

I have a big document with a few different types of text in it:

Headings, using Heading1 style - this is fine
main text, using Normal style
Other text on page 1, this is also set to Normal style but has other
formatting applied to it which I don't want to change.

I want to change the font of all the main text and I'd like to do it by
changing the Normal style, BUT this changes the first page which is formatted
with different fonts and sizes which I want to keep. My question is: how can
I change all the main text (Normal) but not the first page? I guess I want
to tell the document that the first page is no longer Normal style, but if I
change it to another style it all changes. ARGHHH! I hope this makes some
sense.
Help would be great! Thanks.

 

[Peter T. Daniels]

Create a new style with the special formatting used on the first page,
and apply it to the paragraphs on the first page. Then you can change
the features of the Normal style. But it has been said here that it's
not a good idea to change the Normal style (though I've never had any
problems as a result), so perhaps it would be better to create another
new style with the formatting you want for Normal, and then use Find/
Replace to replace every Normal with your new style. (Ctrl-H > More >
Format > Style.)

 

[BCP]

Ok thanks, I created a new style and changed all the Normal bits using Find &
Replace, that didn't take too long. Thanks very much!

 

[gr8auntieokie]

BCP wrote:
<< I've always avoided understanding too much about Styles.... >>

Why?? Styles are easy once you accept that each style is like a committee
that's responsible for a specific set of formatting commands. If you used
styles for all the "main text" of your document, e.g., Body Text First
Indent, etc., then all you'd have to do is change the font in those styles
and the whole document would automatically "fix" itself.

Most of the people in our law firm were hardcore WordPerfect users until Aug
2001, when the firm decided to switch over to Word lock, stock, and barrel.
Many of the old-timers really fought Word because "we never used to have to
do it that way," but before very long, I realized that if I were given a
handwritten document to type and could do it in either WordPerfect or Word,
I'd choose Word hands-down. Being able to assign a style to any particular
part of my document allowed me to keep typing while the style controlled how
the text looks. In fact, ever since then, I use styles even when I have to
type in WordPerfect!! Sure, WordPerfect lets you turn on and turn off
formatting attributes as needed so we never learned how to use styles in WP,
but they're there, and once you get used to using them, it's hard to live
without 'em!
~

Cyndie Browning
Software Support Specialist
GableGotwals
Tulsa, OK

 

[Stefan Blom]

I'd take this a step further and claim that, in Word, it is impossible to
work efficiently without learning (the basics of) styles.

 

[gr8auntieokie]

Amen!

Cyndie Browning
Software Support Specialist
GableGotwals
Tulsa, OK