Modify Heading Styles in Outlines: MS Word

In MS Word, the headings in an outline are automatically formatted with the styles Heading 1, Heading 2, and so on.

What if you don't like the appearance of the style? You may want the Heading 1 styles to be centered, in a different font, or with a border or shading. You may want the Heading 3 to be in Verdana rather than Times New Roman.

Whatever your preferences might be, you can make a single formatting change, and all the text using that style will immediately be reformatted.

To begin, modify the style so that every heading with that style will reflect the new format. This ensures that your headings are consistently formatted.

Below are the steps for the easiest way to modify a style.

1. Place the insertion point in a heading you want to reformat.
    
2. Format the heading the way you like it.
    
3. Click the Style box and choose the name of the same style.
    
4. When the prompt appears, choose the selection to update the style to reflect recent changes.

You can apply any style you want to your headings, instead of using the default styles for Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. You can still use Outline view and see the headings in a hierarchy if you assign Outline levels to them. You do this in the Paragraph dialog box.

(c) Carol Bratt, all rights reserved. Used with permission. Duplication is forbidden without express consent of author. Visit Carol's web site to learn more tips like this one!