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Apply multiple styles to single text selection

Anonymous
2018-04-09T16:27:39+00:00

I'm using Word 2011 for Mac and trying to apply 2 separate (non-conflicting) styles to the same chunk of text. For example, I'd like to be able to select a few words, click Style 1 to set the typeface and size and then click Style 2 to set the color.

I was hoping that creating a character style based on "underlying properties" would allow me to create a Style 2 that consisted of a color definition only. Then, any text to which Style 2 is applied and would pick up the new color definition and inherit any other properties already set (from Style 1 or elsewhere). However at a minimum, it looks like it forces a font-size to be set with the new style definition.

Is this CSS-like styling possible in Word?

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Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
2018-04-10T14:28:31+00:00

If you create a character style based on "underlying properties" and you make sure that it doesn't include anything but red color, you can apply that character style to any text range.

To ensure that you don't get any undesired formatting into the character style when you create it, do the following: Select a text range and press Ctrl+SpaceBar to clear any direct font formatting which may be applied to the range. Apply the color red (in this example). Finally, create the character style.

Of course, it remains true that you can't format a text range with a character style and also keep any direct font formatting applied to that same text range, which may or may be relevant to your situation. Character styles will always remove underlying font formatting unless that formatting comes from a paragraph style.

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 436K Reputation points
    2018-04-09T16:46:27+00:00

    It would be best to base the 2nd character style on the 1st character style rather than on (underlying properties). In that way the 2nd style retains the same properties as the first except for any explicit differences.

    Quite frankly, I'm not sure that anyone really understands the function of (underlying properties), including those who developed it :-) If you want to see testimony to the confusion among some of the most knowledgeable Word users on the planet, please see this conversation:

    default paragraph font vs. underlying properties - Microsoft Community

    EDIT: To answer your question, no, you cannot apply 2 different character styles to the same text at the same time. Nor can you [easily] apply 2 paragraph styles concurrently to the same paragraph. What you can do is apply a character style to selected text in a paragraph which has a paragraph style applied to it.

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  2. Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-04-10T08:19:58+00:00

    I should have added that usually it suffices to modify a single style, but that depends (of course) on how the document was formatted from the start. Sometimes, especially for documents where many authors are involved, the formatting may be a total mess of styles and direct formatting. (To fix such a mess, you may have to start fresh and reformat the document.)

    Obviously, it helps if a minimum of styles is being used in a document (and if those styles are being used consistently).

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  3. Stefan Blom 342.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2018-04-09T18:37:03+00:00

    Note that there is a similar discussion in the Word for Windows section located here:

    https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/msoffice_word-mso_win10-mso_2010/change-the-normal-style-font-without-changing/bb505ecd-04d6-4487-a727-78030b31ae82

    The "default paragraph font vs. underlying properties" thread is linked to in that thread as well. :-)

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  4. Anonymous
    2018-04-09T17:29:38+00:00

    Haha! Confusion indeed... to say the least =)

    Thanks for the suggestion. As I'm sure you're aware, that's more repetition of properties than I care for. Amazing that Word does not provide more efficiency in the Styles functionality. It would be nice to be able to change all "Blue" text (of all different sizes, fonts, etc) to "Green" by changing the color value in a single place. And of course that's just a very simple, watered down example. The list would be infinite.

    Are you aware of any work-arounds?

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