Default Paragraph Style Setting

Question

I am using Word 2007 under Windows 7 Ultimate_32 O/S.

I have changed the default setting in Word Options for the "Default paragraph type" to be No Spacing instead of Normal.

Despite having changed the setting, when I start Word again, it has defaulted to Normal and remains there until I press Enter for a new line, at which point it gives me a double space before changing to the No Spacing style.

When I look again at the default setting in Word Options, it has changed back to Normal again.

Can someone put me out of my misery please???

PS. If anyone knows why Microsoft thought that double spacing was a good default value, I'd be very interested to hear.

Answer 1

If the Word Option you are talking about is in the "Cut, Copy and Paste" section then it is not the default you want to change. That is the style that is applied when you use the "click and type" feature.

The surest way to achieve what you want is to open the NORMAL.DOTM template for editing. Then apply the style you want to be the new default to the single paragraph in the document.

You may also want to define a shortcut key for the style so you can easily apply it. Taking over the <CTL><N> shortcut usually (I didn't say "normal"ly !) assigned to the "normal" style.

Then close and save the changes.

Now when you create a new document, it will use the new default.  This will not affect existing documents

Edit NORMAL.DOTM

From within Word:

·         press Alt+F11 to display the Visual Basic Editor.

·         Press Ctrl+G to activate the Immediate window.

·         Type

NormalTemplate.OpenAsDocument

·         and press Enter.

·         The Normal template displays in a separate window

·         you should now close the Visual Basic Editor

·         Modify the style, or the document defaults, as appropriate.

·         When you are done, save and close Normal.

·

Answer 2

OK, I see that we are talking about the same option. I also notice that it doesn't seem to be saved between sessions (which is clearly a bug), but that doesn't really matter, since it only works in conjunction with click and type anyway, that is, the style gets applied when you double-click an empty area on the page with click and type enabled.

If you are in fact trying to specify the default formatting when you start a new document, either change the document defaults or manually open the template for editing and apply a different paragraph style to the blank paragraph. I'd recommend the former approach.

To change the document defaults: In a new, blank document, press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S to display the Styles pane. Click the Manage Styles button. On the Set Defaults tab, specify the desired font and paragraph settings. Before clicking OK, select "New documents based on this template." Later, if you are asked to save the Normal template, choose to do so.

Answer 3

I'm sure there are a lot of "workarounds" if one goeas and looks, but when a choice is offered, and particularly as it is in the Word Options (We can choose) section, why is it not saving - as per my selection ?????

Answer 4

I'm not sure which option you're referring to, but I'm guessing you mean the "Default paragraph style" option (in the Advanced category of Word Options) which is greyed out unless you first select "Enable click and type"? This option has no effect on which style gets applied by default when you create a new document in Word. What you can do is apply a different style to the default blank paragraph of your template; you'll have to open the template for editing first.

Answer 5

I am using Word 2007 under Windows 7 Ultimate_32 O/S.

I have changed the default setting in Word Options for the "Default paragraph type" to be No Spacing instead of Normal.

Despite having changed the setting, when I start Word again, it has defaulted to Normal and remains there until I press Enter for a new line, at which point it gives me a double space before changing to the No Spacing style.

When I look again at the default setting in Word Options, it has changed back to Normal again.

 

Can someone put me out of my misery please???

 

PS. If anyone knows why Microsoft thought that double spacing was a good default value, I'd be very interested to hear.

What you should do is modify the formatting of the Normal style so that it is defined as the way that you want it.