Format your documents with named styles


Tip
Whichever word processor you use, formatting text using named paragraph styles is by far the fastest way to work. Each of the current word processors offers a default set of styles, but those prefab styles may not always suit your needs. While you can create new styles using a dialogue box, there is an easier way: use text you've already formatted. Follow the steps below to create permanent styles you can use in all new documents.
In all the programs, start by formatting some text to look exactly the way you want. When you're finished, select the preformatted text and follow the steps below for your word processor.
Word 6, 7, and 97. Select Format--Style, and click New in the Style dialogue box. In the New Style dialogue box, type a name for your style in the Name field, select Add to Template, click OK, then click Close in the Style dialogue box. Word will save the new style in the current template when you exit.
WordPerfect 6.1 and 7. Select Format--Styles and then click QuickStyle in the Style List dialogue box. In the QuickStyle dialogue box, type a name for your new style in the Style name field, then click OK. Back in the Style List dialogue box, select Options and then select Copy. Select Template in the Styles Copy dialogue box and click OK to store the style sheet in WordPerfect's default template. Finish up by clicking Close in the Style List dialogue box. WordPerfect 6.1's style sheets cannot record colour, so that attribute won't be included.
Word Pro 96 and 97. The process is more complicated in Word Pro, since you can't create a style in a document and store it in the current template. To create a new, permanent style, follow these steps:
1. Before modifying Word Pro's default template, select File--Close to close all open documents. Select File--Open. Select Lotus Word Pro SmartMaster (*.MWP) in the Files of type list, then select default.mwp from the file list (look in the lotus\smasters\wordpro directory). Click Open. The default.mwp template is used to create plain blank documents; if you want your new style to appear in a different template, choose another one. To modify the default.mwp template, first select File-- Close to close the blank document that loads when you start Word Pro. Otherwise, you won't be able to save changes.
2. Enter some text into the new document that appears after you've closed the blank document, select the text, and then format it the way you want the new style to look.
3. Select Text--Named Styles--Create. Type a name for your new global style in the Style name field of the Create Style dialogue box, and then click OK.
4. Delete the text you've formatted so it is not saved with the template.
5. After you've created the styles you need and have deleted all the text you entered, select File--Save to store the modified SmartMaster template.
- George Campbell

Category: Word processing
Issue: Jul 1997
Pages: 176

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