Is there an easy way to modify the Normal style?

[Jezsik]

I used to take a normal paragraph, make all the formatting modifications I liked, then update the Normal style (by clicking inside the Style dropdown, pressing Enter and telling Word to update the existing style). <Whew!> In Office2K the same procedure changes my text back to the orginal Normal style; I must go through the Format > Style menu (which is a real pain in the butt because I can't always tell what I want until I see the results).

There MUST be an easier way. No?

[IanWilson]

You're right. The Word on screen help says

"I can't redefine the Normal style by using the Style box.

Typically, when you apply a style to text, change the text formatting, and then reapply the style using the Style box , Microsoft Word gives you the option of either updating the style based on the new formatting or reapplying the style as it was last defined.

By contrast, when you apply the Normal style to text, Word does not give you the option of updating the style. Instead of prompting you either to redefine or reapply the Normal style, Word automatically reapplies the Normal style, and overwrites the formatting changes you made.

To redefine the Normal style, do the following:

1. On the Format menu, click Style.

2. In the Styles box, click Normal, and then click Modify.

3. To permanently redefine the Normal style, select the Add to template check box.

4. Click Format, and then click the attribute

[Charles Kenyon]

As Ian said, you will have difficulty doing this the way you are used to doing it.

When I create templates, I consider it an error for me to use the normal style or any style based on normal. I've adapted the Body Text style and Heading 1 styles as my base styles. Neither is based on normal. All other paragraph styles are based on one of these two. Heading 2 is based on Heading 1, Heading 3 on Heading 2, etc. This way, changes to a base font ripple through the document.

This gives me more control over how my documents look, on my computer and on other people's computers. Hope this helps. For more on styles, you might want to look at <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm> Understanding Styles</A> (addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm).