Can't switch styles

**cbp** · 09-10-2009, 03:12 AM

Hi,

I'm using Word 2007 and have created a few new styles. I have one called "Header", one called "Subheader", and one called "Name". Normally, for the headers of my documents, I use the "Header" style for the primary title, the "Subheader" style for the secondary title, and the "Name" style for my name, all on the same line. All three of the styles are character styles based on the default "Normal" style.

But I've come across a problem. Once I switch to one of the three styles I've made, I can't switch back to the normal style. I click on the Normal style, and it highlights for a split second, and then jumps back to whatever style I was on previously. If I double-click the Normal style, it highlights, but none of the font settings change, and once I start typing, the highlight jumps right back to the previous style. Even if I go to a new line, the style won't change.

The only workaround I've found is to type two characters in one of my header styles, select the second character, change it to the Normal style (which works), delete the first character, and then delete the second character. Then the new line goes back to the Normal style. I tried changing my three styles to "Linked", but the problem persisted. I'm not sure why Word is so dead-set on making sure that I can't switch back to the Normal style, but it's really a pain. Is there any solution that you can think of, or some glaringly obvious error that I'm somehow missing?

**teylyn** · 09-10-2009, 09:06 PM

All three of the styles are character styles based on the default "Normal" style.

try defining the styles as Paragraph style, not Character, then it'll work. Character styles add font information to the paragraph styles, but the underlying paragraph style definition does not change. Therefore, when you go

Normal -> MyStyle (Character)

you have a paragraph format of Normal with a Character style applied. When you apply the Normal style again, it does not change the character style.

read this for more info: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/wo...876141033.aspx

**cbp** · 09-11-2009, 12:53 AM

I thought about that, but I need to have all the styles on the same line (Header, Subheader, and Name all make up the title line), and when they're in Paragraph format, when I try to go from Header to Subheader, the entire line (including the Header part) turns to Subheader. I also tried making just Header paragraph, and making Subheader and Name Linked, which works, but when I assign the Name style, its formatting changes (from 11pt, which it's supposed to be, to 16pt, which is the size of the Header style). I can't work this out.

**shg** · 09-11-2009, 11:34 AM

I can't work this out.

Indeed you can't, and won't. As teylin explained, paragraph styles are applied to paragraphs; by definition, a paragraph has exactly one paragraph style.

You can have an unlimited number of character styles within a paragraph.

**cbp** · 09-13-2009, 07:02 AM

Yes, thanks. There's no need to be condescending; I do possess basic reading comprehension. Of course a paragraph only has one paragraph style. My point is that none of the style types seem to allow me to have multiple styles (character or otherwise) on the same line while being able to clear the character style and use the normal paragraph style - which is what I need to do.

Riddle me this, then: Suppose I apply a paragraph style, then a character style. When I'm done with the character style for the paragraph, how do I stop using it and have the rest of the paragraph in just the paragraph style?