How to create headings and styles

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Creating headings and styles

  1. Ensure no headings are included in a table. See the Tables section for how to create a table.
  2. Ensure all headings are concise.
  3. Ensure all headings are nested properly.
  4. Modify the following styles to match the styles used in your document (for more information on the recommended style specifications see Appendix 1: Styles)
    • Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3 etc.
    • Normal
  5. Select the relevant text
  6. Right click the relevant style and select ‘Update Style to Match Selection’

The placement of the styles section in Word. It is in the Home tab, after the paragraph section and before the editing section.
Figure 2: Styles section

The options you get when right clicking a pre set style, in this case the normal style. The options are Update normal to match selection, modify, select all: (no data), rename, remove from quick style galler and add gallery to quick access toolbar.
Figure 3: Changing a style

Ensure all headings and text content are marked up with these styles.

Where styles do not update properly, you will need to remove the formatting and re-apply it.

  1. Select the relevant text
  2. Under the ‘Styles’ section select the drop-down arrow

 


The styles section with the dropdown arrow circled. The arrow is located at the right of the styles, under the scroll bar
Figure 4: Styles section – Dropdown

 

  1. Select the option ‘Clear formatting’

The expanded styles section from after the dropdown arrow has been selected. The clear formatting option has be circled in the list under the styles.
Figure 5: Styles section – Dropdown expanded

Where you have headings or Figure text that must remain on the same page as the next line, use the Styles feature instead of page breaks to modify the content.

  1. Make sure you have no content selected in the document.
  2. Select the relevant style that needs to be used to ensure content stays together over page breaks.
  3. Right-click the relevant Style in the ‘Styles’ tab.
  4. Select the ‘Modify…’ option.

 


A heading style in the style menu has be right click selected and the second option in the list - Modify - has been circled.
Figure 6: Styles section – Modify

 

  1. Select the ‘Format’ button.
  2. Select the ‘Paragraph’ option.

 


The Modify Style options box is open for Heading 2. The format dropdown has been activate and the second option - paragraph - has been circled.
Figure 7: Modify Style – Paragraph

 

  1. Ensure the ‘Keep with next’ checkbox is selected.

The Paragraph options are open. In the line and page breaks tab, the keep with next checkbox is circled which is located under pagination and is the second item in the list.
Figure 8: Styles section – Keep with next

If headings are missing from the Styles panel

Update the styles setting to display all the available styles.

  1. Select the small arrow below the Styles section (see Figure below) or press ALT + CTRL + SHIFT + S.

The right edge of the styles bar is shown with the small arrow to open the styles dialogue circled. The arrow is located in the far right corner of the styles bar.
Figure 9: Styles arrow

The Styles dialog will display.


The styles dialog box. The options link is circled in the bottom right corner. The normal style is selected in the available styles.
Figure 10: Styles dialog
  1. Select Options.

The style pane options box with the select styles to show dropdown activated and all styles highlighted.
Figure 11: Style pane options
  1. Select ‘All styles’.
  2. Select ‘OK’.

Creating a new style

  1. Change the text formatting so that it fits the new style.
  2. Under the ‘Styles’ section select the drop-down arrow

 


The styles section with the dropdown arrow circled. The arrow is located at the right of the styles, under the scroll bar.
Figure 12: Styles section – Dropdown

 

  1. Select the option ‘Save Selection as a New Quick Style’

The styles section with the dropdown arrow circled. The arrow is located at the right of the styles, under the scroll bar.
Update this image!
  1. Under the ‘Name’ section, give the new style a name.

The create new style from formatting dialog box with the name field circled and highlighted to have a new name added.
Figure 14: New Style from Formatting dialog box
  1. Select ‘OK’.

Check that all headings are coded properly

  1. Under the ‘View’ tab, switch on the “Navigation Pane”.

The view tab in Word's navigation is selected and the document views, show and zoom options are seen. In the show section, the navigation pane checkbox is selected and is circled.
Figure 15: Switching on the Navigation Pane

The Navigation Pane appears on the left hand side of the window and contains three options:

  1. Browse the headings in your document
  2. Browse the pages in your document
  3. Browse the results from your current Search

The navigation pane which appears on the left hand side of the window. The three options are shown with arrows, the first tab is to browse the headings in your document, the second tab is to browse the pages in your document and the third tab is to browse the results from your current search.
Figure 16: Navigation Pane options