15. Create custom document elements

When it comes to maximizing your efficiency while creating documents in Word, styles and templates are among the most powerful tools available to you.

You can greatly enhance your efficiency when developing a series of related custom documents by creating themes that specify the colors and fonts to use, styles that specify the formatting appropriate to the document, and templates that store and apply those styles. You can also create building blocks that save preformatted content segments so you can insert them anywhere in any document.

This chapter guides you through procedures related to creating and modifying styles, creating and managing custom themes, creating and attaching templates, and creating custom building blocks.

You can modify existing styles or create new styles. When you modify a style, document content with that style applied reflects your changes immediately. When you create or modify styles, you can choose to make them active in the current document only, or in all documents based on the template you’re working in.

You can modify the content of the Styles gallery for the current template by adding and removing styles, so the styles you want are available from the gallery and the styles you rarely use don’t distract you.

A customized Styles gallery

Adding and removing styles in the gallery doesn’t affect the styles in the Styles pane. If you create or modify styles and don’t want to save them as part of a template, you can save the style definitions as a custom style set.

To open the Modify Style dialog box

• In the Style gallery, right-click the style you want to modify, and then select Modify.

• In the Styles pane, point to the style you want to modify, select the arrow that appears to the right of the style name, and then select Modify.

• In the Apply Styles dialog box, select the style you want to modify, and then select Modify.

To modify an existing style

1. Apply the style you want to modify to a paragraph or selected text.

2. Adjust the formatting so that the paragraph or selection looks the way you want it.

3. Do either of the following to update the style definition with the new formatting:

   • In the Style gallery, right-click the style, and then select Update <style> to Match Selection.

   • In the Styles pane, point to the style, select the arrow that appears to the right of the style name, and then select Update <style> to Match Selection.

Or

1. Open the Modify Style dialog box for the style.

2. In the Formatting area or from the Format menu, change the settings to achieve the look you want.

   

   You can modify as many aspects of a style as you can of the document text

3. To save the style modification in the template, select New documents based on this template (otherwise, the style will be modified in this document only).

4. Select OK.

To create a simple style

1. Apply the formatting that you want to include in the style to a paragraph or selection of text.

2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, select the More button (below the scroll arrows) and then on the menu, select Create a Style.

   A minimal version of the Create New Style From Formatting dialog box opens.

   

   The Paragraph Style Preview box displays the style formatting

3. In the Create New Style from Formatting dialog box, enter a name for the style in the Name box, and then select OK.

To create a style that is linked to other styles

1. Do either of the following to open the full version of the Create New Style From Formatting dialog box:

   • In the lower-left corner of the Styles pane, select the New Style button.

   • Open the minimal version of the dialog box, and then select Modify.

     

     Basing a style on another simplifies global updates

2. Do the following:

   1. In the Name box, insert a name for the style.

   2. In the Style based on list, verify or select the style that you want to build the new style on. Updating the base style updates all styles based on it.

3. Do either of the following:

   • In the Formatting section, select the font, font size, font effects, font color, alignment, line spacing, space before and after, and indent.

   • Select Format, and then from the Format list, format the font, paragraph, tabs, border, language, frame, numbering, shortcut key, or text effects.

4. If you’re creating a paragraph style, in the Style for following paragraph list, select the style that you want to create when the user presses Enter in a paragraph of this style.

5. If you want to include this style in the Style gallery, select the Add to the Styles gallery check box.

6. If you want to automatically update the style definition whenever formatting is applied to this style in a document, select the Automatically update check box. (You probably do not want to select this because it can modify the style when you don’t want it to.)

7. If you want to save the style as part of the currently attached document template, click New documents based on this template.

8. Select OK.

To add a style to the Style gallery

• In the Styles pane, do either of the following:

  • Right-click the style, and then select Add to Style Gallery.

  • Point to the style, select the arrow that appears, and then select Add to Style Gallery.

    

    You can manage a style and the content it’s applied to from the Styles pane

Or

1. Open the Modify Style dialog box for the style.

2. Select the Add to the Styles gallery check box, and then select OK.

To remove a style from the Style gallery

• In the Styles pane, point to the style, select the arrow that appears, and then select Remove from Style Gallery.

• In the Styles pane or Style gallery, right-click the style, and then select Remove from Style Gallery.

  

  You can manage a style from the Style gallery

Or

1. Open the Modify Style dialog box for the style.

2. Clear the Add to the Styles gallery check box, and then select OK.

To save the current style definitions as a style set

1. On the Design tab, in the Document Formatting group, select the More button (in the lower-right corner of the gallery pane) to expand the Style Set gallery and menu.

2. On the menu, click Save as a New Style Set.

3. In the Save as a New Style Set dialog box, enter a name for the style set in the File name box.

4. Select Save to save the style set in the QuickStyles folder and add it to the Style Set gallery.

To delete a custom style

• In the Styles pane, select the arrow to the right of the style, select Delete or Revert To <style>, and then click Yes to confirm the deletion.

If you create a combination of theme elements that you would like to use with other documents, you can save the combination as a new theme. By saving the theme in the default Document Themes folder, you make the theme available in the Themes gallery. However, you don’t have to store custom themes in the Document Themes folder; you can store them anywhere on your hard disk, on removable media, or on a network location.

If multiple people create corporate documents for your company, you can ensure that everyone’s documents have a common look and feel by assembling a custom theme and making it available to everyone. Use theme elements that reflect your corporate colors, fonts, and visual style, and then save the theme to a central location or send the theme file by email and instruct your colleagues to save it to the default Document Themes folder.

To save a custom theme

1. Apply a base theme, and then modify the theme colors, fonts, and effects the way you want them.

2. On the Design tab, in the Document Formatting group, select Themes.

3. At the bottom of the Themes menu, select Save Current Theme to display the contents of the Document Themes folder in the Save Current Theme dialog box.

4. In the File name box, replace the suggested name, and then select Save.

To apply a custom theme

1. Display the Themes menu. If custom themes are saved in the Document Themes folder, the Themes menu includes a Custom section that contains those themes.

2. In the Custom section of the Themes menu, select the theme.

To apply a theme from a nonstandard location

1. On the Design tab, in the Document Formatting group, select Themes.

2. At the bottom of the Themes menu, select Browse for Themes.

3. In the Choose Theme or Themed Document dialog box, browse to the theme you want to apply, and then select Open.

To find the location of your Document Themes folder

1. On the Design tab, in the Document Formatting group, select Themes.

2. At the bottom of the Themes menu, select Save Current Theme.

3. In the Save Current Theme dialog box, select the folder icon at the left end of the address bar to display the full path to the Document Themes folder.

To delete a custom theme

• Open File Explorer, browse to the Document Themes folder, and delete the theme file.

• In Word, display the Themes menu, right-click the custom theme, and then select Delete.

Note that the second method removes the theme choice from the gallery but does not remove the theme file from your Themes folder.

Depending on the types of documents you create and the organization for which you create them, it might be realistic for you to work in the Normal template for the entire length of your word-processing career. If none of the templates that come with Word or that you download from Office.com meets your needs, you can create your own template. You can also distribute the custom template to other people. By doing so, you can ensure that documents you and your coworkers create adhere to a specific set of styles or are based on the same content.

Chapter 4, “Modify the structure and appearance of text,” discusses how to assign formats and outline levels to content by applying styles, and how to change the appearance of styled content by using style sets. You can apply local character formatting to modify the appearance of text, and change the paragraph spacing for an entire document. All these actions, however, are effective only in the document you’re working on. If you want to consistently create coordinated documents, your most efficient option is to create a template that contains styles and colors specific to your purpose.

If you work for a company that has specific corporate fonts and colors, you can save a significant amount of time (and create very professional documents) by creating a corporate template.

Creating a custom template is easy: you simply create a document containing the content, styles, and settings that you want, and then save it as a document template (a .dotx file) rather than as a document (a .docx file). You can save a custom template with text in it, which is handy if you create many documents with only slight variations. Or you can delete the text so that a new document based on the template will open as a blank document with the set of predefined styles available to apply to whatever content you enter.

You can save a custom template anywhere and then browse to and double-click the file name to open a new document based on the template. However, if you save the template in your default Personal Templates folder, it will be available when you select Personal at the top of the New page of the Backstage view. If you want to make changes to the content or formatting that is part of an existing template, you must open the template file instead of creating a document based on the template.

If you’re working with an existing document and want to convert it to your custom template, you can either attach the custom template to the existing document or create a new document based on the custom template and import or paste in the content of the existing document. You attach a template by using the Document Template command, which is located in the Templates group on the hidden Developer tab.

If you modify the Normal template, you can easily revert to the original by closing all open Word documents, deleting the Normal.dotx template file from the default template location, and then restarting Word. If Word doesn’t find the Normal template, it automatically creates a new one for you with the default settings.

To save a document as a personal template

1. In the Backstage view, select the Save As page tab.

2. In the left pane of the Save As page, select the Browse button to open the Save As dialog box.

3. In the Save as type list, select Word Template. The folder path in the Address bar changes to display your default personal templates folder.

4. In the File name box, enter a name for the template, such as Company Fax Template. Then select Save.

5. Close the template. It is now available from the Personal view of the New page of the Backstage view.

To create a document based on a personal template

1. On the New page of the Backstage view, below the search box, Featured and Personal appear above the thumbnails if custom templates are saved in the default personal templates location. Select Personal to display the contents of your personal templates folder.

2. In the Personal templates view, select a thumbnail. Word creates a new document based on your custom template.

To edit a personal template

1. Display your personal templates folder.

2. Right-click the template that you want to edit, and then select Open.

Or

1. On the Open page of the Backstage view, browse to your personal templates folder.

2. Set the file type to Word Templates, and then double-click the template you want to edit.

To access the Document Template command

• Do the following to display the Templates group on the Quick Access Toolbar:

  1. Display the Quick Access Toolbar page of the Word Options dialog box.

  2. In the Choose commands from list, select Developer Tab.

  3. In the Choose commands from pane, select Templates.

  4. Select Add, and then select OK.

• Do the following to display the Developer tab on the ribbon:

  1. Display the Customize Ribbon page of the Word Options dialog box.

  2. In the Customize the Ribbon pane displaying the main tabs, select the check box to the left of Developer, and then select OK.

To open the Templates And Add-ins dialog box

1. Display the Templates group on the Quick Access Toolbar, or display the Developer tab on the ribbon.

2. On the Quick Access Toolbar or Developer tab, in the Templates group, select Document Template to display the Templates page of the Templates And Add-ins dialog box.

   

   You can attach a template from any location you can browse to

To attach a different template to an open document

1. Open the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.

2. On the Templates page, in the Document template section, select Attach to open the Attach Template dialog box.

3. Navigate to the template you want to attach, and then double-click it to enter the path to the template in the Document Template box.

4. In the Templates and Add-ins dialog box, select the Automatically update document styles check box, and then select OK to attach the new template and update the document styles.

If the styles in the new template have the same names as the styles in the original template, the formatting associated with the styles will change when you attach the new template. If the styles have different names, you can quickly restyle the document content by using commands available from the Styles pane.

To replace the styles attached to content

• In the Styles pane, point to the old style name, select the arrow that appears, and select Select All. Then select the new style name.

To load a global template and make it available for use

1. Open the Templates and Add-ins dialog box.

2. On the Templates page, in the Global templates and add-ins section, select Add to open the Add Template dialog box.

3. In the Add Template dialog box, navigate to the template you want to load, and then double-click it to enter the template name in the Global Templates And Add-Ins pane. A check mark indicates that the template is active.

4. In the Templates and Add-ins dialog box, select OK.

You can save information and document elements that you use frequently as custom building blocks so that you can easily insert them into documents. A custom building block can be a simple phrase or sentence that you use often, or it can include multiple paragraphs, formatting, graphics, and more.

Custom building blocks, such as a company name and address block, make it easy to insert specific text and objects in any document

You need to create the element exactly as you want it only one time; then you can save it as a building block and use it confidently wherever you need it. You insert a custom building block into a document from the Quick Parts gallery on the Quick Parts menu.

The building blocks in the Quick Parts gallery reflect the color scheme of the current document

To save content as a building block

1. Select the content that you want to save as a building block.

2. On the Insert tab, in the Text group, select the Quick Parts button to display the Quick Parts menu.

3. Click Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery to open the Create New Building Block dialog box.

   

   Word suggests text from the selection as the name of the building block

4. In the Name box, enter a name for your new building block.

5. In the Category list, do either of the following:

   • Select the category you want to save the building block in. General is the default.

   • If you want to create a custom category, Select Create New Category, and in the Create New Category dialog box, enter a new category name in the name box, and then select OK.

6. In the Create New Building Block dialog box, add a description and make a selection in the Options box if you want, and then select OK to add the selected content to the Quick Parts gallery and the Building Blocks template.

   Tip

   To save changes to a custom building block, modify the building block in the document and then save it to the Quick Parts gallery with the same name as the original, and then select Yes when Word prompts you to indicate whether you want to redefine the building block.

To insert a custom building block in a document

• Position the cursor in the document where you want to insert a building block. Then do any of the following:

  • In the Quick Parts gallery, select a building block.

  • In the Quick Parts gallery, select Building Blocks Organizer, and then, in the Building Blocks Organizer dialog box, select the building block and then Insert.

  • In the document, enter the name of the building block, and then press F3 to replace the building block name with the building block.

  The building block picks up the formatting information from the document into which you insert it.

Or

1. Position the cursor anywhere in the document.

2. In the Quick Parts gallery, right-click a building block, and then select one of the specified locations.

   

   You can insert a custom building block by selecting a location from a list

To delete a custom building block

• In the Building Blocks Organizer dialog box, select a building block, select Delete, and then select Yes when Word prompts you to indicate whether you want to delete the selected building block.

The introduction includes a complete list of practice files and download instructions.

1. Open the Styles pane and review the styles that are part of the document template. Notice that they use fonts and colors that are different from those of the Normal template.

2. In the Styles pane, point to the Heading 1 style to display its properties. Notice that it is based on the Normal style. Point to Heading 2 and Heading 3, and notice that each is based on the previous heading level.

3. Change the font of the Normal style from Candara to Franklin Gothic Book and notice the effect on the document content.

4. Select the heading America’s Finest Publishing Team and change the font color to Green.

5. With the heading still selected, update the Heading 1 style to match the selection. Notice the effect on the Heading 2 and Heading 3 styles.

6. In the Description of Services section, under Management, select Project Management.

7. Change the font color to Orange. Remove the bold formatting and apply italic formatting.

8. Create a new character style based on the formatting, and name it ServiceName.

9. Apply the ServiceName style to the words Document Management at the beginning of the next paragraph. Then apply it to the other services in the Description of Services section of the document.

10. Save and close the document.

1. Change the theme font set from Candara/Candara to a font set of your choice.

2. Change the theme colors to a color set of your choice.

3. Save the customized theme in the default theme location as MyTheme.

4. From the practice file folder, open the ChangeTheme document. Review the document content and note the fonts and colors.

5. Apply the MyTheme theme to the document. Then review the document and notice the changes.

6. Save and close the open documents.

1. Delete the content from the body of the document (but not the header or footer).

2. Open the Styles pane and display a preview of the styles in the document.

3. Save the blank document in the default template location, as a template named MyTemplate. Then close the file.

4. Start Word or switch to an open document and display the New page of the Backstage view.

5. Click the Personal link that is now available at the top of the page to display your personal templates.

6. Create a new document based on the MyTemplate template. Notice that the new document includes the header and footer.

7. In the Styles gallery, notice that the styles in the new document are the same as those in the CreateTemplates document.

8. Close the open documents without saving changes.

9. If you want to delete your custom template, browse to the default template location and delete the MyTemplate.dotx file.

1. Activate the footer and select all the footer content.

2. Save the selected content as a building block with the following properties:

   • Name: MyFooter

   • Gallery: Footers

   • Category: Create a new category named MyBlocks

   • Description: My custom footer

   • Save in: Building Blocks

   • Options: Insert content only

3. Create a new, blank document. On the Insert tab, display the Footer gallery, locate the MyFooter building block, and insert it in the document.

4. Open the Building Blocks Organizer. Locate the MyFooter building block and delete it.

5. Close the open documents without saving changes.