How to create and share custom Style Sets

PCWorld
 May 20, 2014 3:32 AM
Who knew Microsoft Word could give you a power rush? That’s what you feel
when you create a one-click, customized Style Set that automatically applies font,
paragraph, layout, and other setting to any document. It’s a great way to create
consistency for monthly reports or other routine pieces of content. Once you get the
hang of Style Sets, formatting text one paragraph or section at a time will feel as
primitive as Sumerians writing cuneiform on wet-clay tablets.
In Word 2013, the process for creating styles and Style Sets (which is what
Microsoft now calls style sheets), is similar to the processes in Word 2007 and 2010.
Veterans will recognize most of the commands, and novices should catch on
quickly, especially in the user-friendly Word 2013. The only real differences (aside
from the aesthetics) are the location of these features on the menus, the addition of
many new templates and themes that use Style Sets, and some new options that
make this feature more proficient and accessible.
Create a custom Style Set
Imagine that you have to create a weekly report for your branch of the company that
will, eventually, be merged into a bigger report for the corporate offices. The CEO
has instructed you to create a Style Set for everyone in all the branches to use, so the
reports can be merged seamlessly with minimal reformatting. For the sake of
brevity, we’ll create just one custom style for that Style Set. You can then use these
instructions to create all the remaining styles such as titles, subtitles, several layers
of headings, contents, footnotes, body text, etc.
Styles panel

Styles panel
On the Home tab, click the expansion arrow in the lower righthand corner of the
Styles menu. The default Normal Style Set panel drops down, displaying a list of all
the paragraph, character, link, table, and list styles in that Style Set. You can add
new styles to this Style Set or modify the existing styles and save them under a
different name. Or you can clear these styles and start fresh, then resave your
custom Style Set with a new name. For this example, we’ll just add new styles to the
existing Normal Style Set, then resave it as the “CorpReport” Style Set.
In the Styles Panel, select the New Style button on the bottom left (mouse roll-over
displays the button description), and the Create New Style From Formatting screen
appears. In the Name field, enter the style name BoxText. For Style Type, select
Paragraph from the drop-down list; in Style Based On, select No Style from the
drop-down list list; and in the Style for Following Paragraph, select Normal. Later,
when you add your own custom body text style (such as BodyText), you can modify
this field and resave.
Formatting section
In the Font section under Formatting, select a large serif font like Bookman Old
Style. Choose 11 point from the Font Size drop-down list. In the box that says
Automatic (color options), choose a dark blue for your font color. Common
Character attributes (bold, italic, and underline) are the buttons between the Size and
Color fields. The next row of buttons are the most common Paragraph format
options: Justification, Line Spacing, Spacing (before and after paragraphs in points),
and Paragraph Indents. Note that the Sample text in the large, center panel changes
based on your selections, so you can view them live, and the following panel
provides a text description of the options you’ve chosen.
Options
Next, check Add this style to the Styles Gallery so your styles appear in the style list.
Then check Automatically Update so your styles automatically update when changes
are made, and then choose the radio button for New Documents Based On This
Template, since you plan to use this Style Set for your weekly reports.
Custom format menu
Additional format features and more character and paragraph options reside under
the Format menu. Select the Format button, and a drop-down list appears listing the
submenus for these extended features and options.

Primary format menu used to create new styles or style sets

.
Format font

Format font menu used to define font typeface, size, and attributes (bold, small caps,
etc.)
From the Format menu, select Font. The font, font style, size, and color should
already be set because you made these changes on the previous screen. On this
menu, check the Small Caps box, then click OK. Note that the Underline style
option on this Font menu is not for underlining specific words (even though Words
Only is an option). You are currently creating a paragraph style, so if you select this
option, it will underline the entire paragraph—either one word at a time (if you
choose that option) or one long, continuous line.
Format paragraph
From the Format menu, select Paragraph. In the Alignment drop list,
choose Justified, and in Special drop list, choose None. In the Outline Level drop
list, select Body Text.  For both left and right indentation choose 1 inch. For spacing,
choose 6 point for Before and After, and for Line Spacing, choose Single.
Next, select the Tabs button, which opens the Tabs menu. Enter 0.5” and choose Set,
then OK. Note the Alignment and the Leader sections let you customize the tabs for
documents such as a Table of Contents.

Format paragraph menu used to define paragraph attributes such as spacing, indents,
justification, and tabs
Format border
From the Format menu, select Border. This menu provides border and shade options
for your text box. Select Setting: Box, then choose a color and line width. Next,
choose the Options button and set the spacing inside the box between the text and
the borders. Click OK, and OK again.

Format borders and shading menu used to add boxes, lines, shading, etc. around
paragraphs
Additional formatting features
Language, Frame, Numbering, Shortcut Key, and Text Effects follow. Language is
obvious. Numbering and Bullets let you choose how your paragraph levels are
numbered and aligned—Arabic numbers, Roman numerals, caps, lowercase,
periods, etc. The Bullets tab provides options for various bullet designs. You can
also create custom number formats and define new bullets from other fonts such as
WingDings.
Frame governs how document text is framed around graphics and/or text boxes,
formally known as Text Wrap. This feature is invaluable when creating brochures,
newsletters, and other layout designs that incorporate a lot of text and graphics in the
same document. Text Effects are artistic options—shadows, gradients, reflections,
soft edges, and more added to titles, headers, and others— to give projects a more
graphical design appearance. These options are not included in the BoxText style
that we’re creating now.
Custom shortcut keys

Custom shortcut key menu for defining custom shortcut keys such as Ctrl+B for
bold
Now, whenever you need this custom text box in the middle of your report, just
press Alt+Ctrl+Q and it drops in, ready for new text. Shortcut Keys are quick
commands executed by a combination of simultaneous keystrokes such as Ctrl+B
for Bold and Ctrl+I for Italic. This feature lets you create unique shortcut keys for
your custom styles. Just enter the combination keystroke in the Press New Shortcut
Key field, then click Assign. You will be alerted if you choose a key combination
that’s already being used. However, if the Assign button is not grayed out, you can
overwrite this default setting, but I would not recommend it. For the BoxText style,
enter Alt+Ctrl+Q.
Once all the features and options on the Modify Style menu are complete, click OK
and your new style appears in the list of styles on the Style panel. But this is just one
of the custom styles needed for your new Style Set. At this point, you can continue
creating and defining new styles for your report or resave this modified Normal
Style Set as your CorpReport Style Set.

Sample of the paragraph style just created called BoxText, a custom style with
indented text inside a double lined box
How to save a custom style
Select the Design tab, then click the small down arrow on the right side of the style
gallery window. Select Save As New Style Set.

Design menu tab/screen that shows new and existing style sets, used to name and
save new style sets
Name and save new style set dialog box
Open the menu again and note that the new Style Set is displayed under the Custom
banner between the headers called This Document and Built-In. In the File Name
field, enter the Style Set name CorpReport. Check the Save Thumbnail box, then
click Save.
File sharing
Once your CorpReport Style Set is complete, it’s time to email a copy to the other
branch offices. Open a new email and address it. Click the attachment icon in your
email client and then navigate to the
Users/username/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft/Quick Styles folder on your hard
drive. Select the CorpReport.dotx file. 
In the body of the email message, instruct the recipients to copy this file into the
same folder on their hard drives. When they open the report in Word, if the Style Set
is not already attached to the document, they just need to go to the Design tab, scroll
over to the CorpReport Style Set in the Style gallery box at the top (mouse roll-over
displays the style names), click that thumbnail, and then watch the document
reformat right before their eyes.