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Applying a theme format doesn't work if first paragraph is in new format

This is an old problem which I had hoped would be fixed in Word 2013, but it seems to have escaped the notice of the developers.

Normally, if you select a paragraph (for example), and then click on the desired formatting from the ribbon, then that formatting is applied to the text selected in the document.

There are however two problems I have noticed where this does not work successfully (ie the formatting is not applied).

1) If the document is one which has been created by another program, albeit in docx format, and shown in the title bar as "compatible", then the newly selected formatting seldom works.  In my experience, never. You need to save the document as a Word document (not older versions) first, and then apply the formatting.

I encounter this regularly when I download an ePub from and convert it into Word. (Such as from FanFiction and other free websites). The converted document is good in that it has retained the original formatting, etc, it is just not a native Word document, and so it needs saving as a Word document first.

2) When several paragraphs or pages are selected for formatting, the selected formatting will not take if the first selected paragraph is already in the new formatting.

For example: you  format the first paragraph and decide you like the way it looks and want to apply the same format the rest of the document. You then select all the text in the document, and choose the desired formatting from the ribbon bar - to discover the formatting was not applied.

If you select the text in the document again, but this time start from the first paragraph that does not have the new formatting, then the new formatting takes successfully.

The first step in this process (after saving as a word document) is to choose the desired theme. Normally you would have expected this to automatically apply the formatting from the theme, but this only works if the original document was created using themes in the first place - which many are not.

The request I have of Microsoft, is that they have a look at the way formatting is applied so that the scenarios noted above are addressed.

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Word needs to know if it should apply theme settings or preserve settings specific to the file. For example, if the font is specified to Times New Roman, Word will display Times New Roman. On the other hand, if the font is "+Body" or "+Heading," Word displays the body or heading font from the theme. It's the same with colors: some are specific, "hard-coded" if you wish, and others are part of a theme.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
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In this case I had applied a new theme - which in itself is not as straightforward as it should be, requiring much clicking of the mouse, etc.

After getting the title of the document set to Heading 1 in the new theme, the next dozen (about) lines automatically and correctly picked up the new body font. It is at a point following this that I select all the remaining text in the document and try to apply the new body font. This often doesn't take, and I have to try several times, or break it down into smaller chunks.

It really should be a  lot easier.

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How are you applying the body font (to the text where it fails)?
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~~

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How are you applying the body font (to the text where it fails)?

Yes Stefan.

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Sorry, but I don't understand your reply. How are you applying the font exactly? Selecting "+Body" in the Font dialog box? Applying a style? Or some other way?
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~~

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Sorry, but I don't understand your reply. How are you applying the font exactly? Selecting "+Body" in the Font dialog box? Applying a style? Or some other way?

There are different ways of selecting text, such as right clicking on the style and choosing Select All, or selecting manually either using the keys or the mouse. I find the first option only useful on a small document. The one I am currently copy editing has 178 pages.

In this case, I placed the cursor where I wanted to start, and then used CTRL-SHIFT-END to select all the text from that point to the end of the document. Then clicked on the Normal style to try and apply that style to the selected text.

If that doesn't work, which is usually, I then have to select smaller chunks of text and then apply the style.

If any of the selected chunks don't work (ie the style doesn't 'take'), I then select a smaller chunk of text and try again.

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Since you are using a style you have to look at the style definition. A theme will only change the font if the font in the style is set to "+Body" (or "+Headings"). For an overview of themes (and style sets), take a look at http://blogs.office.com/2012/09/06/changing-your-style-in-the-new-word/.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~~

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Since you are using a style you have to look at the style definition. A theme will only change the font if the font in the style is set to "+Body" (or "+Headings"). For an overview of themes (and style sets), take a look at http://blogs.office.com/2012/09/06/changing-your-style-in-the-new-word/.

Stefan,

Personally, as someone involved in IT for nearly thirty years, I think I understand. However, this is not really satisfactory.

Just for a moment I would like to be like a normal user who doesn't know what you are talking about (+Bodt and + whatever else), and doesn't really care. A typical businessman if you like, someone who doesn't have hours to spend fiddling around. They just want it to work.

When text is selected and a style is clicked, that style should be applied. The average busuinessman really doesn't want excuses about +Body or anything else.

I'm afraid I have ti agree with the businessman. the way  is currently works has been designed by some clever techie boys (and girls I suppose). and while they may be happy to fiddle around, it issimply not acceptable to the majority of average users.

Someone needs to make this simpler.

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In my opinion, introducing themes in Word was a bad idea from the start. They make sense in PowerPoint where the design is based on pages (slides), whose formatting you should be able to adjust quickly (by changing fonts and colors), but not in Word, where text flows from one page to the next.

However, now that themes exist, they must be applied somehow, and you have to be able to prevent them from affecting a particular style. "+Body" and "+Heading" is the way to do it in Word.
Stefan Blom
Microsoft 365 Word MVP since 2005
Volunteer Moderator (Office)
MS 365, Win 11 Pro
~~~~
Please note that I do not work for Microsoft
MVP program info: https://mvp.microsoft.com/
~~~~

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Last updated March 20, 2024 Views 4,269 Applies to: