Removing Style Properties

[Markhaning]

Hi All - Hope someone can help me with this issue. Is there a way to remove style properties?

Background

I have inherited a template document with many styles and unfortunately other users have added properties to the default built-in styles. I would like to remove these.

 

[#2]

Hello @Markhaning,

If you want to remove the styles, you can't as built-in styles can't be removed, only changed.

You can do, however, a 'mass update' if you don't want to do it one by one importing the styles from a document where you like the way the styles look.

How to Import Styles from Other Documents in Word 2013 - dummies

I hope this helps.

P.S.: I recommend working on a copy of your document, or make a back-up copy, in case you needed to revert back to what you had.

[#3]

Thanks for the reply, @Lenka_Kerumova 

Unfortunately, I am not talking about removing a style, but removing part of it's properties. An example might be if you modify the 'Normal' style font to 9 pt, you cannot remove that property it seems.

[#4]

@Markhaning  - have you tried what I suggested? Your reply seems to suggest that you had read only the first sentence.

[#5]

Yes, you could built styles one property at a time in another document but that would be equivalent to deleting them and starting again. Not really what I am looking for

[#6]

That's not what I am suggesting, though. It is not building styles one property at a time at all.

My suggestion takes care of any unwanted property returning the styles to their default state. Now you say that that is not what you want.

Your only remaining options now are either write a macro doing exactly what you want or remove the unwanted property one by one, style by style.

[#7 · Accepted solution]

@Markhaning 

Often, "restyling" a document that you have inherited from someone else will require a lot of work. 

What you can do is try the following: Create a new, blank document with the desired styles. Import the existing content (of your inherited document) via the Insert File dialog box. (To open the dialog box, go to the Insert tab, click the arrow on the Object button and finally click Text from File.)

[#8]

Interesting Stefan - would works for some parts and probably quicker.

[#9]

Sorry Lenka - yes you have misunderstood my question.

Exactly what I am looking for is to remove an unwanted property one by one and style by style.

[#10]

@Markhaning 

Do try it and report back with the results. 🙂

[#11]

@Markhaning ,

OK, so the suggestion Stefan and I posted, using the import, will not help you.

In that case, you need to truly go style by style and reset/change the style properties manually. Use the 'Modify' button in the Style pane for each style.

I still think that Stefan's suggestion or mine is less work in the end, but we all need to use what is suitable for us individually.

[#12]

It does work but tends to be just as much work as restyling in all honest.

Ended up re-styling one by one.

[#13]

@Markhaning 

Sometimes, manual re-styling is all that can be done. 

Thanks for the follow-up.

[#14]

@Stefan_Blom 

My problem is that I am moving my work from a Mac, Big Sur, to Win 10. Too many OSX Word 365 Issues. (bugs, severely reduced functionality)

Years of docs created under Word 2011 & 365 have a multitude of individual styles for each instance of specific text formatting in each doc, on the Mac, are not shown unless desired.

Win 10 Word 365 does not allow the disabling of the showing of these in the Styles panel.

Problems:

1. apple styles that are not used are shown in list

2. there are many styles that have the same style but are not built-in

Solution, upgrade Win 10 Word 365 to show only built-in, as is in OSX. 💖

I started to write vba code to do this but: its been 10 years since I have done the type of code required and I am too old to do it again.  And would still be left with the individual styles that are not built-in.

PS, I was on a level 1 session for too long, an hour or more, before I was given this link.

Level 1's need to be aware of this problem.

[#15]

@DaveMcCurdyDaveMac 

I recommend that you start an entirely new thread instead of posting a reply in an existing thread. That way, your question will receive more attention.

[#16]

Thank you, Stefan, for your attention and response. I shall do.
PS
My wife is from Sweden. Are you Swedish as I recognize the style? But her name, Solveig, comes from Finland.

[#17]

@DaveMcCurdyDaveMac 

Small world! 

Yes, I'm Swedish and working in Sweden, as a lecturer of Swedish. 🙂