Personally, I find the easiest way to convert documents to a new template is
to use Insert | File to insert the old doc into a new blank doc based on a
different template. Added advantage of knowing that you aren't messing up
your original documents, as this creates a copy you can safely trash if it
doesn't work out. Also, if the templates use different margins/layout, this
will update the layout as well.

If the styles have the *same names* in each template, then the appearance
should automatically convert over when you do this. (This is an
alternative to using the Organizer or the "automatically update styles"
checkbox--however, neither of those will change the layout.)

If the styles use different names, then you will need to re-apply the
styles. A quick way to do that might be to do a Find and Replace--leave
both boxes empty, but click on More to expand the F&R dialog, and use the
Format dropdown in the dialog to format each box with a style. E.g., you
can find all text in Normal style and change it to Body Text style.

While homework is good, and strongly recommended, experimenting with these
things as you read the pages will also help you keep it all straight.

On 1/30/06 7:34 AM, "Ronald Roberts" wrote:

Ronald Roberts wrote:
How can I automate the conversion of a document created with a given
template and style and convert it to a different template which has
different styles, without manually reformatting each paragraph?

If I understand it correctly, the ³Automatically Update² option under
Format/Style/Modify Style dialog box, allows you to update an old
document to new styles, but the old document must be the same template.

My problem is I have mannuals created with different templates and
styles and I want to convert them to the same template with the same
type of styles.

Thanks in advance,
Ron


Anne & Stefan,
I can see from your answers, I've got so homework to do.
I need to spend some time on this so I understand what is going
on before I convert these documents.


Thanks for your help.

Ron


--
Daiya Mitchell, MVP Mac/Word
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