See http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting...eformatted.htm

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Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
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"Paul" wrote in message
...
A feature that appeared when I upgraded to Word 2003 has annoyed me no
end.
Is there some way to turn this feature off?

Many if not most times that I apply a formatting change to a word , to
several words or to a paragraph, I find that the formatting change has
been
applied to my entire document. Grrrrr!

A single undo usually repairs the damage, but on some occasions I
don't
notice the over -application until later. Some times the easiest repair
is
to undo 20 minutes of work. Grrrrrrrrrrr!

Is there some way to fix this problem short of re-installing Office '97?