The way I do it is two-fold:
1. Format the default empty paragraph in a template as Body Text instead of
Normal.
2. Set the "Style for following paragraph" of the built-in heading styles to
be Body Text instead of Normal.
Note that "Clear Formatting" is a somewhat deceptive phrase. What this
style/command really does is apply Normal style. You'd be better off
assigning a keyboard shortcut to Body Text (you could even assign it
Ctrl+Shift+N, which by default applies Normal).
When you really want to "clear formatting" (that is, reset text to the
default paragraph or font formatting), you can use Ctrl+Q (ResetPara) and
Ctrl+Spacebar (ResetChar).
--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site:
http://word.mvps.org
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wrote in message
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wrote:
Is there an relatively easy method (for novice users) for having Body
Text the default style for a document? Specifically, I'm looking for:
1. Clear Formatting to reset the text's style to Body Text; and
2. the style following other paragraph styles (Headings, etc.) to
default to Body Text instead of Normal.
Responding to myself...
My original question is based on some assumptions that I have about
using Word's styles.
A better question is: what's a good method for using Body Text so that
every paragraph does not need to be styled as Body Text.
Currently I set a paragraph as Body Text, but when I apply Headings or
Clear Formatting, the text goes back to Normal. I don't believe that
other Word users in my office will be willing to or even remember to
keep choosing Body Text for paragraphs.
Thanks.
- Dennis