I opened a document for which the Normal Style is Times New Roman, 12
point. I pasted (not Special Pasted, just Pasted) a Cut of Times New
Roman 11 point text at the very beginning of the document.

In order to do this, I had to hit Enter/Enter/Enter (or Paragraph/
Paragraph/Paragraph). After the text was pasted, the Style changed
from Normal to "Body Text."

If someone could just tell me how Body Text is different from Normal--
or what in tarnation it exactly is--I would appreciate it. Thank you.

I don't pretend to claim that it will answer your question in this context,
but see http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting...BodyStyles.htm

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Alls Quiet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:aa28f44e-3b46-413a-8637-(E-Mail Removed)...
>I opened a document for which the Normal Style is Times New Roman, 12
> point. I pasted (not Special Pasted, just Pasted) a Cut of Times New
> Roman 11 point text at the very beginning of the document.
>
> In order to do this, I had to hit Enter/Enter/Enter (or Paragraph/
> Paragraph/Paragraph). After the text was pasted, the Style changed
> from Normal to "Body Text."
>
> If someone could just tell me how Body Text is different from Normal--
> or what in tarnation it exactly is--I would appreciate it. Thank you.
>

On Sep 20, 11:03*am, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnh...@mvps.org> wrote:

> I don't pretend to claim that it will answer your question in this context,
> but seehttp://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NormalVsBodyStyles.htm

Thank you. The article was quite helpful.

On Sep 20, 8:00*pm, Alls Quiet <mute...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Sep 20, 11:03*am, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnh...@mvps.org> wrote:
>
> > I don't pretend to claim that it will answer your question in this context,
> > but seehttp://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NormalVsBodyStyles.htm
>
> Thank you. The article was quite helpful.

Ms. Barnhill, Since yours is sincerely the only article I have found
online that defines Body Text (I've done searches on several engines
and come up with nothing more than simple definitions), I reread the
article yesterday and realized I had misconstrued it. My main question
is why you would want to have a document of a "permanent, structured
nature" (great description, by the way) based on something that is--
unless ticked otherwise--dependent on Normal. In fact, before
beginning these two threads here on this forum, my understanding was
that Normal is the cornerstone or building-block on which all other
styles are built.

Indeed, you say as much in the article. So since this is the case,
wouldn't a document of a "permanent, structured nature" be built most
fittingly on the Style that is the one to which you revert most often?
I mean, isn't that why people design their own default Normal to begin
with? The point is that Body Text seems redundant and its name
misleading, insofar as it is nothing more than an additional Style to
choose from (for example, I did not know there were 6 points after
each paragraph; frankly, I still don't understand--unless one is
talking digital photography--the denotation of the word "point" within
Microsoft WORD at all)?

I wanted to post this in the event that future WORD users waste as
much time as I have wasted with the problem I have written about here
and that still is not fixed.

Perhaps I should ask how, if one is using a template one did not
create but rather downloaded online, one can find ALL the formatting
employed in the template. This is the final (and really *only*)
explanation for my backspacing problem: i.e., where Normal reverts to
Body Text. If there is something "programmed" into the template that
defines the Style as Body Text as default, then that would explain (I
suppose) my ongoing and unaddressed issue.

*EVERY* paragraph in a document is formatted with a style. Every unique
paragraph format should have its own style. You cannot avoid styles in Word.
It is a style driven application.

Body Text is one of a whole raft of built-in style names that can be used by
Word documents. It can be used as provided or modified to your personal
requirements.

Whether you choose normal or body text, some other style, built-in or
created by you as your preferred style is a matter for you. Styles simply
ensure that you have a consistent appearance that can easily be changed by
modifying the style.

Styles do NOT have to be based on the normal style, and while the original
body text style as supplied (I haven't checked) may be based on the normal
style, it can be changed to be based on another style or on no style.
Suzanne's web page would have been correct until Word 2007, when Microsoft
changed the layout of the normal style.

You can display all the available styles from the styles task pane
CTRL+ALT+SHIFT+S and change the option to display All styles.

FWIW A point is a unit of measurement that has been used in typesetting
since long before word processing. For desktop publishing purposes there are
72 points to the inch.


"Alls Quiet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:c4292db1-ae5e-4d57-8f22-(E-Mail Removed)...
On Sep 20, 8:00 pm, Alls Quiet <mute...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> On Sep 20, 11:03 am, "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <sbarnh...@mvps.org> wrote:
>
> > I don't pretend to claim that it will answer your question in this
> > context,
> > but seehttp://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Formatting/NormalVsBodyStyles.htm
>
> Thank you. The article was quite helpful.

Ms. Barnhill, Since yours is sincerely the only article I have found
online that defines Body Text (I've done searches on several engines
and come up with nothing more than simple definitions), I reread the
article yesterday and realized I had misconstrued it. My main question
is why you would want to have a document of a "permanent, structured
nature" (great description, by the way) based on something that is--
unless ticked otherwise--dependent on Normal. In fact, before
beginning these two threads here on this forum, my understanding was
that Normal is the cornerstone or building-block on which all other
styles are built.

Indeed, you say as much in the article. So since this is the case,
wouldn't a document of a "permanent, structured nature" be built most
fittingly on the Style that is the one to which you revert most often?
I mean, isn't that why people design their own default Normal to begin
with? The point is that Body Text seems redundant and its name
misleading, insofar as it is nothing more than an additional Style to
choose from (for example, I did not know there were 6 points after
each paragraph; frankly, I still don't understand--unless one is
talking digital photography--the denotation of the word "point" within
Microsoft WORD at all)?

I wanted to post this in the event that future WORD users waste as
much time as I have wasted with the problem I have written about here
and that still is not fixed.

Perhaps I should ask how, if one is using a template one did not
create but rather downloaded online, one can find ALL the formatting
employed in the template. This is the final (and really *only*)
explanation for my backspacing problem: i.e., where Normal reverts to
Body Text. If there is something "programmed" into the template that
defines the Style as Body Text as default, then that would explain (I
suppose) my ongoing and unaddressed issue.

On Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:04:09 -0700 (PDT), Alls Quiet <(E-Mail Removed)>
wrote:

>Indeed, you say as much in the article. So since this is the case,
>wouldn't a document of a "permanent, structured nature" be built most
>fittingly on the Style that is the one to which you revert most often?
>I mean, isn't that why people design their own default Normal to begin
>with? The point is that Body Text seems redundant and its name
>misleading, insofar as it is nothing more than an additional Style to
>choose from (for example, I did not know there were 6 points after
>each paragraph; frankly, I still don't understand--unless one is
>talking digital photography--the denotation of the word "point" within
>Microsoft WORD at all)?

Because normal can be changed on each computer, a document built on Normal
will change depending on the settings of that computer. I have me Normal set
to Bookman Old Style 12 point. On most computers it is Times New Roman 10
point.

But Body Text goes with the document. So if my Normal is basted on Bookman Old
Style, the Body Test that is stored with the document will remain that,
regardless of what any other computer's Normal is set to.



>
>I wanted to post this in the event that future WORD users waste as
>much time as I have wasted with the problem I have written about here
>and that still is not fixed.
>
>Perhaps I should ask how, if one is using a template one did not
>create but rather downloaded online, one can find ALL the formatting
>employed in the template. This is the final (and really *only*)
>explanation for my backspacing problem: i.e., where Normal reverts to
>Body Text. If there is something "programmed" into the template that
>defines the Style as Body Text as default, then that would explain (I
>suppose) my ongoing and unaddressed issue.

--
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On Sep 25, 2:59*am, Steve Hayes <hayes...@telkomsa.net> wrote:
>
> Because normal can be changed on each computer, a document built on Normal
> will change depending on the settings of that computer. I have me Normal set
> to Bookman Old Style 12 point. On most computers it is Times New Roman 10
> point.
>
> But Body Text goes with the document. So if my Normal is basted on Bookman Old
> Style, the Body Test that is stored with the document will remain that,
> regardless of what any other computer's Normal is set to.

AH! I didn't know this. So (if you'd be so kind, because this all is
and always has been a tad recondite) what you're saying is that if I
copy a document formatted on *my* computer in "Normal" (in my case
Times New Roman, 11 point), but then, say, go the library and work on
the library's version of Word--and the library's version of "Normal"
is Century Gothic, 12 point, Justified, with First Line Indents--my
document will open not in Times New Roman 11 point but in the
library's "Normal?"

Secondly, are you saying that if I format a document using Body Text
(which for me would be no different from Normal), if I open that
document in another person's or another institution's Word program, my
formatting will be retained? Thank you *VERY* much for finally
breaking through or beginning to break through my confusion
surrounding these two Styles.

No, this is not true. All the styles (including Normal) travel with the
document; see
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/temp...relations.html. Unless you
have "Automatically update document styles" enabled for a given document,
any modifications you make to any style in that document will persist in
that document. If you do have that option enabled, then not only Normal but
also Body Text and any other built-in styles you have modified will be reset
to the template defaults when you open the document. The only styles that
would not change would be user-defined styles that you have created in that
document (they don't exist in the template) and that are not based on any
style that exists in the template.

For more on how styles inherit from each other, see
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/styl...escascade.html

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Steve Hayes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Fri, 24 Sep 2010 05:04:09 -0700 (PDT), Alls Quiet <(E-Mail Removed)>
> wrote:
>
>>Indeed, you say as much in the article. So since this is the case,
>>wouldn't a document of a "permanent, structured nature" be built most
>>fittingly on the Style that is the one to which you revert most often?
>>I mean, isn't that why people design their own default Normal to begin
>>with? The point is that Body Text seems redundant and its name
>>misleading, insofar as it is nothing more than an additional Style to
>>choose from (for example, I did not know there were 6 points after
>>each paragraph; frankly, I still don't understand--unless one is
>>talking digital photography--the denotation of the word "point" within
>>Microsoft WORD at all)?
>
> Because normal can be changed on each computer, a document built on Normal
> will change depending on the settings of that computer. I have me Normal
> set
> to Bookman Old Style 12 point. On most computers it is Times New Roman 10
> point.
>
> But Body Text goes with the document. So if my Normal is basted on Bookman
> Old
> Style, the Body Test that is stored with the document will remain that,
> regardless of what any other computer's Normal is set to.
>
>
>
>>
>>I wanted to post this in the event that future WORD users waste as
>>much time as I have wasted with the problem I have written about here
>>and that still is not fixed.
>>
>>Perhaps I should ask how, if one is using a template one did not
>>create but rather downloaded online, one can find ALL the formatting
>>employed in the template. This is the final (and really *only*)
>>explanation for my backspacing problem: i.e., where Normal reverts to
>>Body Text. If there is something "programmed" into the template that
>>defines the Style as Body Text as default, then that would explain (I
>>suppose) my ongoing and unaddressed issue.
>
> --
> Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
> Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
> Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
> E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop
> uk
>

Steve I regret is wrong. That is not what happens. The format settings you
apply to a document are stored with the document.
You would have to have the option set in the templates dialog to
automatically update the document styles to match those of the template on
another (or the same) PC. Otherwise they stay as you set them (within the
constraints provided by the active printer driver and the availability of
the identical fonts).
Normal and Body Text are simply two differently formatted (by default)
styles. They only have the significance you give to them by applying them to
your document. They can be directly related to one another or not according
to their configuration.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

"Alls Quiet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:690e7f3e-7091-4e63-93fa-(E-Mail Removed)...
On Sep 25, 2:59 am, Steve Hayes <hayes...@telkomsa.net> wrote:
>
> Because normal can be changed on each computer, a document built on Normal
> will change depending on the settings of that computer. I have me Normal
> set
> to Bookman Old Style 12 point. On most computers it is Times New Roman 10
> point.
>
> But Body Text goes with the document. So if my Normal is basted on Bookman
> Old
> Style, the Body Test that is stored with the document will remain that,
> regardless of what any other computer's Normal is set to.

AH! I didn't know this. So (if you'd be so kind, because this all is
and always has been a tad recondite) what you're saying is that if I
copy a document formatted on *my* computer in "Normal" (in my case
Times New Roman, 11 point), but then, say, go the library and work on
the library's version of Word--and the library's version of "Normal"
is Century Gothic, 12 point, Justified, with First Line Indents--my
document will open not in Times New Roman 11 point but in the
library's "Normal?"

Secondly, are you saying that if I format a document using Body Text
(which for me would be no different from Normal), if I open that
document in another person's or another institution's Word program, my
formatting will be retained? Thank you *VERY* much for finally
breaking through or beginning to break through my confusion
surrounding these two Styles.

To add further to the contrast of Normal and Body Text, my primary reason
for recommending Body Text (or Body Text First Indent) as the basic body
style is this: Many users (especially those typing school papers with a
prescribed format) want almost all the text in the document to be
double-spaced, with a first-line indent. But if you format Normal this way,
then every style based on Normal will inherit those settings (including, by
default, all headings). That can apply to many things you don't envision,
such as the footnote separator, which will be indented and double-spaced. So
I prefer to leave Normal alone and use some flavor of Body Text for the body
of the document. Headings and other built-in styles can then be
independently modified as required, and Normal paragraphs can be modified
with direct font/paragraph formatting for one-time special uses.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://word.mvps.org

"Graham Mayor" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:i7kt6u$thp$(E-Mail Removed)...
> Steve I regret is wrong. That is not what happens. The format settings you
> apply to a document are stored with the document.
> You would have to have the option set in the templates dialog to
> automatically update the document styles to match those of the template on
> another (or the same) PC. Otherwise they stay as you set them (within the
> constraints provided by the active printer driver and the availability of
> the identical fonts).
> Normal and Body Text are simply two differently formatted (by default)
> styles. They only have the significance you give to them by applying them
> to your document. They can be directly related to one another or not
> according to their configuration.
>
> --
> <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
> Graham Mayor - Word MVP
>
> My web site www.gmayor.com
> Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
> <>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
>
> "Alls Quiet" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:690e7f3e-7091-4e63-93fa-(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Sep 25, 2:59 am, Steve Hayes <hayes...@telkomsa.net> wrote:
>>
>> Because normal can be changed on each computer, a document built on
>> Normal
>> will change depending on the settings of that computer. I have me Normal
>> set
>> to Bookman Old Style 12 point. On most computers it is Times New Roman 10
>> point.
>>
>> But Body Text goes with the document. So if my Normal is basted on
>> Bookman Old
>> Style, the Body Test that is stored with the document will remain that,
>> regardless of what any other computer's Normal is set to.
>
> AH! I didn't know this. So (if you'd be so kind, because this all is
> and always has been a tad recondite) what you're saying is that if I
> copy a document formatted on *my* computer in "Normal" (in my case
> Times New Roman, 11 point), but then, say, go the library and work on
> the library's version of Word--and the library's version of "Normal"
> is Century Gothic, 12 point, Justified, with First Line Indents--my
> document will open not in Times New Roman 11 point but in the
> library's "Normal?"
>
> Secondly, are you saying that if I format a document using Body Text
> (which for me would be no different from Normal), if I open that
> document in another person's or another institution's Word program, my
> formatting will be retained? Thank you *VERY* much for finally
> breaking through or beginning to break through my confusion
> surrounding these two Styles.
>