a custom bullet style I can't get rid of

[Larry]

A few days ago, in Word 97, I created a new style called bullet, then I
tried to delete it and I couldn't it. And now, if I place the cursor in
a paragraph and click on the bullets button on the formatting toolbar,
instead of bullet formatting being applied to the paragraph, the bullet
style is applied to the paragraph.

I go to Organizer and delete the bullet style from Normal. But when I
open a new document and click on the bullet button, it still assigns the
bullet style to the paragraph. I can't even get the style out of
Normal, though I've deleted it. In fact, if I open a pristine copy of
Word, it will initially not show the bullet style in the all styles
list. But if I click the bullet button, it applies the bullet style.
And when I open the Styles dialog again, bullet style is now there on
the list!

So I can't make any sense out of this.

Larry

 

[Beth Melton]

Hi Larry,

Did you try going to Format/Bullets and Numbering and resetting the
custom List Gallery Preset?

--
Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email can not be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Stefan Blom]

The Bullet button simply applies the last bullet used. And if that
bullet formatting was stored in a style, it also recreates (if
necessary) and applies that style.

A different way to put it is the following: Avoid the Bullet button on
the Formatting toolbar. The same is true for the Numbering button.

See the following articles for more about bullets and numbering:

How to control bullets in Microsoft Word
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/bullets/controlbullets.html

How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in your Microsoft
Word document
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numbering/OutlineNumbering.html

 

[Larry]

The Bullet button simply applies the last bullet used.

So it even re-creates a deleted style? Unbelievable.

Ok, then I've (tentatively) handled it by (1) deleting the bullet style
via Organizer; (2) applying some other bulleted style or bullet format
through the Bullets dialog box; (3) and now if I do press the Bullet
button I get that other style or format, NOT the bullet style that I
deleted. Let's hope that holds true.

Thanks to Stefan and Beth.

Larry

 

[Stefan Blom]

So it even re-creates a deleted style? Unbelievable.

Yes, it might, if the style name still appears with a modified bullet
or numbering scheme in the List Gallery, that is, in the Format >
Bullets and Numbering dialog box. I guess you could say that the
bullet has become a "template" similar to the predefined heading
numbering schemes available on the Outline Numbered tab of the dialog
box.

As Beth Melton wrote, resetting the List Gallery eliminates the risk
that the deleted custom style should reappear in a document.

However, resetting won't remove the numbering scheme from the
document, which is a good example of the limitations of using the List
Gallery, as well as the Bullet and Numbering buttons of the Formatting
toolbar. The only way to control numbering/bullet schemes in Word
(besides using VBA) is to manipulate them through paragraph styles.

For in-depth knowledge of how Word's bullets/numbering feature works,
see:

Word's numbering explained
http://word.mvps.org/FAQs/Numbering/WordsNumberingExplained.htm

Stefan Blom