How can I update Styles automatically?

[Ronald Roberts]

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 “Automatically Update” 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 Troy]

Have you tried making backup copies of BOTH templates and replacing the old
template with the new one? Should work just fine. You may need to update the
styles by going to Tools-->Templates and Addins, and choose the
Automatically update styles box, but you could have a macro do it for ya. I
think you could record that macro, too.
************
Hope it helps!
Anne Troy
www.OfficeArticles.com

 

[Stefan Blom]

Via the Templates and Add-Ins dialog box, you can attach a different
template and have it update the styles in the current document. Note,
however, that the "Update document styles" option is sticky, so you
have to clear it again when you are done. Use with care!
Alternatively, just copy the styles via the Organizer (click the
Organizer button in the same dialog box). For more, see the following
article:

What happens when I attach a new template to my document? or How do I
copy content and settings from a template to a document?
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/attachtemplate/index.html

--
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP


in message
news:e%[email protected]...

 

[Ronald Roberts]

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 “Automatically Update” 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]

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.

 

[Charles Kenyon]

If the styles have the same names, you can attach the new template and
update the styles in the existing document to those in the new template. If
they have different names, though. The only way I can think of to do it is
to create a new document using the new template and copy the text from the
existing document into the new one. Then go through and apply your styles.

If the styles map one-for-one, you could use replace.

http://addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
--
Charles Kenyon

Word New User FAQ & Web Directory: http://addbalance.com/word

Intermediate User's Guide to Microsoft Word (supplemented version of
Microsoft's Legal Users' Guide) http://addbalance.com/usersguide


--------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ---------
This message is posted to a newsgroup. Please post replies
and questions to the newsgroup so that others can learn
from my ignorance and your wisdom.