How To Change A Heading Template In Word

This tutorial shows how to create headings in Microsoft Word. More specifically, we'll await at how to create headings using Word'due south built-in styles. So, we'll look at how to customize Discussion's built-in heading styles to your preferred font, font size, alignment, and colour.

Quick Links:

How to Create Headings Using Discussion's Built-In Heading Styles
How to Customize Word's Congenital-In Heading Styles

Earlier jumping to the tutorial, let's discuss the importance of using Word's heading styles.

Why Are Heading Styles Important?

You tin make any text in Give-and-take look like a heading past using a large font size. However, you won't have access to several important features if yous employ a large font size rather than Discussion's official heading styles. For case, Discussion's heading styles aid y'all perform the following tasks:

Create an automated or custom table of contents
Create bookmarks in a PDF using Adobe Acrobat
Use Discussion'due south outline characteristic
Use Word's Navigation pane

Most importantly, screen reading software tin can identify your heading bureaucracy based on Give-and-take'south styles. If you lot only employ a large font size for headings, people with vision impairment who apply screen readers will have less data about how your document is organized.*

This tutorial is bachelor as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real fourth dimension.

Watch more than 150 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube aqueduct.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. The steps are the same in Give-and-take 2021, Word 2019 and Word 2016 and like in Word 2013 and Word 2010.

How to Create Headings Using Word'south Built-In Heading Styles

The following steps testify how to create headings using Word'due south built-in styles. The adjacent section explains how to customize the built-in heading styles.

1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon.

2. Select the text y'all want to turn into a heading. (Or, move your cursor to a blank line where you want to blazon your new heading during the next stride.)

Text selected to be turned into a heading in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 2 in How to Create Headings Using Word's Heading Styles — Figure 2. Text selected to exist formatted with a heading way

3. Select the appropriate heading level in the Styles group. (If you didn't select existing text during pace 2, type your new heading text later on making your option.)

Word 2019 / Word 365 Styles Group | Step 3 in How to Create Headings Using Word's Heading Styles — Effigy 3. Styles grouping

Pro Tip: Word includes nine heading levels, although only a few will appear in your Styles group when y'all open a new document. Boosted heading levels will appear after you use higher-level headings. For example, Heading 4 will appear afterward yous utilize Heading 3.

The selected text will be formatted with the new heading style immediately.

Text Formatted with Heading Style — Figure four. Text formatted with Heading one style

4. Press Enter on your keyboard to move your cursor to the next line. The heading formatting volition automatically turn off.

five. Salve your file to salvage your new heading.

How to Customize Give-and-take's Congenital-In Heading Styles

The post-obit steps testify how to customize the built-in heading styles in an individual Give-and-take document.

There are many ways to alter styles in Word. For the purpose of this tutorial, nosotros'll stick with the basics: font, font size, emphasis (i.due east., bold, italic, or underlined), colour, alignment, spacing, and indentation.

1. Select the Abode tab in the ribbon (meet figure 1).

2. Select the Styles dialog box launcher to open the Styles pane.

Word 2019 / Word 365 Styles group dialog box launcher | Step 2 in How to Customize Word's Heading Styles — Effigy five. Styles group dialog box launcher

Pro Tip: Yous can also use the keyboard shortcut Alt + Ctrl + Shift + S to open the Styles pane.

3. Select the menu pointer to the right of the heading yous desire to customize.

Figure half-dozen. Heading 2 bill of fare arrow in the Styles pane

4. Select Modify from the driblet-downward menu.

Styles pane Modify option in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 4 in how to customize Word's heading styles. — Effigy 7. Modify choice in the Styles pane

5. Make all necessary formatting changes in the Modify Style dialog box. Here are the viii basic modifications:

1. Font
2. Font size
3. Emphasis
4. Font color
5. Alignment
6. Line spacing
7. Spacing before and later
8. Indentation

Modify Style dialog box formatting in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 5 in how to customize Word's heading styles. — Figure 8. Modify Style dialog box formatting

half-dozen. Select But in this document to ensure that your customized style is limited to your current document.

"Only in this document" option in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 6 in how to customize Word's heading styles. — Figure nine. "Just in this document" pick in the Alter Mode dialog box

7. Ensure that Automatically Update is non checked. (If Automatically Update is checked, you won't be able to edit the styles of individual same-level headings.)

"Automatically update" option in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 7 in how to customize Word's heading styles — Figure 10. Unchecked "Automatically update" option in the Change Style dialog box

8. Select the OK button to relieve your changes. The Modify Style dialog box will close automatically.

OK button in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 2019 / Word 365 | Step 8 in how to customize Word's Heading Styles — Effigy 11. Modify Style dialog box OK button

Your changes will be practical to all existing text using the heading manner you just customized.

ix. Save your file to save your changes.

Related Resources

What Is Headline-Way Capitalization?

How to Capitalize Hyphenated Words in Titles and Headings

*Visit "Make Your Discussion Documents Accessible to People with Disabilities" from the Microsoft Function Support website for an in-depth listing of ways to make your certificate attainable to the widest audience.

Updated Apr xix, 2022