Changing the Style Gallery

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 28, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016


5

Robert knows how to create and modify styles. He's wondering, though, how to change what is shown in Word's style gallery. For instance, he wonders how to add his own styles to it or rearrange the order in which styles appear in the gallery.

Changing what appears in style gallery is easier than it first appears. Once you create your own styles, you can add them to the style gallery by following these steps:

  1. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Styles group. Word displays the Styles task pane at the right side of your document.
  3. Within the style list in the task pane, locate the style you want added to the style gallery.
  4. Right-click the style name in the list. Word displays a Context menu.
  5. Choose the Add to Quick Style Gallery option.

That's it; the style should now be accessible through the style gallery. You could also, if desired, control the style's presence in the style gallery by following these steps:

  1. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the lower-right corner of the Styles group. Word displays the Styles task pane at the right side of the screen.
  3. Scroll through the list of styles in the Styles task pane until you see the style you want added to the style gallery.
  4. Hover the mouse pointer over the style's name. A drop-down arrow should appear at the right of the style name.
  5. Click the down arrow and choose Modify. The Modify Style dialog box appears. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Modify Style dialog box.

  7. Make sure the Add to the Styles Gallery check box (bottom of the dialog box) is selected.
  8. Click OK to close the Modify Style dialog box.

You may have gathered from these steps that you can remove a style from the gallery by simply clearing the Add to the Styles Gallery check box (step 6). This is correct, but there is an easier way to do so. All you need to do is to right-click a style within the actual style gallery. From the resulting Context menu, choose the Remove from Style Gallery option and the style is immediately removed.

Ordering styles in the style gallery is a bit more convoluted, and Microsoft certainly doesn't make the process readily apparent. Follow these steps to order the styles you previously added to the style gallery:

  1. Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
  2. Click the small icon at the bottom-right of the Styles group. Word displays the Styles task pane at the right side of the window.
  3. Click the Manage Styles button at the bottom of the task pane. (This is the third of the three buttons available. Hover the mouse pointer over the buttons and you can easily locate the Manage Styles button.) Word displays the Manage Styles dialog box.
  4. Make sure the Recommend tab is displayed. (See Figure 2.)
  5. Figure 2. The Recommend tab of the Manage Styles dialog box.

  6. In the list of styles, locate and click once on the style you want to move around. (Clicking once on the style selects it.)
  7. If a number (1 through 99) or the text "last" doesn't appear at the left side of the style, click the Assign Value button and provide a relative position value (again, 1 through 99) to the style.
  8. Make sure the Show Recommended Styles Only check box is selected. (It is recommended styles that are displayed in the style gallery.)
  9. Fine-tune the order of the styles in the gallery by selecting a style and moving it using the Move Up, Move Down, and Make Last buttons. The numeric values of the styles are modified according to how you arrange them, and the numeric values control the order in which they are displayed in the gallery.
  10. When you are satisfied with the ordering of the styles, click the OK button.

Changes to what is on the style gallery or the ordering of styles in the gallery are reflected in the gallery immediately.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (4271) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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Comments

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What is 6 - 0?

2021-07-31 19:07:19

Pat

Wyatt,

I only use the Normal and one personal style. I would like to remove the bulk of the styles but not delete from the computer just remove them from the gallery as I have a lot of other item on the ribbon and would like better control of that arrangement.


2021-04-12 13:12:50

JMJ

I have the same problem as Pam, and I'd be very happy if someone could find a solution...
Oh, by the way, are there any means to act on this gallery in VBA?
Thank you.


2018-03-25 16:34:50

Pam Sawyer

Hi Allen,
I hope you are still monitoring this site ... I've looked at instructions on many different sites, and they all say the same as you. I've spent hours trying to get the gallery to maintain the order I've put my styles in, but when I close and reopen the document, the styles go back to the same jumbled mess.
In 'Manage Styles' on the Recommend tab, I assigned each style a number and ensured there were no duplicate numbers. I also clicked on Show for each style, hoping that would help. It looks great when I'm done, and after I save and re-open, it has reverted.

So I thought, well maybe I need to do this in a template. I tried that, and Word will not maintain my style ordering in the template either.
Can you please help? I am trying to create a group of templates for our team, but the styles won't cooperate.
Thanks,
Pam


2018-03-22 21:38:37

Pam Sawyer

Hi Allen,
I hope you are still monitoring this site ... I've looked at instructions on many different sites, and they all say the same as you. I've spent hours trying to get the gallery to maintain the order I've put my styles in, but when I close and reopen the document, the styles go back to the same jumbled mess.
In 'Manage Styles' on the Recommend tab, I assigned each style a number and ensured there were no duplicate numbers. I also clicked on Show for each style, hoping that would help. It looks great when I'm done, and after I save and re-open, it has reverted.

So I thought, well maybe I need to do this in a template. I tried that, and Word will not maintain my style ordering in the template either.
Can you please help? I am trying to create a group of templates for our team, but the styles won't cooperate.
Thanks,
Pam


2017-08-26 08:17:19

Acreguy

I wonder why MS hasn't used a drag and drop method for re-ordering styles in the Quick Style Gallery (QSG)?? Their method of assigning numbers through the Recommended tab is so outdated and a total pain in the neck. The QSG window should be non-modal (stays available until you decide to close it). That way, you could design your styles, add them to the QSG, and then drag and drop them to where you want them.

Ordering styles in the QSG is just another example of how convoluted MS does everything.


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