Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Changing Outline Structure.

Changing Outline Structure

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 1, 2018)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

If you find yourself in the position of needing to revise the structure of a document, you can make the job easy by following these steps:

Make sure you have used the standard headings defined in the Word styles—Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.
Switch to Outline view. (Click the Outline view icon on the status bar if you are using Word 2007. If you are using Word 2010 click on the Outline icon found in the Document Views group of the View tab of the ribbon. The Outline icon is found in the Views group of the View tab of the ribbon if you are using Word 2013 or a later version.)
Select the head level at which you want to work with the document. For instance, if you must reorganize at the Heading 2 level, make sure you specify that you want "level 2" displayed in the outline. The way you do this is to use the Outline Level drop-down list on the Outlining tab of the ribbon.
Position the insertion point somewhere in the heading you want to move.
Click your mouse on the Move Up tool to move the heading (and everything subordinate to that heading) higher in the outline. The Move Up tool looks like an up arrow.
Click your mouse on the Move Down tool to move the heading (and everything subordinate to that heading) lower in the outline. The Move Down tool looks like a down arrow.
When you have finished, switch back to your regular viewing mode.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6006) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Changing Outline Structure.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Searching for a Value Using a Function

Searching for a value using Excel's Find tool is easy; searching for that same value using a formula or a macro is more ...

Discover More

Moving Table Rows Quickly

One of the most esoteric shortcuts available in Word is one that allows you to move table rows, either within a table or ...

Discover More

Personal Workbook Fails to Load

The Personal workbook is special; it is where you can store macros you want to use all the time in Excel. What do you do, ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Condensing and Expanding Headings

When working in Outline view, you'll undoubtedly have the need to expand or condense information under your headings. It ...

Discover More

Controlling How Body Text is Displayed

When working in Outline view, you can control how Word displays the body text under each heading. You can specify that ...

Discover More

Understanding Outlining in Word

Remember when you needed to create outlines for your writing when you were in school? Word includes outlining ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two more than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.