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: Quickly Displaying Formatting Specs.

Quickly Displaying Formatting Specs

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated August 22, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365


3

There may be times when you want to quickly determine what the formatting is that is applied to either a character, paragraph, or selection of text. Word allows you to quickly view this information; all you need to do is select the text or place the insertion point within a word. Press Shift+F1 and the Reveal Formatting pane appears at the right side of the screen. This pane shows the formatting applied to the text you select in the main portion of the screen.

The interesting thing about the Reveal Formatting pane is that once it is displayed you can change your text selection or move the insertion point and Word updates what is shown in the pane. This means that you can use it to display, in real time, the detailed formatting for your text.

When you are done reviewing the information in the Reveal Formatting pane, you can close it just as you would any other pane.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7873) 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: Quickly Displaying Formatting Specs.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Finding Wayward Links

Combining workbooks that have cross-links to each other can offer some special challenges. This tip examines how you can ...

Discover More

ExcelTips: Amazing Array Formulas

Array formulas allow you to accomplish amazing things with your data, including things you cannot do with regular ...

Discover More

Positioning a Column on the Screen

If you have static columns and dynamic columns on the screen, you may want the dynamic columns to always show a ...

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)

Making Bottoms of Pages Line Up

Want to make your text look good on the finished page? This tip discusses a common speed bump in this quest--making the ...

Discover More

Understanding Mirror Margins

Rather than have the margins of your documents always be the same, you can use what Word calls "mirror margins." Here's ...

Discover More

Understanding Point Sizes

Points are the common unit of measure for typefaces in the printing industry. They are also used quite often in Word. ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is eight more than 3?

2023-08-26 12:22:49

Kiwerry

Addendum: While working on emails in Outlook, it occurred to me that the Word Editor is used if the body text is HTML text, not plain text, so I tried the Shift-F1 combination. The Reveal Formatting pane opened, and displayed the formatting as it does in Word, but only after a considerable delay. The pane is also sluggish when either the selection or the format are changed.
I tried the Shift-F1 in the body pane of an appointment, with the same result.


2023-08-24 13:06:05

Kiwerry

Second attempt at adding the screenshot (see Figure 1 below) .

Figure 1. 


2023-08-24 04:47:39

Kiwerry

THANK YOU very much for this tip, Allen.
One of the main things I missed when I finally caved in and moved from WordPerfect to Word was the very useful Reveal Codes pane; particularly the facility to change the formatting directly there was very useful.
The Reveal Formatting pane in Word comes close, particularly if you notice that the formatting elements are hyperlinked; a click on "ALIGNMENT", for example, opens the relevant dialogue. I was initially puzzled by the lack of any information about the Style in force, but then I noticed the "Distinguish Style Source" option near the bottom of the pane.
The only problem for mouse-centric users is that this functionality is not easy to access; one has to locate and click on three buttons (see screenshot[{fig}])! If you have difficulty remembering the Shift-F1 shortcut, add Reveal Formatting to your Quick Access Toolbar.


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.