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: Using the Style Area.

Using the Style Area

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 5, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word can show you what the style names are for all paragraphs in your document. This is useful if you are editing a document and need to see if the appropriate styles have been applied. To reveal styles on the left side of the screen, follow these steps:

Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
At the left side of the dialog box click Advanced.
Scroll through the available options until you see the Display area. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

Set the Style Area Pane Width in Draft and Outline Views field to a value other than 0. (A good starting point is .5, which represents one-half inch.)
Click on OK to close the dialog box.

Now, whenever you switch to either Draft or Outline views (using the controls on the status bar is a good way to do this if you are using Word 2007 or Word 2010) you'll notice the style area at the left side of the screen. The style area is not visible in any other view you might use.

Notice that the style assigned to each paragraph is now visible within the style area. If you want to change the width of the style area at this point, you can do so by using the mouse. Simply click on the vertical line that sets off the style area and drag it left or right.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8024) 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: Using the Style Area.

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

Moving a Chart's Legend

Need to move a chart legend to a different place on the chart? It's easy to do using the mouse, as described in this tip.

Discover More

Enlarging the Formula Bar

The Formula bar is used to display the formula that appears in a cell. You may want to modify how the Formula bar is ...

Discover More

Determining if Overtype Mode is Active

Your macro may need to determine if the user has overtype mode turned on. You can find out the overtype status easily by ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Understanding WIZ Files

A file that uses the WIZ extension will open just fine in Word. What are these files, however, and how do you create them?

Discover More

Always Starting with a Blank Document

When you start Word, it displays what is called the Start screen. If you just want to see a blank document as in earlier ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Relative Line Number

As you navigate through a document, you may have a need to move forward or backward a specific number of lines. This is ...

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 7?

2024-06-06 03:53:05

Barry

A handy Tip Allen, as always, but... the tip from Ken Endacott, below is better - QAT shows the currently applied Style and the drop-down allows easy access to all styles to make changes.

2019-11-20 19:11:15

Helen

I really would like to use the style area pane. I am trying to find the Word Options on Word 16.31. I'm running it on a Mac, and Options does not come up under File--I'm assuming this is because it's running on a Mac, but maybe there's something else I need to know... Can you help?

Thanks!

2019-09-12 03:10:01

Ken Endacott

The style pane is only visible in draft mode and furthermore only shows the style setting of the paragraph even though parts of the paragraph may have character styles applied. It is worthwhile to have a style tool on the Quick Access Ribbon (QAT) to show in all view modes the style of the text at the cursor position. It can be placed on the QAT by right clicking the QAT, selecting Customize Quick Action Toolbar and selecting ‘Style’ from the list of commands.

2019-09-11 13:36:00

Felicia

I lost the style area when my computer was upgraded. Thank you so much!

2019-04-29 11:57:04

Joyce Dixon

I just joined the service and am a novice with Word. Is there any way to get previously printed tips?

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.