Understanding Building Blocks

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 6, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


1

Word includes a laborsaving feature known as Building Blocks. They are, in many ways, analogous to the AutoText feature available in versions of Word prior to Word 2007. Their capabilities are greatly expanded, however. The purpose of building blocks is to allow you to create reusable chunks of content. This capability can be a real boon in some types of writing, particularly if you work in a business (such as the legal field) where your content can be used over and over again.

There are two other terms you need to understand in order to get a handle on Building Blocks. The first is Quick Parts and the second is a gallery. Building Blocks can be assigned to different galleries. Basically, a gallery is a way to categorize the Building Blocks you create. There are 35 Building Block galleries defined in Word, and you can use macros to create your own custom galleries.

One of the pre-defined galleries (or, again, categories) is known as Quick Parts. This is a special gallery that is used to define those Building Blocks you want displayed in the pull-down menu that appears when you display the Insert tab of the ribbon and click on Quick Parts. All of the Building Blocks assigned to the Quick Parts gallery are displayed at the top of the menu where they can be quickly used within your document.

There are many, many Building Blocks already defined within Word. You can add to the built-in Building Blocks, as you desire. The best way to get a handle on what Building Blocks are available is to display the Building Block Organizer. There you can (for lack of a better word) organize your Building Blocks in any way desired. You display the Building Block Organizer by clicking the Quick Parts tool (again, on the Insert tab of the ribbon) and choosing Building Block Organizer from the bottom of the choices presented.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8220) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021.

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

Age Calculation with Fields

People don't normally think of using fields to do any calculations. Even so, you can use fields to perform a simple ...

Discover More

Numbering With Sequence Fields

You can use sequence fields for reliable numbering. They are quick, easy, and don't have some of the drawbacks of ...

Discover More

Storing Macros in Templates

How Excel uses templates is different than how Word uses templates. This tip looks at those differences and discusses ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Creating a Building Block

Creating custom Building Block entries is not only extremely helpful, but very easy. This tip explains how.

Discover More

Editing a Building Block Entry

Once you've created a Building Block, you may believe that it is "set in stone" and cannot be changed. Not so! You can ...

Discover More

Synchronizing Building Blocks for a Network

Building blocks can be a great asset when putting together documents, as they make inserting standardized information ...

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 0 + 7?

2021-11-12 12:23:28

Ginny S.

Is there any way to automatically sort Building Blocks Organizer by name?


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.