Changing the Language for All Styles

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 9, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365


Mary Anne works as an academic editor, and she lives and works in Canada. She finds that most clients, no matter where they live on the continent, submit their documents to her in US English. If she selects all and changes the proofing language, the text changes to Canadian English but the styles do not. Mary Anne wonders if there is a way to change all the styles in a document to Canadian English, or if she must change each style individually.

There are a few things you can try to get the styles changed. First, you may want to open the document and make the language change in the Normal style. If all the other styles in the document are based on the Normal style—as is often the case, particularly if the author didn't pay much attention to styles—then all the styles lower in the hierarchy should change, as well.

Another approach is to create your own template, using the language of your choice, and then attach that template to any incoming documents. You could also, if you prefer, use the Organizer to copy styles from your template (or a previous document you know is "good") to the document on which you are now working.

Finally, you may want to use a macro to effect the language changes. There's a nice example of such a macro at this page:

https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2018/09/21/word-macro-to-set-the-language-for-all-styles/

I'll copy the heart of that macro, with a few modest changes, here just in case the original goes away for some reason. (That happens on the Internet, as we are all aware.)

Sub ChangeStyleLanguage()
    Dim s As Style

    With ActiveDocument
        For Each s In .Styles
            On Error Resume Next
            s.LanguageID = wdEnglishCanadian
            On Error GoTo 0
        Next s
    End With
End Sub

The heart of the macro is the line that sets the .LanguageID property. In the adapted example here, the language is being set to Canadian English. You can find a detailed list of various language IDs at the following Microsoft page:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/word.wdlanguageid

If you try the macro and it doesn't work, typically that is because you may not have language support for the desired language on your system. In their documentation for the .LanguageID property, Microsoft states that "some of the wdLanguageID constants may not be available to you, depending on the language support that you've selected or installed." In Mary Anne's case, however, it is doubtful that this will be a problem.

Once you have the macro just the way you want, add it to your Quick Access Toolbar and you are all set to go.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11892) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365.

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

Merging and Printing

When you merge information into a document, Word provides two different ways you can create your output. Here's an ...

Discover More

IEEE Citation Format

Different style guides describe different ways of formatting information that appears in a document. One such style guide ...

Discover More

Finding the Dates for Minimums and Maximums

If you use Excel to maintain a collection of data, you may need to find information in one column based on information in ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Deleting a Large Number of Styles

Styles are a fantastic tool for formatting documents. As you work with documents created by others, you may want to get ...

Discover More

Can't Select Style Instances

Using the Styles and Formatting task pane, Word allows you to select all instances of a given style in your document. ...

Discover More

Understanding Style Sets

When you display the Home tab of the ribbon, Word shows a variety of styles in the Styles group. These are Style Sets, as ...

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 3 + 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.

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.