Moving All Headings Down One Level

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 1, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


2

Fakhruddin created four documents using Word's built-in heading styles, Heading 1 through Heading 3. Now he needs to combine the four files into one quite long document, so each file will represent a chapter. This introduces the need for a higher-level heading at the beginning of each file. Fakhruddin wonders how he can quickly change the levels of the current headings (move them all down one level, to Heading 2 through Heading 4) so that he can add the new Heading 1 headings at the beginning of each file as he does the combining.

There is actually a plethora of ways that could be used to accomplish this task. (I've identified five of them, though there may actually be more.) I want to focus this tip, however, on what I consider the two easiest ways of accomplishing the task.

The first way is great if you need to do this type of heading adjustment only sporadically. It uses what many consider a too-easily-overlooked tool in Word—Outline view. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the View tab of the ribbon.
  2. Near the very left side of the ribbon, click Outline. Your document should look different, and you should see the Outlining tab of the ribbon.
  3. On the Outlining tab of the ribbon, use the Show Level drop-down list to select a heading level one greater than the number of heading levels you use in the document. (Thus, in Fakhruddin's case, where he uses 3 heading levels, he would use the Show Level drop-down to choose Level 4.) The document should show, at this point, only the headings. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. Outline view, showing only headings.

  5. Press Ctrl+A. The entire document should be selected.
  6. Press the Tab key. (You could also use the Demote tool near the left of the Outlining tab of the ribbon. It looks like a right-pointing arrow.) All of the headings are demoted a single level, accomplishing exactly what Fakhruddin desires.
  7. Click the Close Outline View tool at the right side of the Outlining tab of the ribbon or click the Print Layout tool on the Status Bar. Either way, you end up back at your document where you can continue to make edits.

Simple, right? The demotion of the headings affects only those headings that are selected, but since we used Ctrl+A (step 4), all the headings were affected. This means that if you want to affect only a subset of headings, you should select those headings in step 4.

The second approach I wanted to highlight is to use a macro. Why would you use a macro when using Outline View is so easy? I think it comes in most handy when you need to perform the task a lot or when you need to demote the headings more than once. Here's the macro I came up with:

Sub DemoteAllHeadings()
    Dim p As Paragraph
    Dim sParStyle As String
    Dim iHeadLevel As Integer

    For Each p In ActiveDocument.Paragraphs
        sParStyle = p.Style
        If Left(sParStyle, 7) = "Heading" Then
            iHeadLevel = Val(Mid(sParStyle,8)) + 1
            If iHeadLevel > 9 Then iHeadLevel = 9
            p.Style = "Heading " & iHeadLevel
        End If
    Next p
End Sub

The macro runs very quickly, regardless of the length of your document. It steps through every paragraph, sees if it is a heading level, and if it is, increments the heading style applied to the paragraph. It has a safeguard built in that stops it from incrementing beyond the Heading 9 style, as there are only nine heading style levels built into Word.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13732) 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

Nudging a Table

When laying out a page, you often need to move objects around to get them into just the right position. Word allows you ...

Discover More

Jumping to a Range

Need a quick way to jump to a particular part of your worksheet? You can do it by using the Go To dialog box.

Discover More

Automatically Entering a Data Entry Time

Excel worksheets can be used to keep track of all sorts of information. You may want to use it, for instance, to track ...

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)

Preventing Changes to Styles in Documents

Have you ever created a template only to have the styles within it changed as they were used within a document? Here are ...

Discover More

Changing the Names of Multiple Styles

Want to change the names assigned to a large group of styles? You can make the task a snap with the macro presented in ...

Discover More

Changing the Language for All Styles

Styles are very powerful, and can really help when it comes to formatting your documents. If you are working with ...

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 7 - 7?

2020-02-04 18:02:38

Gretchen

In step 3, you don't need to know how many levels are used in the document. Just specify Level 1. When you select and demote all the Level 1 headings, all the subordinate levels are demoted as well.


2020-02-03 16:16:23

Margaret

Thanks! I work in the accessibility field, and while I've never needed to do precisely this thing, that may well turn out to be a helpful hint for me or someone I know.


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.