Still on the Road

As I mentioned last Saturday, I've been on a major road trip. Over the past week I've driven a bit under 2,000 miles, through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. We were able to attend the Navy boot camp graduation of my granddaughter on Thursday, and it was a very memorable experience. I'm grateful to so many of you who kindly expressed thanks for her willingness to serve. Soon she will be off to her specialized training and on with her chosen career.

Today we are on our way just a bit further east, skirting the Great Lakes and targeting the upstate area of New York, near the finger lakes. There is a small site there that has religious significance to me and my family. We will visit there tomorrow and then start our journey back westward again. We will, of course, stop at other places of note, such as Niagara Falls. (Have you ever noticed that "Niagara" is not pronounced as it is spelled? English is so odd at times.)

I hope that your weekend is going well and that you enjoy the tips in this week's newsletter.

—Allen

WordTips (ribbon) for 23 August 2025

Deleting Unused Styles

Styles are the most powerful formatting tool you can use in Word. Over time, though, a document can become cluttered with unused styles. If you want to get rid of those unused styles, this tip provides some ideas you can marshal in the effort.

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(Thanks to Michael Avidan (MVP), John Walker, Rhonda Bracey, and Andy Feldstein for contributing to this tip.)

Changing the Way Endnotes Are Numbered

Word is flexible on how it numbers your endnotes. This tip shows how easy it is to make the changes to the numbering system.

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QuickWords in Word

WordPerfect users coming to Word may miss a feature called QuickWords. This tip examines some ways you can get around the lack of this feature in Word.

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Printing via Macro without Messages

When you are printing a document, it is not unusual to see messages (dialog boxes) periodically. When you want the printing to be done by a macro, the messages can cause unwanted interruptions. Here's a way to make the messages stop.

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WordTips YouTube Channel

Do you like to learn visually? Make sure you check out the WordTips YouTube channel. New videos are added weekly. (I typically try to add them on Tuesdays and Thursdays.)

New video: Formatting Entire Words
You don't have to select whole words before applying direct character formatting. With the proper Word options set, simply putting the insertion point in a word is enough for Word to apply character formatting to a whole word.

New video: Converting Automatic Numbering to Manual Numbering
The automatic numbering that Word lets you apply to paragraphs in your document can create some great looking content, but it can play havoc with your file if you import it into another program. Here's how to get rid of the automatic numbering but still retain the numbers.

Help Wanted

This section is for those having problems making Word behave. If Word is giving you fits, feel free to submit your own Help Wanted question.

If you have a solution for the problems below, click the link after the problem to send us your answer. (All responses become the sole property of Sharon Parq Associates, Inc., and can be used in any way deemed appropriate.) If your response is used in a future issue, you will be credited for your contribution to the answer.

Conditional Style Application

In Excel I can create conditional formats to highlight information that meets defined criteria. Is there a way in Word to do essentially the same thing, applying paragraph-level formatting based on content contained within the paragraph?
—Will Harris (provide an answer for this Help Wanted question)

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