Create headings in word

Headings make text stand out and help people scan your document.

The simplest way to add headings is with heading styles. Using heading styles means you can also quickly build a table of contents, reorganize your document, and reformat its design without having to manually change each heading’s text.

  1. Select the text you want to use as a heading.

  2. On the Home tab, move the pointer over different headings in the Styles gallery. Notice as you pause over each style, your text will change so you can see how it will look in your document. Click the heading style you want to use.

    The Styles gallery is on the Home tab

    If you don’t see the style that you want, click the More button More down arrow to expand the gallery.

Tip: You can change the font and formatting of a heading style. Just select the heading text you want to customize, modify its styles the way you want, and then on the Home tab, in the Styles group, right-click the heading style that you customized and click Update Heading to Match Selection. Every time you apply that heading style in your document, the heading style will include your customizations.

Styles can do a lot more, including a table of contents. Here’s a short video on why to write first and format later using Styles.

Your browser does not support video. Install Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Flash Player, or Internet Explorer 9.

Headings can make text stand out and help people scan your document. The simplest way to add headings is to use heading styles.

  1. Select the text you want to use as a heading.

  2. On the Home tab, click the heading style you want to use.

    Examples of Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles in a document

    If you don’t see the style you want, click a left, right, or down arrow to see more available styles.

Apply and Customize Headings in Word Documents

by Avantix Learning Team | Updated April 19, 2022

Applies to: Microsoft® Word® 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021 or 365 (Windows)

You can create headings in Microsoft Word documents by applying Word’s built-in heading styles (such as Heading 1 or Heading 2). After you have applied styles, you can modify them and change the font, size, color, and other formatting attributes so the entire document will update. Once you have applied heading styles, you’ll be able to navigate to the headings using the Navigation Pane and create a table of contents.

Recommended article: How to Hide Comments in Word (or Display Them)

Do you want to learn more about Microsoft Word? Check out our virtual classroom or in-person classroom Word courses >

Heading styles are very important because they create structure in your documents and are readable by screen readers or assistive technology programs used by people with vision impairments. They can also save you a lot of time formatting and reformatting documents.

In addition to creating structure, heading styles are also used to:

  • Generate a table of contents
  • Reformat a document using Style Sets
  • Navigate using the Navigation Pane (select Navigation Pane on the View tab in the Ribbon)
  • Rearrange a document using the Outline View
  • Create a structured PDF (portable document format) file with heading tags

Note: Screenshots in this article are from Word 365 but are very similar in previous versions of Word.

Creating headings by applying Word heading styles

To create or designate headings, you will need to apply the built-in heading styles in order (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, and so) to paragraphs. There are 9 levels of headings available in Word.

Heading styles are technically available as paragraph and character styles, but it’s important to apply them as paragraph styles to entire paragraphs. A paragraph in Word is anything with a hard return after it (you have pressed Return or Enter).

Heading styles are affected by your theme choices (overall theme, color theme, and font theme). You can change theme options using the Design tab in the Ribbon.

To create headings by applying heading styles:

  1. Click in the paragraph (title or subheading) you want to designate or format as a heading.
  2. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
  3. Click the heading style you want in the Styles Gallery (such as Heading 1) in the Style group. You may need to click the More arrow on the bottom right of the Styles Gallery to view more styles and then click the style you want to use.

All available heading styles do not appear initially in the Styles Gallery. When you apply a heading level (such as Heading 3), an additional heading level should appear in the Gallery (such as Heading 4).

The Styles Gallery appears on the Home tab in the Ribbon and typically displays top level headings:

Styles Gallery in a Word document.

If you click the More arrow on the bottom right of the Styles Gallery, an expanded gallery appears:

Expanded Styles Gallery in a Word document.

Modifying or customizing heading styles using the Styles task pane

If you modify heading styles, every instance of the modified style will change in your document. Not only will this save time, but it will also ensure consistency. There are many ways to customize heading styles in Word. In this article, we will modify heading styles using the Styles task pane.

The Styles task pane appears with styles in the document (you can change this display by clicking Options at the bottom of the task pane):

Styles task pane in Word document.

To modify or customize a heading style:

  1. Click the Home tab in the Ribbon.
  2. Click the dialog box launcher (diagonal arrow) on the bottom right in the Styles group. You can also press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S. The Styles task pane will appear. If the task pane is floating, double-click the title bar.
  3. Click in a paragraph using the style you want to modify.
  4. Click the arrow to the right of the heading you want to modify in the Styles task pane and then select Modify from the drop-down menu. You can also right-click the heading style in the task pane and select Modify. A dialog box appears.
  5. In the Modify Style dialog box, select the desired options such as font, font size, font color, alignment, and line spacing. Buttons in this dialog box are comparable to those in the Ribbon.
  6. If you want to change some other formatting options (such as paragraph formats), select Format at the bottom of the dialog box and select other options from the drop-down menu.
  7. Select Only in this document so that the style is modified in the current document only.
  8. Do not select Automatically Update unless you want the document styles to update when a user changes heading formatting in the document. It’s typically best to leave this option unchecked.
  9. Click OK or press Enter. The entire document will change unless a heading has been manually formatted (which overrides the style). You can simply reapply the style if this occurs.

The Modify Styles dialog box displays the style name, the type of style and options for modifying the style:

Modify Styles dialog box in Word document.

When you save the document, the modified styles are also saved.

Styles are the most important formatting feature in Word to automate formatting in longer documents. Heading styles also have the added benefit of creating structured documents and are integrated with several other Word features such as generated tables of contents.

This article was first published on May 15, 2021 and has been updated for clarity and content.

Subscribe to get more articles like this one

Did you find this article helpful? If you would like to receive new articles, join our email list.

More resources

How to Create a Table of Contents in Word

14+ Word Selection Shortcuts to Quickly Select Text

How to Copy Styles Between Microsoft Word Documents Using the Organizer

How to Insert Reusable Text Snippets in Word with Quick Parts (Great Timesaver)

How to Convert a PDF to Word in Microsoft Word (for Free – No Third Party Programs Needed)

Related courses

Microsoft Word: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft Excel: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft PowerPoint: Intermediate / Advanced

Microsoft Word: Long Documents Master Class

Microsoft Word: Styles, Templates and Tables of Contents

Microsoft Word: Designing Dynamic Word Documents Using Fields

VIEW MORE COURSES >

To request this page in an alternate format, contact us.

Our instructor-led courses are delivered in virtual classroom format or at our downtown Toronto location at 18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (some in-person classroom courses may also be delivered at an alternate downtown Toronto location). Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca if you’d like to arrange custom instructor-led virtual classroom or onsite training on a date that’s convenient for you.

Copyright 2023 Avantix® Learning

Microsoft, the Microsoft logo, Microsoft Office and related Microsoft applications and logos are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in Canada, US and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of the registered owners.

Avantix Learning |18 King Street East, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5C 1C4 | Contact us at info@avantixlearning.ca

This tutorial shows how to create headings in Microsoft Word. First, we’ll look at how to create headings using Word’s built-in styles. Then, we’ll look at how to customize Word’s built-in heading styles to your preferred font, font size, alignment, and color.

Table of Contents

  • How to Create Headings Using Word’s Built-In Heading Styles
  • How to Customize Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

Before jumping to the tutorial, let’s discuss the importance of using Word’s heading styles.

Why Are Heading Styles Important?

You can make any text in Word look like a heading by using a large font size. However, you won’t have access to several important features if you use a large font size rather than Word’s official heading styles. For example, Word’s heading styles help you perform the following tasks:

  • Create an automatic or custom table of contents
  • Create bookmarks in a PDF using Adobe Acrobat
  • Use Word’s outline feature
  • Use Word’s Navigation pane

Most importantly, screen reading software can identify your heading hierarchy based on Word’s styles. If you only use a large font size for headings, people who use screen readers will have less information about how your document is organized.*

This tutorial’s companion video shows all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 200 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word for Microsoft 365. The steps are the same in Word for Microsoft 365 for Mac (a.k.a., Word for Mac), Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016, and similar in Word 2013 (PC only).

How to Create Headings Using Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

The following steps show how to create headings using Word’s built-in styles.

  1. Select the text you want to turn into a heading. (Or, move your cursor to a blank line where you want to type your new heading during the next step.)

Selected text

Figure 1. Selected text
  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon.

Home tab in Word 365

Figure 2. Home tab
  1. Select the appropriate heading level in the Styles group. (If you didn’t select existing text during step 2, type your new heading text after making your selection.)

Heading styles in the Home tab in Word 365

Figure 3. Heading styles

Pro Tip: Word includes nine heading levels, although only a few will appear in your Styles group when you open a new document. Additional heading levels will appear after you use higher-level headings. For example, Heading 3 will appear after you use Heading 2.

The selected text will be formatted with the new heading style immediately.

Text with Heading 1 style applied in Word 365

Figure 4. Text with Heading 1 style
  1. Deselect the heading and then press Enter (PC) or Return (Mac) on your keyboard to move your cursor to the next line. The heading formatting will automatically turn off.

5. Save your file to save your new heading.

How to Customize Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

The following steps show how to customize the built-in heading styles in an individual Word document.

There are many ways to change styles in Word. For this tutorial, we’ll stick with the basics: font, font size, emphasis (i.e., bold, italic, or underlined), color, alignment, spacing, and indentation.

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
  2. Right-click (PC) or Control-click (Mac) the heading level in the Styles group, and then select Modify from the shortcut menu.

Modify in the Heading style shortcut menu in Word 365

Figure 5. Modify option
  1. Make all necessary formatting changes in the Modify Style dialog box. Here are the eight basic modifications:

A. Font

B. Font size

C. Emphasis

D. Font color

E. Alignment

F. Line spacing

G. Spacing before and after

H. Indentation

Formatting options in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 365

Figure 6. Formatting options
  1. (PC Users) Select Only in this document to ensure that your customized style is limited to your current document.

"Only in this document" in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 365

Figure 7. Only in this document option
  1. (Mac Users) Ensure that Add to template is not selected to limit your customized style to your current document.

"Add to template" in the Modify Style dialog box in Word for Mac

Figure 8. Add to template option (Mac)
  1. Ensure that Automatically Update is not selected. (If Automatically Update is selected, you won’t be able to edit the styles of individual same-level headings.)

"Automatically update" in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 365

Figure 9. Automatically update option
  1. Select the OK button.

OK button in the Modify Style dialog box in Word 365

Figure 10. OK button

Your changes will be applied to all existing text using the heading style you just customized.

  1. Save your file to save your changes.

Related Resources

How to Create Run-In Headings in Microsoft Word (Indented & Left-Aligned)

What Is Headline-Style Capitalization?

How to Capitalize Hyphenated Words in Titles and Headings

*Visit “Make Your Word Documents Accessible to People with Disabilities” from the Microsoft Office Support website for an in-depth list of ways to make your document accessible to the widest audience.

Updated March 18, 2023

How to Create Headings Using Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon. Figure 1.
  2. Select the text you want to turn into a heading.
  3. Select the appropriate heading level in the Styles group.
  4. Press Enter on your keyboard to move your cursor to the next line.
  5. Save your file to save your new heading.

Contents

  • 1 How do I add a heading style in Word 2016?
  • 2 How do I make headings in Word?
  • 3 How do you add headings in Word?
  • 4 How do I insert a heading 1.1 in Word?
  • 5 How do I make heading 2 in Word?
  • 6 How do I link headings and subheadings in Word?
  • 7 How do I fix headings in Word?
  • 8 How do I make heading 3 in Word?
  • 9 What is a heading example?
  • 10 What is the difference between Heading 1 and Heading 2 in Word?
  • 11 How do you make a heading 2 Follow heading 1?
  • 12 How do I add a sub heading to a table of contents?
  • 13 How do you put a heading 4 in Word?
  • 14 How do I get heading 3 in table of contents?
  • 15 Where do you write headings?
  • 16 What are five types of headings?
  • 17 What are display headings?

How do I add a heading style in Word 2016?

Add a heading

  1. Select the text you want to use as a heading.
  2. On the Home tab, move the pointer over different headings in the Styles gallery. Notice as you pause over each style, your text will change so you can see how it will look in your document. Click the heading style you want to use.

How do I make headings in Word?

To add a heading style to text in Word, select the text, choose the Home tab in the ribbon, and in the Styles box, pick the heading style you want. When you save your document in another format for download, such as HTML or PDF, Word retains the headings styles, so everyone can still get the benefits of your headings.

How do you add headings in Word?

How to Create Headings Using Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon. Figure 1.
  2. Select the text you want to turn into a heading.
  3. Select the appropriate heading level in the Styles group.
  4. Press Enter on your keyboard to move your cursor to the next line.
  5. Save your file to save your new heading.

How do I insert a heading 1.1 in Word?

Number your headings

  1. Open your document that uses built-in heading styles, and select the first Heading 1.
  2. On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, choose Multilevel List.
  3. Under List Library, choose the numbering style you would like to use in your document.

How do I make heading 2 in Word?

Click Options and setSelect styles to show as Recommended. Click OK. Now click the right-most of the three buttons (Manage Styles). On the Recommend tab, select Heading 2 from the list and then click the Show button below.

How do I link headings and subheadings in Word?

New subheading

  1. Type in the text for the subheading.
  2. Click the style that appears in the Style Area left of the subheading.
  3. In the Styles Toolbox, click the style you want to apply. Use “Heading 2” for a first-level subheading, “Heading 3” for a second-level subheading, etc.

How do I fix headings in Word?

Windows Key commands: Alt+H,F,Y,F6. Then right click on the desired Heading style you wish that text to resemble and select “Update Heading to Match Selection.” This will modify all the headings for this document.

How do I make heading 3 in Word?

When you have the selection where you want to insert a Heading 3 style paragraph, press CTRL+SHIFT+s to display the Apply Styles dialog and in the Style Name control type Heading 3 and then click on Apply. Likewise for Heading 4. Headings 1 and 2 are displayed in the Quick Styles gallery and Styles pane by default.

What is a heading example?

The definition of a heading is the title or subject of an article or another piece of written work. An example of a heading is a few words telling the subject of an article.Heading is defined as the direction a person or thing is moving. An example of a heading is a car driving south.

What is the difference between Heading 1 and Heading 2 in Word?

Usually, the topic heading at the top of your page will be Heading 1. The headings of sections within the document will have Heading 2 styles.Next, give each section of the document a meaningful heading. Assign each of these a Heading 2 style.

How do you make a heading 2 Follow heading 1?

Click on the More >> button at the bottom left of the dialog box.

  1. Make sure level 1 is selected at the top left of the box.
  2. Click on the Link level to style box and choose Heading 1.
  3. Select level 2, link this to the Heading 2 style.
  4. Select level 3, link this to the Heading 3 style.

How do I add a sub heading to a table of contents?

Creating subsections in your table of contents. To create a subheading in your table of contents, create the subheading in your document. Highlight it and click Heading 2 at the top of your screen. It will be added to your table of contents, nested underneath the appropriate chapter heading.

How do you put a heading 4 in Word?

Click the References tab and select Table of Contents, except this time, you will select the Custom Table of Contents to change options. Under the General section, click the up arrow next to Show levels: to add Heading 4 to the Table of contents. You can also make other TOC changes if desired.

How do I get heading 3 in table of contents?

Change the heading levels reported in the TOC

  1. Click anywhere inside the TOC.
  2. Go to the References tab > Table of Contents > Insert Table of Contents.
  3. On the Table of Contents window, change the Show levels setting from 3 to 4 or 5, depending on how deep you want to go.
  4. Click OK.
  5. Say Yes to replace the existing TOC.

Where do you write headings?

Write a first-level head.

  1. First-level heads are written left-justified (flush with the left margin) in all capital letters. There is no bold font used in ASA headings.
  2. ASA style dictates that articles should not begin with a heading – in other words, do not begin the paper with an “introduction” heading.

What are five types of headings?

Headings may be names, name/title combinations, uniform titles, chronological terms, topical terms, genre/form terms, subdivisions, extended subject headings, or node labels.

What are display headings?

Walter Tracy defines display typefaces in the metal type sense as “sizes of type over 14 point” and in design that “text types when enlarged can be used for headings, display types, if reduced, cannot be used for text setting.”


Asked by: Prof. Charity Kutch MD

Score: 4.5/5
(60 votes)

How to Create Headings Using Word’s Built-In Heading Styles

  1. Select the Home tab in the ribbon. Figure 1. …
  2. Select the text you want to turn into a heading. …
  3. Select the appropriate heading level in the Styles group. …
  4. Press Enter on your keyboard to move your cursor to the next line. …
  5. Save your file to save your new heading.

How do I navigate headings in Word?

To go to a page or a heading in a Word document without scrolling, use the Navigation pane. To open the Navigation pane, press Ctrl+F, or click View > Navigation Pane. If you’ve applied heading styles to the headings in the body of your document, those headings appear in the Navigation pane.

What are heading styles and how do I use them in Word?

Styles are sets of formatting options (like font, line spacing and alignment) that you can apply to text in one click. This is more efficient than applying each effect individually, and also increases consistency throughout your document. Word contains nine built-in Heading styles named Heading 1 through to Heading 9.

What is the difference between Heading 1 and Heading 2 in Word?

Usually, the topic heading at the top of your page will be Heading 1. The headings of sections within the document will have Heading 2 styles. … Next, give each section of the document a meaningful heading. Assign each of these a Heading 2 style.

How many headings does word have?

Word has nine built-in Heading styles. They are called Heading 1, Heading 2 etc. You can use other styles (including your own custom styles) for most heading and numbering purposes.

27 related questions found

How do I make heading 3 in Word?

When you have the selection where you want to insert a Heading 3 style paragraph, press CTRL+SHIFT+s to display the Apply Styles dialog and in the Style Name control type Heading 3 and then click on Apply. Likewise for Heading 4. Headings 1 and 2 are displayed in the Quick Styles gallery and Styles pane by default.

How do I fix headings in Word?

Windows Key commands: Alt+H,F,Y,F6. Then right click on the desired Heading style you wish that text to resemble and select “Update Heading to Match Selection.” This will modify all the headings for this document.

What is a Level 2 heading?

There are five levels of heading in APA Style. Level 1 is the highest or main level of heading, Level 2 is a subheading of Level 1, Level 3 is a subheading of Level 2, and so on through Levels 4 and 5. Headings are covered in Sections 2.26 and 2.27 of the APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition.

How do I use styles in Word?

Right-click the text on which you want to base a new style. In the mini toolbar that appears, click Styles, and then click Create a Style. In the Create New Style from Formatting dialog box, give your style a name and click OK. Your new style will now appear in the Styles gallery.

How do I use headings and subheadings in Word?

Follow these steps to create a new subhead within a chapter:

  1. Type in the text for the subheading.
  2. Click the style that appears in the Style Area left of the subheading.
  3. In the Styles Toolbox, click the style you want to apply. Use “Heading 2” for a first-level subheading, “Heading 3” for a second-level subheading, etc.

How do I rearrange pages in Word without headings?

Using the navigation pane to move sections by their headings only works if you’re using headings in your document. Word doesn’t offer an easy, built-in option to easily rearrange pages if you don’t use headings. The only way to do it is to cut and paste the text and manually rearrange it instead.

How do you get rid of navigation headings in Word?

How do you reset headings in Word? Select all the heading styles and press “delete” a dialog box will appeared asked if you want to delete the styles and click on ‘yes. ‘ Word will take you through a series of “Cannot delete Heading 1-9.” Each time click the ‘ok’ button.

How do you jump to a section in Word?

You can jump to a section by following these steps:

  1. Press F5. …
  2. On the left side of the dialog box, make sure Section is selected. …
  3. If you just want to jump to the next section, you can simply click on Next.
  4. In the Enter Section Number box, enter the section number.
  5. Click on the Go To button.

What is a heading example?

Heading is defined as the direction a person or thing is moving. An example of a heading is a car driving south. (masonry) The end of a stone or brick which is presented outward. The title, subtitle, or topic that stands at the top or beginning, as of a paragraph, letter, or chapter.

What are first level headings?

The first level of heading is bolded and centered, and the first letter of each word in the heading is capitalized. The paragraph text should be typed on the following line and indented five spaces from the left.

What are the headings?

A heading is a word, phrase, or sentence at the beginning of a written passage that explains what it’s about. A heading is very similar to a title. A heading is similar to a caption, a line below a photograph that briefly explains it.

How do I align in Word?

Change text alignment

  1. To align the text left, press Ctrl+L.
  2. To align the text right, press Ctrl+R.
  3. To center the text, press Ctrl+E.

How do you align tabs in Word?

On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, choose Paragraph Settings. Click the Tabs button. Set the Tab stop position, choose the Alignment and Leader options, and then click Set and OK.

How do you reset styles in Word?

Character Styles like Emphasis, Reference, Strong, and Book Title can be reset by deleting them from the Styles window. Select the Home tab and open the Styles pane with the launcher button in the bottom-right of the Styles group. Alternatively, use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S .

How do I fix weird formatting in Word?

Use Ctrl + A to select all text in a document and then click the Clear All Formatting button to remove the formatting from the text (aka character level formatting.) You can also select just a few paragraphs and use the same method to remove formatting from part of a document.

How do you fix headings?

The Styles pane appears on the right.

  1. Locate the heading level 1 in the Styles pane. Place mouse cursor over it. …
  2. Click the down arrow button on the extreme right. A drop-down list appears. …
  3. From the drop-down list, click option Update Heading 1 to Match Selection.

What is a Level 3 heading in Word?

*Level 3 headings are lowercase, bold face, and indented with a period at the end. Your heading should begin with an uppercase character and your paragraph text will continue after the heading’s period (inline).

Why are my headings not showing in navigation pane?

In the «Outline level» selection list, make sure that «Level 1» is selected. (Or whichever level you want this header to be. If the selection box says «Body Text,» then nothing will appear in the Navigation Pane.)

Topics Map > Services > Teaching, Learning and Classrooms > Services for Students & Staff

One of the key ways to make Microsoft Word documents accessible is to use Word’s built-in heading styles to format the document.

Why Use Headings

Accessible documents benefit everyone — not just those with disabilities! For example, accessible documents benefit cell phone and tablet users, as well as students with low bandwidth access. Accessible documents also make it easier for browsers to display them and are much easier to convert to various platforms or other formats.

Headings aren’t just a good idea — they’re required for accessibility. Microsoft Word provides pre-built heading styles to assist you.

Add Heading Styles in Word

Documents with a proper heading structure allow screen reader and other assistive technology users to:

  • view a list of all of the headings on the page to navigate
  • choose top-level headings or other heading levels and
  • read or navigate a document by using headings.

Most of us scan a document or page quickly and look for big, bold text (headings) to get an idea of its structure and content. Screen readers and other assistive technologies also need to scan a document. They read and navigate through a document by using the heading structure.

To do this, documents should be structured in a hierarchical manner:

  • Heading 1 is usually a page title or the main content heading. Generally, there is only one such header, and it is usually the most important.
  • Heading 2 is usually a major section heading.
  • Heading 3 is usually a sub-section of the Heading 2.
  • Heading 4 is usually a sub-section of the Heading 3, and so on, ending with Heading 6.

Note:

  • Lower-level headings should be contained within headings of the next highest heading.
  • You should not skip heading levels, such as using Heading 4 directly below Heading 2.
  • Headings should have descriptive text that give users a good idea of the content they will find within that section of the document.

Applying Heading Styles

  1. Select the text to be styled with a heading.
  2. Click the Home tab — see the heading styles listed in the Styles pane.

    Header style list in top right

  3. Click on the heading style you want to apply to the selected text.
  4. To remove or change the heading style applied, highlight the text and select the Normal style, or a different heading style.

Verifying Your Headings

It is good practice to check that your headings create a logical outline for your content and verify that all of the headings are displayed in the headings list in the Navigation Pane.

Note: Instructions may vary when using Office versions older than Office 2019 or the Office 365 web versions, and/or Macintosh Office applications.

  1. Click the View tab
  2. Check the Navigation Pane option in the Show group (OR press Ctrl+F).

    View | Check the navigation pane box

  3. The Navigation pane opens on the left. Click Headings to display the headings hierarchically. The headings should be nested in a logical manner.
  4. Click on a heading in the Navigation pane to move to specific parts of the document. 

Modifying Pre-Defined Heading Styles

You can modify a pre-defined style to change the visual display:

  1. On the Home tab, right-click the style you wish to change in the Style pane and select Modify…
  2. In the Modify Style pop-up window, you can change the font type, font size, formatting, spacing, color, etc.

    Modify Style | Check Automatically Update

  3. Click the Format drop-down list in the bottom left corner to navigate through other style options.
  4. Check Automatically Update in the bottom left corner so that any text with that style applied in your document is automatically updated.
  5. Click OK — all text formatted with that heading style will change.

Note: Remember — there must be sufficient color contrast between the text and the background color to meet accessibility requirements.

Understand and Fix Color Contrast Issues

See Also:

  • Blackboard Ally

Microsoft Word has predefined heading styles that may be used to quickly and easily generate headers in your projects. When you apply a style to anything, you can alter the typeface, size, color, and additional formatting elements for the whole document with only a few clicks. If you use the Navigation Pane to go to the headers you styled, you may make a list of contents. The objective of this piece is to provide information on how to create headings in Word for Navigation.

  • Purpose of Headers in Word
  • Process of Creating Headings for Navigation Using Default Styles in Word
  • Process of Creating Custom Heading Styles in Word
  • How to make a navigation pane in a word document
  • Conclusion

Heading styles are essential since they provide order to your writing and can be understood by assistive technologies used by individuals with visual impairments, such as screen readers. Using them will reduce the amount of effort spent on editing and rearranging content.

The primary function of heading styles is to provide structure, although they are also used to:

  • Produce a list of chapters.
  • Revise a file’s format by applying a new Style Set.
  • The Navigation Pane feature may be accessed via the View tab of the Ribbon.
  • Use the Outline View to make certain changes to a file’s structure.
  • Make use of the PDF’s header tags to produce a well-organized document.

Process of Creating Headings for Navigation Using Default Styles in Word

Applying the predefined heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2, Heading 3, etc.) to passages will allow you to build or specify headings. Microsoft Word allows for up to 9 different levels of headers.

While heading styles may be applied to individual characters, it is more effective to use them on full paragraphs. Paragraphs in Microsoft Word are denoted by a hard return after any typed text (you’ve hit the Return or Enter key).

Theme options may have an effect on heading styles (complete design, color scheme, and typeface). The Design section in the Ribbon is where you’ll make any necessary adjustments to your theme.

Headings may be made by using several heading styles.

To assign a paragraph as a heading or to change its formatting to reflect its status as a heading, click within the paragraph.

From the Ribbon, choose the Home button.

Choose the desired heading style (for example Heading 1) from the Styles Gallery. If the desired design is not instantly presented, the Additional arrow located in the gallery’s bottom right area may be used to reveal other designs.

The Styles Gallery does not showcase all of the possible heading formats right away. The Gallery should automatically update with a new heading level whenever a heading level (like Heading 4) is applied (such as Heading 3).

Under the Home tab of the Ribbon, you’ll find the Styles Gallery, which normally shows off your document’s heading levels:

Ribbon

In the Styles Gallery, there is a little arrow at the bottom right that, when clicked, opens a much larger gallery:

Styles Gallery

Process of Creating Custom Heading Styles in Word

Changing a heading style will affect every occurrence of that heading style in your content. This will serve to both speeds up the process and guarantee uniformity. Word’s heading styles may be altered in a variety of ways. The Styles task pane will be used to make some adjustments to the heading styles in this section.

Once you apply styles to a document, the Styles window will open. Selecting Options in the action pane’s lower right corner allows you to modify this view:

Heading Styles

To change the appearance of a heading:

  • Navigate to the Home button from the Ribbon.
  • To open a new window, choose the Styles group’s dialogue box launcher (diagonal arrow), located at the lower right. To use this shortcut, hit Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S. You’ll see a change in the active window when you hit the Styles option. To return the task window to its former place, double-click its title line.
  • A click anywhere within the text will let you alter the typeface and size of that passage.
  • To make changes to a heading, open the Styles pane and select the button to the right of the heading in question. From the resulting menu, choose Modify. To change the header style, right-click it in the sidebar and choose Modify. There is now a dialogue box present.
  • Typeface, height, colour, orientation, and line spacing are just some of the choices available in the Modify Style dialogue box. This dialog box’s elements are quite similar to the Ribbon’s.
  • To access other formatting choices (such paragraph types), click Format at the end of the dialogue box and make your selections there.
  • By selecting Only in this document, the style changes will only affect the active document.
  • If you don’t want your document styles to be updated whenever you make a change to the heading format, deselect Automatically Update. In most cases, you should uncheck this box.
  • To continue, hit OK or Enter. Until a Heading is explicitly prepared, the whole page will be rewritten (which doesn’t match the design). If this happens, just deploy the style again.

In the Modify Styles dialogue box, you can observe the title of the style, the style’s category, and the available editing controls:

Modify Styles dialogue box

Incorporating new or altered formatting into a document will be applied as you save the file.

How to make a navigation pane in a word document

Conclusion

There isn’t a writing project that can’t be made with Microsoft Word and its many tools and functions. Using Headings, for example, you may separate your information into distinct parts that can be quickly accessed through clickable headings. This post should enlighten you on how to create headings in Word for Navigation.

How to Use Heading Styles in Microsoft Word

Style is essential to making a strong first impression. Admittedly, this usually applies to fashion rather than formatting. But in the academic realm, you’ll win more points for applying clear and consistent heading styles in a document than for wearing a fancy outfit.

Having said that, dressing like this when meeting your tutor will ensure they remember you. (Photo: Slava Zaitsev)

Having said that, dressing like this when meeting your tutor will ensure they remember you. (Photo: Slava Zaitsev)

And since a well-formatted document is vital for clarity as well as grabbing the reader’s attention, today we’re taking a look at how to apply heading styles in Microsoft Word.

Using Headings

The ‘Headings’ styles in Microsoft Word are formatting options for making headings and subheadings stand out from the other text in your essay. This will help your reader, particularly in longer essays, by clearly indicating where different sections begin and end.

Microsoft Word actually comes with a number of default heading styles (named ‘Heading 1’ through to ‘Heading 9’). You can use these as you find them, but you may also need to change them to fit with any specific requirements for headings set out in your style guide.

But how should you use these headings? Like so:

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

  1. Go to the ‘Styles’ section of the ‘Home’ tab on the main ribbon
  2. Select the text you’re using as a heading and click on the appropriate ‘Heading’ style (e.g. ‘Heading 1’, ‘Heading 2’, etc.)Heading Styles
  3. If the required style is not visible in the ‘Styles’ tab, click the little arrow in the bottom right to open a side menu with further options
  4. If the required ‘Style’ still isn’t visible, click ‘Options…’ in the side menu and make sure ‘All styles’ is selected under ‘Select Styles to Show’, then click OKstyleoptions
  5. Once the correct heading styles show in the menu, select the text you want to format and apply each heading and subheading accordinglyBe sure to use different styles to distinguish between different ‘levels’ of heading, since the formatting style of chapter titles should be distinct from those used for section or subsection headings: e.g. use ‘Heading 1’ for the main headings, then ‘Heading 2’ for the next level down, and ‘Heading 3’ for subsections, etc., being careful to apply each style consistently.

Numbered Headings

If you want to use numbered headings, Microsoft Word’s multilevel list options are very useful. This will apply numbering to titles and subtitles whenever a ‘Heading’ style is used, thereby ensuring clear and consistent numbering for all headings in your document.
multilevelTo do this, you’ll need to:

  1. Apply different heading styles to your document for each level of heading
  2. Click on the ‘Multilevel List’ button in the ‘Paragraph’ section of the ‘Home’ tab
  3. Select one of the list styles that refers to headingslistoptions

This will apply a different numbering level to each heading style, while you can also modify and create multilevel list styles via the ‘Multilevel List’ menu.

This numbering will also update automatically if you add or remove headings, saving you the effort of re-numbering headings manually.

Not many people know there’s a quite useful feature in Microsoft Word that would help you organize long documents. It’s called heading — which basically makes the text stand out, especially for a title or specific section of your document.

It comes in a variety of styles which you can choose as you want. Not only that, the heading is also important to help people scan your document and reorder pages faster.

In some cases, headings could make your work easier. In fact, many companies are using headings on their documents because it’s more convenient to read and manage.

In this guide, I will assume you already have the text (line) that will be converted into a heading. Although the tutorial is based on Microsoft Word 365, the heading feature is available on all other versions.

1. Select the text you want to add as a heading.

Select - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 5

2. Go to the Home menu.

Home menu - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 7

3. Choose either Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3.

select heading - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 9

4. Now, the text was converted into a heading.

heading - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 11

5. You can also change the font type, color, background color, and other styles.

change style of heading - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 13

If you go to View > Navigation Pane, you will see a new pane on the left showing all headings inside the document. You can jump into a certain section just by clicking the heading. Even better, you can drag & drop the heading and the section below it will automatically follow.

heading map - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 15

Creating a new style for a heading

The default heading style might not fit to your current document’s style. Luckily, you can create a new style and then use it when adding a heading in the future.

1. On the heading section, click the flipped triangle to expand options.

expand heading - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 17

2. Select Create a Style

create style - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 19

3. Give a name to your style, then click Modify…

modify - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 21

4. Adjust the settings based on your needs. Click OK to confirm.

OK - How to Quickly Add Heading in Microsoft Word 23

The new style will appear in the heading section. It’s just one click away to use it.

Headings are definitely useful for a document with tons of pages. Make sure you did not forget to add headings to your document.

Image of Susan Harkins

on

June 11, 2018, 12:25 PM PDT

How to create multilevel numbered headings in Word 2016

Multilevel number headings don’t have to complicate your work. This technique takes a few clicks and you’re done.


We may be compensated by vendors who appear on this page through methods such as affiliate links or sponsored partnerships. This may influence how and where their products appear on our site, but vendors cannot pay to influence the content of our reviews. For more info, visit our Terms of Use page.

Zinkevych, Getty Images/iStockphoto

Over the last few months, we’ve reviewed Word’s numbered list features. Specifically, How to control spacing and alignment in a numbered list in Microsoft Word shows how to control spacing and alignment and How to number headings in a Word 2016 document shows a simple way to number headings. In this article, we’ll continue by reviewing Word’s Multilevel List feature. Fortunately, it’s easier to implement and modify than you might think.

I’m using Word 2016 on a Windows 10 64-bit system, but this feature is available in earlier versions. However, the multilevel list options discussed in this article aren’t available in the online 365 browser edition. For your convenience, you can download the demonstration .docx and .doc files, or you can work with your own content.

LEARN MORE: Office 365 Consumer pricing and features

What doesn’t work

You can’t use Word’s Numbering feature to generate a multilevel numbering system, even if you use built-in heading styles. Figure A shows a document with two styled heading levels: Heading 1 and Heading 2. You can apply the Numbering option (in the Paragraph group) and Word will number the headings consequently, but the feature ignores different levels; if you expected 1, 1.1, 2, 2.1, and 2.2, you might be surprised. If you select the entire document first, Numbering not only ignores the different levels, but it also numbers the paragraphs!

Figure A

Word’s Numbering option can’t handle multilevel headings.

The easy way

If you use built-in heading styles, applying a multilevel list style is as simple as a few clicks. First, position the cursor anywhere in the document. Then, click the Multilevel List option and choose an option (Figure B). As you can see in Figure C, two quick clicks and you’re done!

Figure B

Choose one of the built-in multilevel options from the gallery.

What’s important to note is that the List Library collection displays styles linked to the built-in heading styles. If one of these works for you, you needn’t go any further.

Figure C

It took two clicks to apply this multilevel numbering scheme.

Tweak it

The default options are adequate most of the time, but you might want to customize the results a bit and that’s where things can get a bit confusing. The options are straightforward, but there are a lot of them; Word can handle up to nine levels!

To modify the options, click the Multilevel List option (in the Paragraph Group). Word selects all lists currently in use in the List Library. You’ll see two options below the gallery: Define New Multilevel List and Define New List Style. Use the first to create and save a stable custom list style. You’ll use the second to change list styles. You can also use the latter to create a new style. So, what’s the difference? The Define New List Style option lets you name a style, so you can share, modify, and delete it later. Most users will never need this option. Now, let’s move on: choose Define New Multilevel List. Figure D shows the resulting dialog.

Figure D

Open this dialog to create a new multilevel list.

Now you’re ready to choose settings that will reflect your numbered heading needs:

  1. Select the level you want to modify. You can change one, a few or all of the levels.
  2. Select a numbering format to apply to the chosen level, adjust the formatting; adjust the spacing and aligning, and so on.
  3. Repeat the above for each level you want to change.
  4. Click OK when you’re done.

To save the list style to a template so you can use it with other documents, select the list in the document. Access the Multilevel List dropdown and choose Define New List Style. Enter a descriptive new and select the New documents based on this template (at the bottom). Once you click OK, the multilevel list style will be available in all new documents.

SEE: 30 things you should never do in Microsoft Office (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

An example

Let’s use what we’ve learned to modify the built-in style applied earlier (Figure C). Specifically, we’ll change the numbering style for both levels and indent level 2. To begin, click anywhere inside the list area, and then do the following:

  1. Click Multilevel List in the Paragraph group, and then choose Define New Multilevel List.
  2. Select 1 in the Click level to modify list to choose the first level.
  3. From the Number style for this level dropdown, choose I, II, III, (Figure E). We’re done with level 1.
  4. Select level 2 and change the number style to l, ll, lll, as you did for level 1.
  5. Click the Font button, choose Italics, and click OK.
  6. In the Aligned at control, enter .50. (Figure F).
  7. Click OK to see the new list attributes in Figure G.

Figure E

Alter level 1.

Figure F

Alter level 2.

Figure G

We reset only a few options, but substantially changed the look of the headings.

Notice that the Font option (when you applied italics) changes only the number, not the heading text. To update the heading text, modify the heading style as you normally would. Word assumes you want all Heading 1 and Heading 2 styles included in the new numbering scheme. If you want to omit a heading level from the scheme, don’t use a built-in heading style to format those headings.

There are lots of options. For instance, you might reduce the amount of space between the number and the text by changing the Text indent at setting. Or, you might center the heading by choosing Center from the Number alignment dropdown. For even more options, click More to expose several more settings. You could use the Apply changes to option when setting level 1 to the I, II, III numbering style instead of changing it for each level.

To add new levels to the list, simply use a lower level built-in heading style. For a visual review of the document’s structure, display the Navigation pane: Click the view tab and check Navigation Pane in the Show group.

This feature is easiest to use when you combine it with Word’s built-in heading styles. However, you can map a custom heading style to the multilevel numbering feature–it just takes more work. Word handles nine levels, but any document with more than four levels should receive a serious developmental edit. More than four becomes confusing and perhaps worse, unreadable.

Stay tuned

Word’s Multilevel List feature works nicely with the built-in heading styles. However, you can get the same effect working with custom styles. Next month, I’ll show you how to do so.

Send me your question about Office

I answer readers’ questions when I can, but there’s no guarantee. Don’t send files unless requested; initial requests for help that arrive with attached files will be deleted unread. You can send screenshots of your data to help clarify your question. When contacting me, be as specific as possible. For example, “Please troubleshoot my workbook and fix what’s wrong” probably won’t get a response, but “Can you tell me why this formula isn’t returning the expected results?” might. Please mention the app and version that you’re using. I’m not reimbursed by TechRepublic for my time or expertise when helping readers, nor do I ask for a fee from readers I help. You can contact me at susansalesharkins@gmail.com.

Also see:

  • How to add a drop-down list to an Excel cell (TechRepublic)
  • How to become a cloud engineer: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
  • 50 time-saving tips to speed your work in Microsoft Office (free PDF) (TechRepublic download)
  • How to add a drop-down list to an Excel cell (TechRepublic)
  • Cost comparison calculator: G Suite vs. Office 365 (Tech Pro Research)
  • Microsoft Office has changed, how you use it should too (ZDNet)
  • Best cloud services for small businesses (CNET)
  • Best to-do list apps for managing tasks on any platform (Download.com)
  • More must-read Microsoft-related coverage (TechRepublic on Flipboard)
  • Microsoft

  • Software

Понравилась статья? Поделить с друзьями:
  • Creating a crossword puzzle in word
  • Creating a chart with excel
  • Createobject excel application что это
  • Createobject excel application свойства
  • Created excel drop down list