Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates
Learn how to use Microsoft Word styles, themes and templates to create consistency across your documents.
Microsoft Word features
Styles keep your formatting consistent within a document.
Themes keep your look and feel consistent across multiple documents.
Templates allow you to re-use text, and keep your look and feel consistent across multiple documents.
1. Using Microsoft Word styles
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 2 Select a Microsoft Word Style](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_36c83554ae9a45e38ae44890b056d0c6.jpg)
Styles are a way to keep your formatting consistent within a document.
Rather than making headings “Bold” one at a time, the Style allows you to change all the Headings across the entire document in one central location.
For example in this document, when select the “Title” text then apply the Title Style, the document formatting will be updated.
From the Home Tab
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 3 Word Style Example for Title and Headers](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_85d4534094e240a98237066c59bc8c8e.jpg)
Continue to Select Text and Apply the Heading Style
Header 1
Header 2
Header 3
What if you want a different style?
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 4 Apply different styles in Microsoft Word](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_31944112c8944bc99bb828621cd12cc0.jpg)
Go to the Design Tab
Microsoft Word offers a number of pre-built Styles.
Clicking on the Style will change the formatting throughout your document.
Still on the Design Tab
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 5 Choose Microsoft Word Colors and Fonts](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_5de776d9a9494885b4e201e95a947d2b.jpg)
You can also choose your Document Colors, Fonts, and Other Items.
You can even Customize Your Options
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 6 Customize Microsoft Word Fonts](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_8e2365b2deaa4a75a9f52ace34d04fbe.jpg)
Your Font and Color combinations are not restricted to Microsoft Word’s pre-built options. At the bottom, you can create your own combination – and give it a custom name that you’ll remember.
What if you can’t find a style that works?
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 7 How to use Microsoft Word Styles](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_525b852908304339aeaecda57c86573d.jpg)
Once you’ve selected the Styles, Fonts, and Colors you like best in the Design tab, head back to the Home tab.
You can further customize your Style options by “right-clicking” any Style.
Select Modify
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 8 Modify style](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_951f51f5556c46248561710e70aa378f.jpg)
This will modify every Style Element across your document.
Click on “Format” menu
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 9 Format style](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_3e0f5df6512e4fe0bb0e54d6dbbc233b.jpg)
See even more editing choices.
Choose Between Saving Styles in the Document and Template
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 10 Choices on how to save Microsoft Word Styles](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_43b8664bb2b7426f9f73fba9c34887e8.jpg)
You can save these settings to be consistant across this document ONLY – or you can save it in the Template, so that all future documents will have this same “look and feel.”
2. Using Microsoft Word themes
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 11 Microsoft Word Themes](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_9b163ad0d9944d8cb5fa334f0ef79721.jpg)
If you want to use these set Styles again and again, you can save them as a Custom Theme.
A Theme saves the “look and feel” of the document.
A Template uses the Theme “look” but also adds text that you may want to use again and again.
The next time you open a document…
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 12 MS Word Theme](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_58d247ab6c2444a08ec224fe576f4db6.jpg)
Under the Design Tab, you will now see the Custom “New Theme” you created.
3. Using Microsoft Word templates
Create your document
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 13 Microsoft Word Templates](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_2cadbacb76164bc5aa90a21410a82ef4.jpg)
You create a Template exactly the same way you create any document. The only difference is how you Save.
Save Your Template
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 14 Microsoft Word Styles Themes and Templates 71676b122d89448393e159091252a631](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_71676b122d89448393e159091252a631.jpg)
Save your document as a Template. Use the folder where Microsoft Word prompts you to save it.
Using Templates
![Microsoft Word Styles, Themes and Templates 15 Microsoft Word Template](https://eclipse-online.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/Microsoft-Word-Styles-Themes-and-Templates_db0f90f4ba474354917a740227911fd9.jpg)
Use Templates when you want to save the document text, in addition to the Theme.
Once you have saved a Template, you can find it on your New screen when you create a New Document.
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