Word is used for many things, including creating reports, letterheads, important contracts, and projects. The word document is not retained with one person; it circulates among multiple devices and undergoes many edits and formatting. That’s why people are often confused with the abrupt arrangement of bold letters or headings while reading a document. This usually happens when the device containing specific fonts and settings is changed to the device without such features. The formatting is rather haphazard, and re-editing under the same format will be tedious. We suggest to clear format in Word and re-applying it wherever necessary.
Methods to clear format in Word:
There are various ways to clear the format in Word. Suppose you have an older Windows version; do not worry; we have your back. Let’s start with the older version of Word:
Clear Format in Word 2010
To clear format in Word 2010, follow the instructions below:
Open the Word application.
Using the File tab, open the document that is to be edited.
You can remove the format for any selected text, or you can completely remove the format for the whole document.
Select the part where you want to clear off all formatting by pressing the left-click of the mouse and then dragging it across the text. For selecting the whole document, you can press the left-click and choose the ‘select all’ option. You can use a keyboard to select text if your mouse is not responding. Press the shift key and tap the right arrow key until you have reached the last word of your selected text. To pick the complete document, click Ctrl+A anywhere on the document, and all your text will be selected.
Now, move to the home tab in the menu ribbon. For folks using a keyboard instead of a mouse, you can click on the Alt+H combination keys to go to the home tab in word.
As you open the Home tab, you notice a small icon under the fonts section. The icon will have an Aa image with a diagonal eraser. You need to select that icon, and all the formatting from the selected text will be cleared. You can also use the direction keys on the keyboard to click the icon and clear the format of the selected text.
The text would be edited to the basic format of Word 2010. If you do not like it, you can undo the changes or press Ctrl+Z anywhere on the screen.
Clear format in Word 2013 and the next updates
If you want to clear the formatting in Word 2013+, then you have to follow a similar process to that of Word 2010. The only difference between both windows is the appearance of the ‘clear format’ option. We will recap the steps for you in case you started from here:
Start your Word application
Select the document to be edited
Select the whole text or the text that you want to alter. Left-click and drag the mouse to select the piece of interest. If you are using a keyboard, you need to press the shift key and the right arrow button to select the required text, and press Ctrl+A to select the whole text.
Move to the home tab in the menu ribbon and search for the clear format tab. The clear format tab would appear as an A icon with a pink eraser. If you use a keyboard, press Alt+H to go to the home tab. And press the right arrow button to direct to the icon.
Press the clear format button to remove formatting from the selected text or the whole document. The text would return to the basic format of word 2013 and further updates.
If you are not satisfied with the format and would like to keep the previous one, then you can undo it or press Ctrl+Z anywhere on the screen.
Clear Format using Style Tab
You can even use the style tab to clear the format of the required text. Follow the instructions below:
Select the text where changes have to be made.
Go to the home tab and select the ‘Style’ section. In this section, click on the dropdown arrow.
The whole style pane would open. You would see the option ‘Clear All.’ Press the option to perform the task.
The selected text will return to the normal formatting of the word 2010/2013, depending on your use.
For people who are using a keyboard, they can open the home tab using the key combination Alt+H. And use the arrow keys to direct to the styles pane. The rest of the procedure is similar.
Clear Format of header
Most of the time, the formatting has no issue, but the header just doesn’t look right! Wondering how to change that? Here follow the instruction given below:
After opening the document, highlight the text you want to change, especially the header.
Open the menu, and select the paragraph option. Under the paragraph tab, click on the outline option.
By clicking on the outline option, you will open a dropdown menu. You can change the outline header by changing the ‘outline level’ to ‘body text.’
The header will be removed and added as body text. Now it can be easily edited as per your wish.
If you are using a keyboard, then the following instructions are for you:
You would have to use the key combination of Alt+O+P. It will open the outline option.
The next steps are similar. Using the arrow keys direct your arrow to the outline option. Select the dropdown menu and change your setting from ‘outline level’ to ‘body text.’
You will obtain similar results. The header would be removed and rearranged as body text.
Clear format using Notepad
We understand that the steps could be a bit confusing to follow. Sometimes you cannot find the necessary tabs or jumble up the steps. It’s okay. We have an alternative process for you to follow. It is an easy process and will require a notepad.
The steps are easy to follow:
Open the document that has to be edited. Select the part to be edited. People using the keyboard can copy by using Shift and selecting the text through the arrow key.
Copy or Cut the selected text using the dropdown menu. For the keyboard, use the combination key Ctrl+C for copying and Shift+Del for cutting the text.
Open the notepad on your desktop. And paste the selected text on it. The copied text will be pasted only as text. No format would be pasted.
The text would be in normal text format. From the notepad, copy the text again and paste it back into the document in word.
The selected part will return to the usual format; from here, you can make further changes.
Conclusion:
We have explained all the ways you could clear the format in word. Hopefully, you will be able to follow it without hitches and make a wonderful document. Keep following us for more guides on technical support.
Experiencing difficulties with your Device, check out our “How To” page on how to resolve some of these issues.
