OK. So I tried a little test (two actually). In a test document with 10-12 lines of text (one paragraph each). I created a $test style and assigned it to the entire document (all lines).

Test #1

I edited each line to apply some "direct" formatting. I made one line bold, another red, another in a different font, another in a larger point size, etc.



Then I edited the $test style changing several of the font and paragraph settings. When I pressed OK, some of the changes were applied to some of the lines, but not all changes were applied to all lines. I didn;t study it much, but couldn't see an obvious (to me) pattern.

Test #2

Then I right-clicked on one of those lines and selected Styles & Update $test to match selection. All of the formatting of that line was applied to all of the other lines.


This sure looks like either a bug or a design flaw.

If direct font formatting has been applied to more than 50% of a paragraph, it will be cleared when you (re-)apply a paragraph style, otherwise it will be retained.

And note that when you update a paragraph style to match the selection, only the font formatting included in the selection will be incorporated into the style.

To make sure that you reset all font formatting to that of the underlying style, use Ctrl+SpaceBar on the selection. Similarly, use Ctrl+Q to clear the paragraph formatting.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

I tried Ctrl+Space. It does as you say. It removes any "direct" formatting within the paragraph.

I tried Ctrl+Q, but couldn't see that it did anything. Can you give me an example?

Change paragraph formatting such as line spacing; for example, you can change to double spacing by pressing Ctrl+2. Then press Ctrl+Q to revert to style defaults.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional