Thanks again.



Word 2011 does not offer a "Manage Styles" dialog box, or at least I've never found it. Reference older documents that I've been working with for awhile, when I click "Format" > "Style..." I get a list that allows me to select "Styles in Use", "All Styles", and "User-Defined Styles. The "All Styles" selection is the only one that lists all the extra ones. So by not selecting it, I get a much pared-down list. In the bottom right corner is a button labeled "Organizer". It brings up a list with two choices: the document I have open and active at the time, or "Normal (global template). Using the organizer, I can delete unwanted styles from that document, and I've done that on many occasions, except for "Built-In Styles" that can't be deleted.

In these documents, the very long list is not shown in the drop-down menu in the upper left corner of the formatting toolbar. It's pared down and easy to use.

This may be a difference between Word 2008 and 2011, but when I open a new document, the default style list in the formatting toolbar has all styles and is very long and hard to navigate in. Nothing I've tried allows me to pare this styles list down because once the Organizer window is open, I can't get to the All Styles list to remove from the document those styles I have no intention of using.

I tried your "for what it's worth" suggestion, and that didn't work, because any new blank document comes pre-loaded with every style and there's no way to remove them from that menu.

And yet I have documents that only have Styles in Use in that menu. I would like to create new documents just like that and I can't.

I think the only option is to use one of the documents I have with the styles I want and create a stationary pad rather than open a new document.

Again, I appreciate your efforts to help.

A BIG correction by the OP!

Word 2011 does offer a "Manage Styles Used In the Document" icon in the formatting toolbar. I felt like a dummy when I finally found it. It doesn't answer my original question about whether there is a way to customize the styles offered in the drop-down style menu on a new document, but it's another way to apply the styles in use.

It does appear that the only way to modify a style is to use "Format" > "Style..." > "Modify", which doesn't require hunting around for the style in a long list if the style I want to modify is currently selected.

It's all Microsoft's fault. They keep changing things . . .

OK, thanks for the clarification.

Microsoft certainly moves options and commands around, which is annoying, but at least MacWord still has menus. :-)

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional