It's a bloody mess, isn't it?

This is my first real go at this program in many many years, outside of typing a quick note/letter type thing. I was messing around with Styles, and it just seems so blasted counterintuitive...Yes, I know it's me not it. It works how it works.
Thanks for the post and the help...but it's crunch time -- deadline at 8 am. I've been fooling with these things so long that Im starting to get a thousand yard stare. If tab tab enter tab is how it's gotta be, Im gonna roll with it for now. They seem to export to pdf ok, so at least that's what the students will get.

I began reading the links already provided...is there any 101's that are geared more towards the functionally illiterate? Once I get it figured out I plan on redoing these files, as I have to update after the next legislative session.

Thanks so much. Ill do my best!

It is not you. This is complex. Tips for Understanding Styles in Word by Shauna Kelly is the 101! My article Understanding Styles in Microsoft Word is the 102 and not as well written.

Please read my CK Note the note at the beginning of my article, at least. This is from it and remains true today:

"Trying to use Word without understanding and using styles is like pushing on a string. I resisted learning and using styles for years and now regret every day of those years because although that string was still very hard to push, it kept getting longer and longer, and had some very important projects tied to it! Once you understand styles and the Word concept of organizing things into Chinese boxes everything falls into place and instead of pushing a string, you can push a button that turns on the very powerful text processing machine known as Microsoft Word and it will start doing your work for you instead of running around behind you trying to undo what you thought you just did.

"These statements should be even stronger for those using Word 2007-13. These versions let you use and change styles even more easily."

I know it is tough. Spend a couple of hours learning how styles work and play around with them. Every minute you spend learning to use Styles will be recovered ten-fold in a very short time.

A small but delightful benefit of learning to use styles is the ability to use the StyleRef Field in headers and footers.