I've formatted a document in Arial 10pt. However, when certain computers open the same document, parts of it appear as Calibri 11pt. This is not the case for all documents or all parts of any document.



How do I create a document that others will see that same way I do?

How, specifically, did you format the document in the first place? If you mean that you selected text and changed the formatting of the selection, the underlying default formatting may resurface during editing.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Seems it does occur most frequently when it is just a selected area that has been modified. When this happens, I walk the recipient through changing his normal.dotx defaults to Arial 10pt, single spacing. Is there a way to correct this without having each end user redefine the normal.dotx?

However, it also occurs to paragraphs and parts of paragraphs that have been formatted using styles. This, I don't have a fix for yet.

Is the option to "Automatically update document styles" selected in the Templates and Add-Ins dialog box, for the affected document? If not, formatting in the Normal template will NOT be copied into an existing document.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

When I bring in a Styles template I've created, I have Automatically update styles checked.

I do not have Automatically update selected for each style in the document.

Did that make sense?

"Automatically update document styles" is required if you want Word to update the styles in a document after you have attached a (new) template to the document. However, once you have done that, you should clear the option again. Otherwise, Word will continue to update styles the next time you open that same document, and you may not want that to happen.

The "Update automatically" option for individual paragraph styles is different. It can be used to incorporate direct formatting into a style.

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

Note, though, that "Automatically update styles from the template" has long been a source of problems for users when left checked.
What happens when I send my document to someone else? Will Word mess up my formatting?

Thank you both so much for your help!

I've read through the documentation. But, I'm still clearly missing something. Please bear with me.

I've created a new template. I add it to my document through the Template and Add-ins dialog box with Automatically update document styles unchecked. But, if I do that, I can't 'see' my new styles to pick them. Where do I look for them?

Or

I've created a new template. I add it to my document through the Template and Add-ins dialog box with Automatically update document styles checked. Then, I can find and apply my new styles. But, if I uncheck the Automatically update document styles, I receive an error saying This document template does not exist.

What have I missed? Thank you again for your assistance.

To copy styles into a document from a template that you have just attached to the document, you MUST check the "Automatically update document styles" option.

Unchecking the option shouldn't trigger an error message, unless Word can't find the template for some reason. However, you can always attach the Normal template instead. It won't change the style definitions, as long as "Automatically update..." remains deselected.

An alternative approach, at any time when you want to reformat a document, would be the following: Create a new document based on your template. Bring in existing content via the Insert File dialog box. (To display the dialog box, click Insert > Object > Text from File.)

__________________
Stefan Blom
Microsoft Word MVP

Microsoft 365 apps for business
Windows 11 Professional

I believe I figured out why I was receiving the error.

So, moving forward I believe these are the steps I should follow to ensure my formatting is not affected by another's Normal.dotx.

Create a new template. I add it to my document through the Template and Add-ins dialog box with Automatically update document styles checked. Then, I can find and apply my new styles. When done formatting, I uncheck the Automatically update document styles and I'm good to go.

Have I finally grasped this? (I truly appreciate your patience.)

That is a viable method. Another, perhaps simpler, method would be to use the Styles Organizer. I've gone so far as no have macros that do this for a particular set of styles. A Global StyleSheet in Microsoft Word?

Anoher option would be to use Quick Style Sets.

Both of those do not involve attaching a template (and detaching the current template). This probably only matters if your document is currently attached to a template other than the normal template and has resources in it like keyboard shortcuts, macros, or QAT modifications to which you want continued access.

So much more to consider

Right now, I think I'll stick with my template way, since you have me going in the right direction with it. But, I will certainly take time to digest these other options.

I'll need to update some of my documents. Then, have my testers take a look since the documents already look good to me.

Thanks again for all the help. Hopefully, this will be all that I need, for the moment