Dress up your document with pre-set Style Sets.
If you haven’t been using your “Styles,” I thought I would give you some inspiration to really make the formatting of your document sing.
In older versions of Word, you could select your Style, change it, and save that style. You had to do this with each individual Style. Word 2007 lets you create Style Sets. Here is the nifty thing with the addition of Style Sets. When you apply each of your individual Styles to the various parts of your document, a Style Set will apply changes to all the individual Styles used according to that Set or Theme in the entirety of the document.
Find Your Style
On the Home tab, in the Styles group, you will see Change Style. When clicked on, a drop down menu with Style Sets, Colors, and Fonts will display. As you hover your cursor over each one, a menu will display the various choices you have.
Style Set
Click on Change Styles in your Styles group. As you hover over Style Set, slide your cursor over the menu of various Style Sets. As you pass over each Style Set, the document will automatically transition to that look. When you click on your choice, that selection will apply to your document once you cursor away. Neat, right?!
Colors
Selecting a color theme is just as easy. Click on Change Style in the Styles group and this time hover over Colors. Slide your cursor over the menu of Color sets. Once again, as you pass over each Color set, your document will automatically transition the coloring of the Style Sets.
Create Your Own Sets
You can also create your own Color and Style Sets, but I must admit that Word has created some really amazing combinations. Between the two features, you have an interesting combination of document formats to put together.
Now if it was only that easy to change my style each day for work. Maybe I can get Microsoft to put together some style sets for my wardrobe so my mornings are as much a “no brainer” as dressing up my documents. Yeah… I guess not.
Create your own visual style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others. –Orson Welles
The Peacoat
A fashionable way to get to work warm and stylish is the always beautiful peacoat. The peacoat is the perfect compliment to wear with a pant or skirt ensemble. It may come across very understated, but the usual style with a double-breasted look and buttons is an accessory all to itself. Some peacoats get a bit more elaborate and display a military look to them when the buttons have a metal finish.
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I don’t like to reinvent the wheel. Besides, it is time consuming and unnecessary. Take letters, reports, memos, legal documents, invoices, specifications, etc., any document that is used on a regular basis for your business, both internal and external. Your company should be using a standard look that represents the image they want to portray to their customers and the public. This is where templates come in. You want your documents to have a consistency that identifies the professionalism of your company.
Some people will take a report, memo, or letter that already exists and use that. This works, but there is that possibility that you will save over it and no longer have electronic documentation of the former document. If you are good about backing up your data, then you have no problem. However, in a large company, that is a hassle to request from IT to retrieve.
What a template will do is house the formatting specifications, any graphics (some companies use them on their letterhead without having to order stationery), and some of the standard language (such as used in memos). It will also prompt you to Save As, alleviating the possibility of saving over the document. There is no other choice.
To Create a Template
- Create the document just as you would any other document.
- Save As.
- Save as type, select Word Template.
- It will automatically go into a specified directory according to your Word Options. You can change the directory of your stored templates by making that change in your Word Options.
To Retrieve and Use a Template
- In the menu bar, select New. In Microsoft Office Word 2007, I have an Office Button in the top left corner of the Word Program that takes me to printing, saving, and opening documents.
- From this menu, you can select Blank Document and templates.
It’s that easy! You will love it once you get the hang of it. You will also find that you are preparing your documents much more quickly and easily than before. No more searching for the document you want to replicate, all your documents will retain consistency, and you will now be the forms and templates guru of your office.
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I’m noticing a trend here. I write quite a bit about style. Not necessarily a sense of fashion style, there’s that, but the style in your writing, presentation, mannerisms, and attitude. I get some feedback that maybe stepping up your game in style isn’t really that necessary. Personally, I think you’re taking away some great opportunities if you don’t pay attention to your style. I’m not suggesting a sense of conforming, I believe everybody has their own style. It’s just a matter of bringing your style up notch and making the impression that you want.
I would like to share a couple of great resources that I have and some that I have recently come across that are written so well, it inspires you.
- Secrets Of Nonverbal Communication
- Manliness: The Baby and the Bathwater
- Dress Smart Women
- Dress Smart Men
- The Power of Body Language
- Style Guide – For Business and Technical Communication
These are only a couple of really good resources. Don’t forget to leave a comment of some resources you think no person should be without. What style tips would you give that you think makes a big impact for you? Do you think society has gotten too comfortable or just lazy about their presentation and style? Would you like to see the attention to style and presentation of the bygone era return? Would you like to see people dressing appropriately to functions and events, such as church, weddings, anniversaries, and such, as well as going out to a nice restaurant and the theater (I’m speaking of the theater that you would see Phantom of the Opera, not the movie theater)? Would love to hear your thoughts.
