This article contains some tips and ideas for customizing your stylesheet. It is by no means an exhaustive list and if you would like to contribute please post your tips to 'Community - hints and tips for customizing your stylesheets'


When I am customizing my stylesheet template in MS Word how do I..


Change the font of all headings and normal styles in one go?

To quickly change the fonts across your whole document, update the 'Theme Fonts'. It’s best to do this first, before changing styles in the 'Style gallery'.

  1. In the Word ribbon menu, go to the 'Design' tab.
  2. On the right end of the 'Design' tab, select 'Fonts'.
  3. Open the 'Fonts' menu and select 'Customize'.
  4. Select your fonts.
  5. The 'Heading font' set here is the default font for all heading styles in your document.
  6. The 'Body font' set here is the default font for all other styles in your document.
  7. Name your theme so you can easily identify it.


Change the background colour of single pages?

To change the background colour of a single page, you will need to add a rectangle shape to the page, drag it out to cover the full page, apply the colour of your choice, and then send the shape behind the text and fix the shapes position on the page. The following steps explain this process in detail:

  1. Navigate in the document to the page you wish to colour.
  2. In the 'Insert' menu click on the 'Shapes' button and select the plain rectangle shape.
  3. Drag the rectangle shape out on the page; you will stretch it to cover the full page in the next step.
  4. Position the mouse cursor over the top-left corner of the rectangle shape; it will change to a double-headed arrow shape. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the corner of the shape to the top-left corner of the page. Release the mouse button.
  5. Repeat the last step to drag the bottom-right corner of the rectangle shape to the bottom-right corner of the page. The page should now be completely covered by the rectangle shape.
  6. Click on the rectangle shape to ensure that it is currently selected. From the 'Format' menu, click on the 'Shape Fill' button and select the desired colour for the page.
  7. Right-click on the rectangle shape, hover the mouse over the 'Wrap Text' option, then select the 'Behind Text' option.
  8. Right-click on the rectangle shape again, hover the mouse over the 'Wrap Text' option, then select the 'Fix Position on Page' option.
  9. The single page will now have a coloured background.


Put a full-page image on the cover page?

To add a full-page image to the cover page, firstly select a suitable image file. Ideally, the image should be approximately the same size and have the same orientation as the cover page. 


It is possible to enlarge smaller images; however, the image quality may be reduced. Avoid very high-resolution images, as these can increase the stylesheet file size, which will be carried through to all specifications published using it. Note that the maximum file size of a stylesheet that can be uploaded is 10MB.


Once the image has been added to the cover page, it will need to be sent behind the text, and its position will need to be fixed on the page.


It can then be resized and repositioned to suit. The following steps explain this process in detail:

  1. Navigate to the cover page in the template and press Ctrl + Home on the keyboard.
  2. From the 'Insert' menu click on the 'Pictures' button, the 'Insert Picture file' browser dialog will be displayed. Navigate to the location where the image file is stored, select it then click on the Insert button in the bottom-right corner of the 'Insert Picture' dialog.
  3. Right-click on the image, hover the mouse over the 'Wrap Text' option, then select the 'Behind Text' option.
  4. Right-click on the image again, hover the mouse over the 'Wrap Text' option, then select the 'Fix Position on Page'. option.
  5. Hover the mouse cursor over the image; it will change to a four-headed arrow shape. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the image so that the top left corner of the image meets (or goes beyond) the top-left corner of the page.
  6. Hover the mouse cursor over the bottom-right corner of the image, it will change to a double-headed arrow shape. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the corner of the image until it completely covers the page.
  7. Note that you can repeat the above two steps to reposition and resize the image until the desired framing on the page is achieved.


Fix an image in place so text doesn’t change the position of the image?

This is covered above but it's such a handy tip that we thought it should have its own entry.

  1. Right-click onr the image again, hover the mouse over the 'Wrap Text' option, then select the 'Fix Position on Page' option.


Change the transparency of logos so that they can be overlaid onto images of any colour?

In the example below the platform logo has a solid white background colour; when placed on top of the main cover page image, the background colour is unwanted.


Provided that the logo image has a background of a single uniform colour, it is possible to change this background colour to transparent. This will allow the logo image to be positioned on top of another image of any colour, without the background being displayed. The following steps explain this process in detail:

  1. Select the logo image by clicking on it.
  2. From the 'Format' menu, click on the 'Color' button and select the 'Set Transparent Color' option at the bottom of the menu.
  3. The mouse cursor will change to an eyedropper-type shape.
  4. Position the tip of the eyedropper over the background colour of the logo image and click with the left mouse button.
  5. The background colour of the logo image is then removed.

 

Change the date format?

Where possible, Lattira Spec and NBS Chorus reuse MS Word’s own fields for common document properties such as publication date and page numbers. When you select one of these fields, it will show a grey background.


To change the date format:

  1. Right-click on a date field and select 'Toggle Field Codes'.
  2. The date will change to show the code behind it.
  3. Edit the central part to match your desired date format. 
    1. By default, it is set to DD/MM/YYYY, which would be e.g. 25/12/2020 when printed.
    2. You can change order: MM/DD/YYYY places the month before the day.
    3. You can change the separators: rather than using the forward slashes, you can use commas - MM DD, YYYY -or hyphens; DD-MM-YYYY.
    4. You can choose words instead of numbers: DDD DD MMMM ‘YY would display as, e.g. Fri 25 December ’20.
    5. For more help on the formats available, see Microsoft Office Help.
  4. To check your format, right-click on the field again, and select 'Update Field' from the menu. This will switch the field back to the date view, updated with your new format.


Insert a document control page/ QA approvals table in the stylesheet?

Steps:

  • Insert a page break to create a new page.
  • Insert a table. Here is an idea about how to present the information and the table.


How to ensure Sections always start on an odd page number for duplex printing


This procedure will enable you to publish documents in a PDF or DOCX format and guarantee that each new Work Section starts on an odd-numbered page. It is a built-in function of MS Word that can be applied and used in stylesheets.

 

PDF: Blank pages are inserted when published.

DOCX: Blank pages are inserted when the published document is printed in Microsoft Word.

 

To enable blank pages between Work Sections:

  • Create or open a custom stylesheet in MS Word.
  • Select the Layout menu.
  • Open the Page Setup window.
  • In the Layout tab.
    • Select Section Start: Odd Page.
    • At the bottom of this window, select Apply to: Whole Document.
    • Click OK to accept the changes.

 

When finished, the window should look like this:

 The “apply to” option can be set as necessary where odd page starts are not required.


Add a watermark

This video demonstrates how to add an image to the stylesheet so it appears like a watermark.