Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Selecting Default Paragraph Formatting.

Selecting Default Paragraph Formatting

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 15, 2021)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Word provides an easy way to remove any explicit paragraph formatting that was done to a paragraph. This is all you have to do:

  1. Select the paragraphs that you want to remove the formatting from.
  2. Press Ctrl+Q.

The paragraph formatting for the selected text will be set back to its default condition, meaning that the paragraph reverts to the formatting defined in the style applied to it.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (250) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Selecting Default Paragraph Formatting.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Moving Breaks Quickly

Breaks in a document can be easily moved from one place to another using familiar editing techniques. The trick is to ...

Discover More

Editing Comments and Notes

Comments and notes can be very helpful in a worksheet. After they are added, you may want to change what they contain. ...

Discover More

Converting Conditional Formatting to Regular Formatting

Conditional formatting allows you to change how information is displayed based on rules you define. What if you want to ...

Discover More

Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!

More WordTips (menu)

Finding Default Shortcut Keys

There are scores of shortcut keys defined in Word. If you want to discover what all those shortcut keys are, here are a ...

Discover More

Changing Text Case

Word provides a built-in shortcut to change the case of a text selection. Understanding how that shortcut works (and the ...

Discover More

Keyboard Control of the Find and Replace Dialog Box

Hate to take your hands off the keyboard? This tip explains how you can use the keyboard to work with the Find and ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is one less than 9?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.