Easily Rename Or Delete Undesired "Char" Styles

Applies to: Word 2007, 2003, DocXtools v6 and v5.4

Word 2007

For the first time since “Char” styles were introduced, Word now officially acknowledges Linked (paragraph and character) styles as a Style type (see the Create New Style and Styles task pane images, below). In fact, many of Word 2007’s built-in styles are pre-constructed as linked styles: check out Heading 1 through Heading 9, Quote, Title and Subtitle as a few new examples.

Word 2007

Linked (paragraph and character) styles are easily identified in the Styles task pane by a new icon: , and when creating a New Style from the Styles task pane, you’ll also notice an added entry in the Style type drop‑down. This means that users and template designers can create their own Linked (paragraph and character) styles in any open document or template.

Caution: once a style is created or modified to be a Linked (paragraph and character) style, it is not possible through the interface to change the type back to a simple paragraph style.

Note: The Disable Linked Styles controls only the application of linked character styles; it does not disable the ability to create them.

Word 2002 & 2003

In Word 2002 and 2003, "Char" styles are inadvertently created when a user applies a paragraph style to selected characters or when copying/pasting text with this condition into another document. This 'linked style' feature permits a character style to be automatically linked to a related paragraph style, thus when paragraph font attributes are changed, counterparts within the character style are changed as well.

A major challenge for Word 2002 and 2003 users is that linked character styles are not visible through Word’s Styles and Formatting task pane, nor are immediately via the styles drop-down in the Formatting toolbar. A trick to note: by holding down the Shift key as you drop-down the styles list, any linked character style will become visible. Unfortunately it is not possible to delete the style from here; you must use Organizer for this task.

Renaming or Deleting “Char” Styles with DocXtools v6

To use DocXtools v6 Style Maintenance to isolate “char” styles:

1. Launch the Style Maintenance task pane.
2. Click on the Find icon in the task pane’s toolstrip:
   
3. Click on the Extras tab, and enable the Style Name option by clicking in its check box.
4. Type a value of *char followed by a 'space.'
5. Click OK, and the offending styles are listed.
6. To delete or rename them, select all styles using Ctrl or Shift-Click, then right-click and pick the appropriate feature.

Renaming or Deleting “Char” Styles with DocXtools v5.4

To use DocXtools v5.4 Style Manager to isolate “char” styles:

1. Launch Style Manager.
2. Drop-down the Find button, choose Advanced Find By Format.
3. Choose Properties>Style>Properties>Name, pull down Condition and choose Contains.
4. Type a value of Char, followed by a space, and click on Add to List.
5. Find Styles. The offending styles are listed.
6. To delete or rename them, select these styles (designated by the 'a' shown in the Style Map view), right-click and pick the appropriate feature.

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