It's also easy to determine where and how often formatting has already been applied, so that you can quickly change it. Word can automatically select all text with the same formatting, so that you can apply different formatting in just one step.

If you plan to reuse formatting often, or in other documents, you can add it to the template (template: A file or files that contain the structure and tools for shaping such elements as the style and page layout of finished files. For example, Word templates can shape a single document, and FrontPage templates can shape an entire Web site.). Then, it will be available in any document based on that template. You can also assign a friendly name, such as Status Heading.

The Styles and Formatting task pane can provide you with formatting information about your document. When Available Formatting is selected in the Show box, you can see the formatting that's in use in your document, as well as any styles (style: A combination of formatting characteristics, such as font, font size, and indentation, that you name and store as a set. When you apply a style, all of the formatting instructions in that style are applied at one time.) that you've created, and some built-in heading styles (heading style: Formatting applied to a heading. Microsoft Word has nine different built-in styles: Heading 1 through Heading 9.). You can also show all styles in the task pane, or you can define a custom view.