There are many ways to customize the format of text and graphics in Microsoft Office. You can change font style and color, add borders and shading, and so on. And once you've created a format that you like, you don't have to repeat all those steps each time you want to use that format. Instead, Microsoft Office programs offer a quick way to copy formatting from one item — such as text in Word, a cell in Excel, a control in Access, or a shape in Publisher — to another. It’s called Format Painter, and it might be the most helpful toolbar button you’ve never used. Watch the demo to see how it works.

How to do it (text version):

• Quickly copy formatting with the Format Painter in Office

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