Word – Is it possible to assign a specific style to all cross-references in Word 2007

microsoft wordmicrosoft-officemicrosoft-word-2007

Nothing more to add, I would like to change the style of all cross-references I have in a Word 2007 document at once. But I have no idea how to do it. How can this be done?

Best Answer

Some cross-reference types are automatically formatted with the "intense reference" style, but most are formatted as "normal" text.

To apply the "intense reference" style to the text of the cross reference:

  • select the text
  • choose the "Home" tab in the ribbon
  • using either the up-down buttons or the drop-down button in the "Styles" group of the ribbon, choose the "intense reference" style (or another style if you prefer)

To change the appearance of all text of a given style:

  • choose the "Home" tab in the ribbon
  • using the drop-down button in the "Styles" group of the ribbon, choose "Apply styles..."
  • in the "Apply Styles" dialog box under "Style Name" choose the name of the style you want to change (e.g. "intense reference")
  • Click the "Modify..." button
  • Change the formatting to suit you and click "OK"

To apply a style to all cross references at once:

  • Press Alt+F9 to show field codes
  • Select the "Home" tab in the ribbon
  • Click on "Replace" in the "Editing" group
  • In the "Find what" field, type ^19 REF
    • (That's caret-one-nine-space-R-E-F)
  • Click in the "Replace with" field, but don't type anything
  • Click the "More" button
  • The bottom section of the dialog should be titled "Replace" (with a horizontal rule after it)
  • Click the "Format" button and select "Style..."
  • Choose a style (e.g. "Intense Reference") and click OK
  • It should now show the style you selected under the "Replace with" field
  • Click "Replace All" if you're feeling brave or use "Find Next" and "Replace" to step through and replace or skip each reference field code's style individually
  • Press Alt+F9 to hide field codes

See this page for more information on special codes in Find and Replace.

Here is a macro that will add the switch \* mergeformat to each of the fields. This switch is necessary to keep the formatting from being lost if you do a field update. You can assign the macro to a keystroke and it will step through the fields one at a time for each time you press the keystroke. You can also edit the macro to loop over the whole document to automate the process.

Sub mf()
'
' mf Macro
' Find cross references and add \* mergeformat
'
    Selection.Find.ClearFormatting
    With Selection.Find
        .Text = "^19 REF"
        .Forward = True
        .Wrap = wdFindContinue
        .Format = True
        .MatchCase = False
        .MatchWholeWord = False
        .MatchWildcards = False
        .MatchSoundsLike = False
        .MatchAllWordForms = False
    End With
    Selection.Find.Execute
    Selection.MoveRight Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
    Selection.MoveLeft Unit:=wdCharacter, Count:=1
    Selection.TypeText Text:="\* mergeformat "
    Selection.Find.Execute
End Sub
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