How to Understand Styles in Microsoft Word to Format Your Family History
Art of Family History | Episode #031

Do styles in Microsoft Word confuse you and seem to have a mind of their own? If only you could take a peek behind the scenes and see what was happening.
The good news is that you can. You can trade in the format painter tool as styles in Microsoft Word are easy to understand if you know where to look. So get ready to say hello to consistent styles and goodbye to hot mess formatting.
I’ll show you the three ways to see what is happening with the styles in Microsoft Word. So you can be confident when formatting any family history keepsakes.
I’m talking about styles in episode 31 of Art of Family History. I’ll show you a few things, so you find formatting easier and create more consistent documents.
Keep watching to find out how to
- See all the styles in the document
- Inspect your text to see what formatting is in use
- Use the Draft view to see what’s happening behind the scenes in your file.
Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments. I’d love to hear if these tips were useful and which of these features you’ll use to ensure consistent styles in Microsoft Word when formatting your family history keepsakes.
Click the image below to watch the video now.
Looking for the transcript? Scroll to the end of the article for the link.

Like, Subscribe & Comment on YouTube:
“Prudence shares great tips that help bring my research to life.” <— If you think along those lines, please consider liking my videos and subscribing to my channel. This step helps more people — just like you — find my content to support them in bringing their family history to life. Click here to view this episode on YouTube, where you can like, subscribe and leave a comment to let me know what you loved most about the episode!
Once you’ve subscribed, why not also click the notification bell so you’ll be one of the first to know every time I upload a new video?