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Use styles

Bent Kirkegaard
  • Updated

Use the styles already provided by Word, e.g.:

  • for headings: "Heading 1" to "Heading 9"
    The outline level is already correctly defined here.
  • for text paragraphs: "Normal" or "No Spacing"
  • for captions: "Caption"
    Tip: For figures or tables, always use the Word function Insert caption... (this automatically uses the correct style and you can automatically create a list of figures or tables)
  • For lists: "List" to "List 5"
    Tip: see also our article Create new multilevel list
  • for list continuations: "List continue" to "List continue 5"
    Note: for these styles, you still need to set the role List Continue with the corresponding outline level in the axesWord document settings.
  • for block quotations: "Quote" or "Intensive quote"
    Note for axesWord versions older than 23.1.2.0: you still need to set the role BlockQuote in the axesWord document settings.

Or use user-defined styles. Typical use case are styles for column and row headers in tables. The role for that styles can be set in the dialog box Document Settings.

Tip: see our manual Create accessible tables with axesWord

Get started

  1. Check which styles are available and whether you need to create any additional user-defined styles.
  2. If necessary, make role assignments for the (user-defined) styles in the axesWord document settings (the use cases here are role assignments for column and row headers in tables, list continuations and block quotes).
  3. Avoid manual formatting! Wherever possible use the paragraph styles to determine the visual appearance of your paragraphs, headings and lists (e.g. font size, font type, font color, indents, spacing, etc.). 
  4. You can also use character styles to emphasize individual elements. However, these only have a purely visual effect and have no influence on the structural information in the PDF.
  5. Format all paragraphs in the entire document consistently with your styles! Sounds like a lot of work? The opposite is true, because the work savings outweigh the disadvantages: all table of contents can be created automatically, all numbering is updated automatically, you can change the line spacing of all text paragraphs with a single change in one setting, etc.