Microsoft Word Tip 1: Format Brush

by Apr 9, 2019

Microsoft Word has a leading share of the market for word processing software, and the odds are that you will use it at some point if you are not already. You may even use to prepare your resume for your next job. With this in mind, Contemporaries, Inc. is doing a series of articles on Microsoft Word Tips.

In this article, we will focus on the ‘Format Brush.’ This tool lets you apply everything you like about one part of your document and apply it to another of your with just two clicks of the mouse.   That means if you like the font, color, bulleting, indention, alignment,  spacing, etc. in one line of your document, you can apply it to another whole section with two clicks. It looks bad when your resume or a report has multiple fonts with different colors and bullets that are lined-up evenly or with the same spacing. This tool lets you fix that. Here is how it works:

Step 1: Select the word, line or section of text you want to apply elsewhere.

Step 2: Click the Format brush in the top left (hint: it looks like a brush). You can also get to the format brush with macros or in a little box that appears when you select or left click text. They all do the same thing though.

Step 3: Then just select the line or section you would like to apply that formatting to.  

Note how in the picture above, that the third step gained the bullets, font and other formatting from text selected by the format brush in the steps above.  This tip word in other Microsoft Office programs too, such as Publisher, Excel and PowerPoint. 

Photo: retrieved from Pixabay, available under the public domain.

This posting is brought to you by Contemporaries Inc., one of the best temp agencies in Boston MA. Also available for payrolling employees in Boston and Greater Boston

Recent Posts

First Job in a Professional Setting? Here’s What You Need to Know

First Job in a Professional Setting? Here’s What You Need to Know

Entering the workforce as a recent graduate is an exciting time. However, it is important to start your career on the right foot and build a positive reputation. If you are entering your first job in a professional setting, here are some important rules to keep in...

Quote of the Day: Napoleon Hill

Quote of the Day: Napoleon Hill

Think twice before you speak, because your words and influence will plant the seed of either success or failure in the mind of another. -Napoleon Hill What we say to others has a real effect. Remember this when speaking with colleagues, supervisors, and...

Remembering the Basics

Remembering the Basics

There are some skills that are so basic, it's easy to forget them. But just because they're basic, that doesn't mean they aren't important. Rachel Weingarten highlights some of these "basics" in her article here. She also provides some tips on how to hone these basics...

Quote of the Day: George Bernard Shaw

Quote of the Day: George Bernard Shaw

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. -George Bernard Shaw Today's quote brought to you by Thoughtful Mind. Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash Recent Posts

Habits to Help Your Job Search

Habits to Help Your Job Search

Very few would tell you that a job search is ever totally easy; most would say that there's a lot of effort that goes into finding a position that's a good fit for you. However, there comes a point where you have to wonder if you're doing something that's hindering...

Unwinding on the Weekend

Unwinding on the Weekend

If you're like me, you immerse yourself pretty deeply into your job. It's easy to do that when you enjoy it so much. The flip side to this is that sometimes, it's hard to shut off the "work thoughts" while you're not at work, particularly on the weekend. Getting your...

Quote of the Day: Francis Bacon

Quote of the Day: Francis Bacon

Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered for the better designedly. -Francis Bacon Planning ahead for problems will often prevent them altogether. By putting more effort into your work before an issue arrises, you will prevent more work for...

Career Paths for Recent College Grads With Liberal Arts Degrees

Career Paths for Recent College Grads With Liberal Arts Degrees

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts deserves congratulations. But what happens next? For some grads, this can be a time of frustration. Perhaps you’ve discovered you don’t want a job in your field of study, or you are finding it difficult to land a...

Quote of the Day: Bruce Barton

Quote of the Day: Bruce Barton

When you are through changing, you are through. -Bruce Barton Change, good or bad, is a part of life. In the working world, things are changing all the time and it's important to bear with these changes. Remember that change isn't necessarily a negative thing, and...

Forgiving Without Forgetting: Moving On from Mistakes

Forgiving Without Forgetting: Moving On from Mistakes

Everyone knows that sinking feeling you get when you mess up at work. It's a feeling familiar to everyone, yet we all tend to feel like we're the only one in the company who's ever messed up. If you're like me, you tend to internalize mistakes, and then ruminate on...

Quote of the Day: Fred Brooks

Quote of the Day: Fred Brooks

Good judgment comes from experience and experience comes from bad judgment. -Fred Brooks It's important to remember that all of us fail, usually multiple times, before we succeed. Remember this if you make a mistake at work in particular. The most important thing is...

Advantages to a Clean, Decluttered Work Space

Advantages to a Clean, Decluttered Work Space

I recently wrote a blog titled Making Your Work Space Yours with suggestions on how to create a productive, inviting space for yourself at work. It got me thinking about how important our workspaces are, and how it ties into our productivity and happiness at work as...

Quote of the Day: Jack Canfield

Quote of the Day: Jack Canfield

Successful people maintain a positive focus in life no matter what is going on around them. They stay focused on their past successes rather than their past failures, and on the next action steps they need to take to get them closer to the fulfillment of their goals...

Welcoming a Temporary Employee to Your Company

Welcoming a Temporary Employee to Your Company

Entering an office as a temporary employee can be intimidating, and with good reason. Temporary workers often do not receive the same attention as permanent hires. Managers and staff know short-term talent won’t be around forever, so they don’t take the time to make...