Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Renaming a Style.

Renaming a Style

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 3, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word allows you to rename styles you have defined. You cannot, however, rename any of the predefined styles supplied with Word. To rename a style, follow these steps if you are using versions of Word prior to Word 2002:

Select Style from the Format menu. You will see the Style dialog box.
Select the style you want to rename from the Styles list.
Click on Modify. Word displays the Modify Style dialog box.
In the Name box, enter a new name for the style.
Click on OK.
To rename other styles, repeat steps 2 through 5.
When you are done renaming styles, click on Close.

If you are using Word 2002 or Word 2003, you need to account for Microsoft's addition of the task pane. This means that the steps are slightly different:

Select Styles and Formatting from the Format menu. Word displays the Styles and Formatting task pane.
Scroll through the task pane until you see the style you want to rename.
Hover your mouse pointer over the style name. You should see a drop-down arrow appear at the right side of the style name.
Click the drop-down arrow and choose Modify. Word displays the Modify Style dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Modify Style dialog box.

In the Name box, enter a new name for the style.
Click on OK.
To rename other styles, repeat steps 2 through 6.
When you are done renaming styles, dismiss the Styles and Formatting task pane.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (212) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Renaming a Style.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Inverting Colors in a Document

Visual impairments can present severe challenges in accessing information stored in a Word document. There are some ...

Discover More

Find and Replace in a Column or Row

Need to search for information in a table? Word allows you to easily limit your search to an entire column or row, as ...

Discover More

Deciphering a Coded Date

It is no secret that Excel allows you to work with dates in your worksheets. Getting your information into a format that ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! An easy-to-understand guide to the more advanced features available in the Microsoft 365 version of Word. Enhance the quality of your documents and boost productivity in any field with this in-depth resource. Complete your Word-related tasks more efficiently as you unlock lesser-known tools and learn to quickly access the features you need. Check out Microsoft 365 Word For Professionals For Dummies today!

More WordTips (menu)

Developing Style Families

Styles, as implemented in Word, represent a powerful way to help you easily standardize your formatting tasks. When ...

Discover More

Preserving Style Formatting when Combining Documents

Insert one document into another and you may not get the results you expect. Here's why, along with what you can do about it.

Discover More

Cleaning Up a Document that Mixes Styles with Direct Formatting

Need to get rid of direct, explicit formatting applied to a document? Here's an easy way to do it using familiar Word tools.

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 7 + 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.