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: Changing a Heading to Body Text.
Word contains a powerful outlining system that allows you to quickly make changes to document structure. You do this in Outline view, which is most easily invoked by clicking on the Outline view button on the status bar. When you enter Outline view, Word displays an Outline toolbar at the top of the document window. You use the controls on the toolbar to change indentation levels for your outline.
Besides headings, you may have body text within your document. You may wish to change a current heading to body text. You can do this in any of these ways, after positioning the insertion point on the heading you want to change:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (762) 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: Changing a Heading to Body Text.
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Want to add numbers to your outline? Here's the steps.
Discover MoreWhen working in Outline view, you can control how Word displays the body text under each heading. You can specify that ...
Discover MoreWhen working on a document in Outline view, you may need to change regular body text to a heading in the outline. It's ...
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