Document Editing Problems

How to Create a Word List from Paragraphs Using a Specific Style

Elise Williams Oct 23, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user needs to gather all paragraphs formatted with a specific style into a separate document or list, and optionally include page numbers for each entry.

How to Create a Word List from Paragraphs Using a Specific Style

Product: Word Processing Software
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Extracting specifically formatted text from a large document to compile a summary, index, or focused list.
Observed behavior: Requires a method to select all instances of a designated style simultaneously for copying, or to generate a table that references those styled paragraphs with their corresponding page numbers.

Before you start

Ensure your document is consistently formatted using the 'Styles' feature, as manual formatting (like simply making text bold or changing the font size directly) cannot be automatically selected in bulk.

Solution 1Recommended

Select All Paragraphs Using a Specific Style and Copy

Use the Styles pane to instantly select all text sharing the exact same formatting style, allowing you to copy them all at once.

This method is ideal if you only need the text content of the paragraphs and do not require page number references.

Open the Styles Pane

Navigate to the Home tab on the top ribbon and click the small diagonal arrow icon in the bottom right corner of the Styles group to open the Styles pane.

Select the Target Style

Scroll through the Styles pane to find the specific style you want to extract. Hover your mouse over the style name, click the drop-down arrow that appears, and choose 'Select All X Instance(s)'.

Copy and Paste

With all the target paragraphs highlighted in your document, press Ctrl+C to copy them. Open a new, blank document and press Ctrl+V to paste your compiled list.

Select All Paragraphs Using a Specific Style and Copy

Formatting Retained: When pasting into a new document, the original text formatting will be retained. You can choose 'Keep Text Only' from the paste options if you want plain text instead.

Solution 2

Generate a List with Page Numbers Using Table of Contents

If you need page numbers attached to your extracted list, utilize the custom Table of Contents feature to pull in your specific style.

Simplify Document Processing

Extract and Compile Styled Text Easily with WPS Writer

WPS Writer offers an intuitive Styles pane and a highly customizable Table of Contents generator, making it incredibly simple to extract specific paragraphs and generate formatted lists with page numbers.

1. Open Your Document in WPS Writer: Launch WPS Office and open the document containing the styled paragraphs you want to extract.
2. Access Styles and Formatting: Navigate to the 'Home' tab and click the 'Styles and Formatting' icon to open the side pane on the right.
3. Select All Style Instances: Right-click the specific style you wish to compile from the pane and click 'Select All'. Then, copy the highlighted text.
4. Paste into a New Document: Create a new blank document in WPS Writer and paste the copied paragraphs to finalize your styled list.

Select all instances of a specific style in just one clickFully compatible with Microsoft Word .docx and .doc formatsEasily generate custom tables for accurate page referencingFree, lightweight, and features a user-friendly interface

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is 'Select All' greyed out or unavailable in the Styles pane?

This typically occurs if the selected style is not actually applied to any text within the current document, or if document protection is turned on, restricting formatting changes.

Can I extract text based on manual formatting, like a specific highlight color?

No, the built-in 'Select All' tool relies strictly on Styles. To locate manually highlighted or formatted text, you would need to use the Advanced Find feature to search for the specific format attributes.

Will my custom Table of Contents list update automatically if I add new paragraphs?

The Table of Contents does not update in real-time. If you add, edit, or move paragraphs, you must right-click the generated list and select 'Update Field' to refresh the text and recalculate the page numbers.

Can I compile a single style list from multiple separate documents?

By default, style selection and Table of Contents generation only apply to the currently active document. You must merge the separate documents into a single master file first to extract a unified list.

Document & File Issues