Office Settings & Configuration

How to Hide Formatting Combinations in Word Styles Pane

Chanuka Geekiyanage Oct 9, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to understand why Microsoft Word displays combined formatting entries as styles and needs a method to hide them from the Styles pane.

How to Hide Formatting Combinations in the Word Styles Pane

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Cleaning up a cluttered Styles pane and managing paragraph styles efficiently in a document.
Observed behavior: The Styles pane displays unexpected combo entries like 'Body Text Indent + Before: 0 pt' resulting from base styles mixing with direct formatting.

Before you start

Before you begin, open your document and ensure you understand that these entries are not actually new styles, but rather visual indicators of direct formatting (like manually changed indents) applied on top of your base styles.

Solution 1Recommended

Hide Formatting Combinations via Styles Options

Adjust the Styles pane settings to stop displaying direct formatting combinations as individual style entries.

These formatting entries appear when direct formatting is applied over a base style. By modifying the Styles pane options, you can hide them without altering the actual formatting of your document text.

Open the Styles Pane

Press the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S to open the Styles pane on the right side of your Microsoft Word window.

Access Style Options

Click the 'Options...' button located at the bottom right corner of the Styles pane.

Clear Formatting Options

In the Style Pane Options dialog box, locate the section labeled 'Select formatting to show as styles'. Clear all the checkboxes in this section.

Apply to Template

Choose the option 'New documents based on this template' at the bottom of the dialog box to ensure this setting persists for future documents.

Save Changes

Click 'OK'. If Microsoft Word prompts you to save the template when you close the application, select 'Save' to retain these changes.

Hide Formatting Combinations via Styles Options

Template Saved: Saving the template ensures your Styles pane remains clean and uncluttered every time you create a new document.

Solution 2

Use Adjust List Indents for Bulleted Lists

Instead of applying direct indent formatting that creates messy style combinations, use the built-in Adjust List Indents feature.

Solution 3

Link Paragraph Styles to Multilevel Lists

A better long-term solution for document stability is to use dedicated paragraph styles consistently, linking one style for each numbering level.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Are these formatting combinations actually new styles in my document?

No. These entries are usually a base style combined with direct formatting (such as manually changing a font size or paragraph indent). They are visual indicators, not newly created styles stored in your template.

Should I keep the 'Bullet and numbering formatting' option checked?

This option can be useful in documents heavily reliant on multilevel lists because it easily displays which list level is currently applied. However, a better long-term practice is to consistently link your paragraph styles directly to your multilevel lists.

Will clearing the formatting checkboxes remove the direct formatting from my document text?

No, clearing the 'Select formatting to show as styles' options only hides these combinations from appearing in your Styles pane. It does not delete or alter the actual formatting you have applied to the text within your document.

How can I prevent these combination styles from generating in the future?

To prevent them, avoid applying direct manual formatting to text. Instead, create, modify, and apply dedicated paragraph and character styles for all formatting changes.

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