This tutorial shows how to restrict style changes in Microsoft Word.
My last software tutorial explained how to restrict Track Changes and comments in Word. Today, we will restrict style changes in Word.
Style includes things such as font, font size, font color, emphasis (i.e., italics, bold font, underlining), line spacing, and indentation.
We’ll also look at how to turn off style restrictions when they are no longer needed.
Reader Alert: This tutorial is for general knowledge only. The Microsoft Word protection features shown here should not be relied on to protect sensitive or classified documents.
This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.
Watch more than fifty other videos about Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat on my YouTube channel.
The images below are from Word for Office 365, which is currently the same as Word 2019. However, the steps are the same in Word 2016 and similar for Word 2013 and Word 2010.
How to Turn On Style Restrictions
- Select the File tab in the ribbon.
- Select the Info tab in the Backstage view.
- Select the Protect Document button.
- Select Restrict Editing in the drop-down menu.
- Check Limit formatting to a selection of styles in the Restrict Editing task pane.
- Select the Settings link.
- Check Limit formatting to a selection of styles in the Formatting Restrictions dialog box.
- Check or uncheck the individual styles you want to allow from the Formatting Restrictions dialog box. Or, select one of the preset option buttons:
All checks every style option currently allowed in the document.
Recommended Minimum checks common style options currently allowed in the document but unchecks less common styles such as table and list formatting.
None unchecks all style options. Select this option if you want to prevent other Word users from making any style change.
- Check or uncheck the three optional formatting choices:
Allow AutoFormat to override formatting restrictions lets AutoFormat supersede the options selected in the Formatting Restrictions dialog box. Unless you are using AutoFormat (which is not common), strongly consider unchecking this option.
Block Theme or Scheme switching prevents other users from changing the document to a different theme in the Design tab or to a separate scheme (such as a color scheme, which is not common).
Block Quick Style Set switching prevents other users from using the style options on the Home tab.
- Select the OK button.
- Select Yes or No in the dialog box asking if you want to remove existing styles that aren’t allowed by the restrictions you just set in the Formatting Restrictions dialog box. Select No if you want to keep the current formatting in your document.
- Select the Yes, Start Enforcing Protection button.
- Enter and reenter a password in the Start Enforcing Protection dialog box.
- Select the OK button.
Word allows you to turn on your restrictions without a password by selecting OK in the Start Enforcing Protection dialog box. However, without a password, other users can simply turn off the restrictions themselves.
How to Turn Off Style Restrictions
The following steps show how to turn off style restrictions using the password entered in the previous section. Note that this process won’t turn off the style restrictions for password-protected copies of files you have shared with other users.
- Select the File tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
- Select the Info tab in the Backstage view (see figure 2).
- Select the Protect Document button.
- Select Restrict Editing in the drop-down menu (see figure 4).
- Select the Stop Protection button in the Restrict Editing task pane.
- Enter your password in the Unprotect Document dialog box.
- Select the OK button.
Further Reading
How to Find and Replace Formatting in Microsoft Word
How to Stop Microsoft Word from Calling You “Author” in Track Changes
How to Remove User Names from Existing Track Changes in Microsoft Word
Is this restriction method also relevant for templates?
Hi, Esther. Thank you for stopping by! I believe this method only works for regular documents, not files saved as templates and then used on other documents. However, you may want to give it a try on a test template to find out for sure. Best of luck!
Thanks Erin. I have a problem while restricting styles formatting in Word 365: I create a style based on character so that users can directly format words/paragraphs with bold, italic, underline and the like. Then, in Review panel, I click on ‘Limit formatting to a selection of styles’, choose that character-based style, unclick on any choice underneath (allow autoformat to override, block theme, block quick style switching). Then, I enforce protection with password. Unfortunately, I can’t change minor direct formatting like changing words to bold or underline.
Could you please give any advice?
Thank you very much in advance.
Hello, thank you for reading my post! Have you tried removing those basic formatting options from your style? If you remove them from your style, they should (hopefully) be available when you uncheck the “Block Quick Style Set Switching” option.
Hi Erin,
I have the same query as above. I have a template with custom styles. I put restrictions to recommended elements (no restriction to Normal style for example), but when enforced protection Word removes access to basic formatting tools. My boss wants access to font formatting tools such as bold and italicising. I’m beginning to think that it is not possible to do that if we set formatting restrictions. Is that the case? I would greatly appreciate if you know another way on how to do this. Thanks.
Hello, Jen. Thank you for stopping by my blog. If your boss wants to continue to use bold and italics, ensure that Strong and Emphasis are checked in the Formatting Restrictions dialog box (step 8, above). Then, you can choose them from the Styles group in the ribbon rather than the Font group. One quick tip: You might not see Strong or Emphasis in the Formatting Restrictions dialog box if they have not already been used in the document, so you might have to use them somewhere in the document before setting the restrictions. I hope that helps!
~Erin