Tip #25 [Word, Excel]: Undo and clear formatting styles

what do these icons mean?

While working in Office, some people might
get a bit too colourful or creative...

You just changed every single word in your Word document to a different font and size. Or you made a rainbow table in Excel while typing in your daily accounts. Now how do you reset your entire document, or spreadsheet, or part of either one, to the original font, size, style, color and everything?

In Word and Excel, there is a Clear Formatting tool which can turn everything back to boring, black-and-white, standard size 12 or 10, Times New Roman (in Word) or Arial (in Excel) or Calibri. Using the tool is a piece-of-cake: just select the text or cell(s) which you want to clear away all formatting, then click on the Clear Formatting icon or option in the menus.

Where can you find the Clear Formatting tool in Word and Excel?

Left: Clear Formatting icon in Word 2007
Right: Clear Formats option in Excel 2007

Office 2007:

• In Word 2007, the Clear Formatting tool is located in the Home tab of the Ribbon, under the Font section. It is next to the Shrink Font tool, and the icon has Aa with a white eraser next to it.
• In Excel 2007, Clear Formatting is also in the Home tab of the Ribbon, however it is under the Editing section on the far right. Click on Clear (which has an eraser icon), then Clear Formats (eraser icon with % symbol).

Left: Clear Formatting in the Styles list in Word 2003
Right: Clear Formats menu option in Excel 2003

Office 2003:

• The Clear Formatting icon hasn't been invented in Office 2003 yet. In Word 2003, click on the styles drop-down list (it usually shows Normal or Heading 1) on the far-left of the Formatting toolbar, then choose Clear Formatting.
• In Excel 2003, you would need to click on the menu Edit > Clear > Formats.

Clear Formatting in Word for Mac 2008

Office 2008 for Mac:

• Similar to Office 2003, in Word 2008, expand the Styles group in the Formatting Palette, then choose Clear Formatting.
• In Excel 2008, just like in Office 2003 too, click on the menu Edit > Clear > Formats.

Now, doesn't everything look nice and clean?