
The Format Painter tool is a feature in Microsoft Word that allows users to quickly copy and apply formatting, such as font style, size, and colour, to another section of text or graphics. It is a convenient way to maintain a consistent look throughout a document without having to format each piece of text individually. The tool can be accessed through the Home tab in the ribbon at the top of the screen, where users can select the text with the desired formatting and apply it to another section with a simple click. This saves time and effort, especially when dealing with extensive documents that require uniform formatting.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Copy formatting | Copy formatting from one cell/object to another |
| Copy formatting from | Text, graphics, images, tables |
| Copy formatting to | Text, graphics, images, tables |
| Copy formatting styles | Font size, style, colour, numbered and bulleted lists, spacing, alignment, indentation, shading, borders |
| Available on | Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Access, OneNote, Project Online Desktop Client, Publisher, Visio Plan 2 |
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What You'll Learn

Copying and pasting formatting styles
The Format Painter tool is a handy feature in Microsoft Word that allows users to copy and paste formatting styles throughout a document. It is a time-saving tool that helps maintain a clean and consistent look in a document.
To use the Format Painter tool in Microsoft Word, users should first open the document they want to format and click on the "Home" tab in the upper left corner of the screen. The "Format Painter" button is located in the "Clipboard" group of tools within the home menu ribbon, and it features a paintbrush icon.
To copy formatting, users should select the text or graphic with the desired formatting and click the "Format Painter" button. The cursor will then turn into a paintbrush, allowing users to highlight the text or graphics they want to apply the formatting to. To stop formatting, users can press the Esc key.
The Format Painter tool can be used to copy and paste various formatting styles, including font characteristics such as font size, style, and colour. It can also be used to duplicate paragraph-level formatting options like numbered and bulleted lists, spacing, alignment, indentation, shading, and borders. Additionally, the Format Painter tool can help maintain consistency in images and tables within a document.
For continuous formatting throughout a document, users can double-click the "Format Painter" button to lock it. This allows users to apply the same formatting to multiple sections without repeatedly copying and pasting. Once formatting is complete, clicking the "Format Painter" button again will turn off the feature.
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Copying and applying formatting to multiple sections
The Format Painter tool is a handy feature in Microsoft Word that allows users to copy and apply formatting to multiple sections of a document quickly and easily. It is a powerful tool that saves time and effort by eliminating the need to format each piece of text individually.
To use the Format Painter tool, follow these steps:
- Open the Microsoft Word document and click on the "Home" tab in the upper left corner of the ribbon.
- Locate the "Clipboard" group within the "Home" tab. The Format Painter button is located here and is usually identified by a paintbrush icon.
- Select the text or object with the formatting you want to copy. If you want to copy paragraph-level formatting, ensure you include the paragraph mark (¶) in your selection.
- Click on the Format Painter button. Your cursor will now have a paintbrush icon, indicating that it is active.
- Highlight or select the text or objects in your document where you want to apply the copied formatting.
- To apply the same formatting to multiple sections or lines of text, double-click the Format Painter button to lock it. Then, select the additional text or objects you want to format.
- Once you're done, click the Format Painter button again to turn it off, or press Esc to cancel it before applying the formatting.
The Format Painter tool is versatile and can copy and paste various formatting elements, including font size, style, and colour, and other text effects. It can also handle paragraph-level formatting, such as numbered and bulleted lists, spacing, alignment, indentation, shading, and borders. Additionally, the tool can be used to duplicate the formatting of images and tables, making it a valuable asset for creating consistent and aesthetically pleasing documents.
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Applying formatting to single cells or ranges
The Format Painter tool allows users to quickly apply the same formatting, such as font style, size, and colour, to a single cell or a range of cells. It is a useful feature for those who want to maintain a consistent look throughout their document.
To apply formatting to a single cell or a range of cells, follow these steps:
- Open the Excel or Word document.
- Identify the cell or range of cells that has the formatting you want to copy.
- Click on the "Format Painter" button, usually found in the "Clipboard" group of the "Home" tab in the ribbon at the top of your screen. The cursor will change to a paintbrush.
- Now, click and drag to highlight the single cell or range of cells where you want to apply the formatting.
- If you want to apply the formatting to multiple ranges, double-click on the "Format Painter" button to lock it. Then, you can select multiple cells or ranges without needing to re-click the "Format Painter" button each time.
- Once you are done, click the "Format Painter" button again to turn it off.
The Format Painter tool is a powerful feature that saves time and effort in formatting single cells or ranges. It ensures consistency in your document and simplifies the process of copying and pasting formatting styles.
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Copying and pasting paragraph-level formatting
The Format Painter tool allows users to copy all the formatting, including font style, size, and colour, from one object and apply it to another. This can be done by clicking on the Format Painter button in the Clipboard group, which is found in the Ribbon.
To copy and paste paragraph-level formatting, you must first select an entire paragraph, including the paragraph mark, to copy the text and paragraph formatting. You can then use the brush to paint over a selection of text to apply the formatting. This only works once, so to change the format of multiple selections, you must first double-click on the Format Painter tool.
There are other ways to control the formatting of pasted text. For example, in Microsoft Word, the default setting preserves the original formatting when pasting content into a document. To change this, go to File > Options > Advanced, and under Cut, copy, and paste, select the down arrow to change the setting.
Additionally, the "Paste Special" feature in some programs allows users to retain all formatting from the original text or keep only the text formatting, discarding pictures and other non-text elements.
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Copying and applying formatting to graphics
The Format Painter tool allows users to copy formatting from one object and apply it to another. This can be used to copy formatting to text, shapes, pictures, and graphics.
To copy and apply formatting to graphics, follow these steps:
- Select the graphic that has the formatting you want to copy. This could include formatting such as colour, font style and size, or border style.
- Click on the Format Painter button in the Ribbon, found in the Clipboard group. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Alt+Ctrl+C to copy the format.
- Paint over the graphic or graphics you want to apply the formatting to. If you are formatting multiple graphics, double-click on the Format Painter tool to apply the formatting to more than one object.
- To stop formatting, press Esc.
The Format Painter tool can be used to quickly and easily apply consistent formatting across graphics in your document. It saves time by eliminating the need to manually adjust formatting settings for each individual graphic.
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Frequently asked questions
The Format Painter tool allows users to copy formatting, such as font style, size, and colour, and paste it onto another section of text.
First, select the text or graphic with the formatting you want to copy. Then, click on the Format Painter button (it looks like a paintbrush) in the Clipboard group. Next, select the text or graphic where you want to apply the formatting.
Yes, to apply the same formatting to multiple sections of your document, double-click the Format Painter button to lock it. Then, click on all the sections of text or graphics you want to format.
Yes, simply click on the Format Painter button once and then select the section of text or graphic you want to format.
Yes, you can use Alt+Ctrl+C to copy a format and Alt+Ctrl+V to paste a format.











































