Update a paragraph style or remove overrides

A paragraph style gets an override when you change the appearance of text (by changing its color or size, for example) that has that paragraph style applied to it. An override is indicated by an asterisk (*), or an asterisk and an Update button, next to the style name in the Paragraph Styles pop-up menu. To deal with an override, you can do one of the following:

Note:  For information on updating list styles, see Format lists.

Update a paragraph style

When you update a paragraph style, all text in the document that uses that style is also updated.

  1. Click anywhere in the text with the override.

  2. In the sidebar on the right, do one of the following:

    • If there’s an Update button: Click Update.

    • If there’s only an asterisk: Click the style name, then move the pointer over the style name in the Paragraph Styles pop-up menu. Click the arrow that appears, then choose Update Style.

    If the text is in a text box, table, or shape, first click the Text tab at the top of the sidebar to see paragraph styles.

    Paragraph Styles pop-up menu with a submenu of options for Redefine from Selection, Clear Override, Rename Style, Delete Style, and Shortcut

Revert style changes

If you don’t want to keep changes you made to text, you can revert the text to its original paragraph style (remove the overrides).

  1. Click the paragraph with the override, or select all of the paragraphs with the override.

  2. Click the Paragraph Styles pop-up menu at the top of the sidebar on the right.

    If the text is in a text box, table, or shape, first click the Text tab at the top of the sidebar to see paragraph styles.

  3. In the Paragraph Styles pop-up menu, click the style name (it has a gray checkmark to indicate an override).

    The override is cleared, the text reverts to the original style, and the checkmark changes to black.