How to Copy Formatting in Word with Format Painter

To copy the appearance of text or a paragraph in Word without replacing its content, use Home → Format Painter. You can apply font, size, color, and paragraph formatting from one selection to another.

This guide covers the desktop version of Word for Windows. Menu names and positions can differ between versions.

Apply formatting with Format Painter

1. Select the text with the formatting you want. Select part of a paragraph for character formatting; include the paragraph mark when you want paragraph formatting as well.
2. Choose Home → Clipboard → Format Painter, the paintbrush icon. It may also appear on the mini toolbar opened by right-clicking.
3. Drag across the text or paragraph that should receive the formatting. Its content stays in place while the selected formatting changes.

To apply the same formatting to several selections, double-click Format Painter. Press Esc when finished. If you format the wrong range, press Ctrl+Z and select the intended text again.

Check the shortcut for your Word version

Current Microsoft Format Painter instructions describe Ctrl+Alt+C to copy formatting and Ctrl+Alt+V to apply it. In current Word, Ctrl+Shift+V pastes text only, so it should not be confused with pasting formatting.

Older versions and customized keyboards may use different shortcuts. If a key does something unexpected, try the ribbon command first. You can check assignments under File → Options → Customize Ribbon → Keyboard shortcuts: Customize.

Choose between Format Painter and styles

Format Painter is convenient for matching a few parts of a short document. For repeated heading or body-text formatting that you will later change together, use styles such as Heading 1 and Heading 2. Format Painter does not keep every previously formatted selection synchronized after you change the original.