Using the Paintbrush (Format Painter) in Microsoft Office

A lot of people have never noticed the little paintbrush icon that can be seen on a toolbar in both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. It's the little icon shown in the image at right. 

Microsoft calls it the Format Painter and it is a fabulous, handy tool for quickly duplicating styles and formatting of text.

In Office 2007 and later versions, the Format Painter resides on the Clipboard section (far left) of the Home tab of the ribbon. In Office 2000 or below, it is located on one of the standard toolbars.

The Format Painter allows you to copy the font style, size, and color from one part of the document and apply it to one or more other words, paragraphs, and more. It is a great productivity tool!

Let's learn how to use the Format Painter for duplicating one instance or multiple instances.

Using the Format Painter to Make One Duplicate

1. Highlight a portion of the paragraph that has already been formatted
2. Click the Paintbrush icon once
3. Carefully highlight the new text you want styled like the original, and then release the mouse key

Presto! It is formatted exactly like the first paragraph.

Using the Format Painter for Multiple Duplication

1. Highlight a portion of the paragraph that has already been formatted and whose formatting you want to duplicate elsewhere in the document.
2. Double-click the Paintbrush icon.
3. Proceed to an area of text you wish to format like the original. Very carefully highlight that text. Then release the mouse button and the text will be formatted. Notice that the Format Painter icon stays activated.
4. Proceed to the next paragraph, word, or section of text you wish to format and repeat. Keep carefully highlighting and formatting text until finished.
5. When completely finished, click the Format Painter icon once to deactivate it. It should no longer be highlighted.

Why do we emphasize "very carefully"? You may have noticed that sometimes Microsoft Word can be touchy when highlighting and jump around a bit. If you accidently highlight the wrong text, immediately Undo the action. You can undo the action by clicking the left-facing circular arrow up on the top toolbar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Z - meaning hold the Ctrl key while pressing the "z" key.

Learn how to use the Format Painter and let it increase your productivity!