WRITER - How to apply a custom style?

Per title. I made a new style but cant figure out how to apply, it’s in the styles list but right clicking on it wont apply it to the selected text and it is not shown in the top left list.

Also, when i double click the style with left click, it applies it to the whole damn paragraph not what is selected???

Also, when i double click the style with left click, it applies it to the whole damn paragraph not what is selected

This is intended behavior if you define a paragraph style. If you want to apply to a part of a text only (i.e,. to the selected text), you need to create a character style (second icon beneath word Styles in styles manager).

How do you make it so the style just applies to the text you have highlighted and how do you make that style appear in the top left list?

There are two ways to apply a paragraph style:

  • select it from the style drop-down menu list at left in the toolbar
  • double-click on its name in the style sidepane

As the name implies, a paragraph style will be applied to the whole paragraph in which the cursor is (or the paragraphs over which the selection extends).

In case, you want a style applied only to a selection, you must create a character style. Character styles are not listed in the paragraph style drop-down menu in the toolbar (well a character style is not a paragraph style). Character styles are listed in the style sidepane after clicking on the second icon from the left in the pane toolbar. You apply them with a double-click on the name.

Read the Writer Guide about the various style categories.

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WTH dude, why is this stuff so complicated? Why do they make things deliberately complex and hard to use, surely if I click a style it should just apply that to whatever is highlighted and not have a bunch of secret settings that over complicate everything other than actually typing and watching the letters appear. Holy heck no wonder most people use MS Word…

How do you make it so the style just applies to the text you have highlighted and how do you make that style appear in the top left list?

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M$ Word has a very simplistic style system: paragraph style, full stop. LO Writer offers a much more powerful concept with paragraph, character, frame, page and list styles. These allow a much more elaborate control on formatting and partly bridges the gap between document processing and desktop publishing. Of course, it comes with a little constraint of the procedure.

The “top left list” contains only paragraph styles. The other categories are accessed through the style sidepane. Considering the variety of situations, you should work with the style pane always visible.

Last, single-click is used to select a style before processing it (e.g. modifying it, deleting it, renaming it, …). Double-click is another function: apply a style and go to the selection in text.

There is no “secret”: everything is explicitly described in the freely downloadable Writer Guide.

There are also other descriptions:


[Style templates in_Writer](https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Style_templates_in_Writer_-_V6)
[Character Styles in Writer](https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Character_Templates_in_Writer)