In Microsoft Word, direct formatting is great when used conservatively, but removing it in a document littered with it is difficult. These Word tips might help.

A correctly formatted document will have a much bigger impact than one with inconsistencies. Let's review how to clear formatting in Word.

If you cannot remove highlights or shading from a Word document, you can first use the Clear All Formatting option. It will clear all the formatting done to the selected text including highlights.

Microsoft Word supports section breaks, so you can easily change document level formatting from one group of pages to another. Learn how to use section breaks with our quick step-by-step guide.

You can even use multiple search criteria here. Using this method, you can find and replace ugly headings, fonts, or just remove very simple formatting like all italics (like in the example).