Bev and Jerry -

The conflict you're having here is that in WP you have to fix the code in order to get what you want. In Word, you don't need to go to any code, you just fix the document to get what you want.

In Word, when you select some text, the font name is displayed for you in a small window on the tool bar. If you have not selected anything, the font to be used at the current cursor position is displayed in the window. The font size is also displayed. If the font is Bold, the "Bold-switch" button is highlighted. If the font is Italic, the "Italic-switch" button is highlighted.

Essentially, for all the common character formats, the "code" is always displayed. It's just displayed on the tool bar instead of in "code" in the document that you have to turn on and off.

If you want character formatting that's something more exotic, you select the text you want it to apply to, and click "Format, Font" and the "code" is displayed in an input window where you can select (1) the font name, (2) whether you want "regular, italic, bold, or bold italic" (3) whether you want underline, and if you do, what underline style you want - usually 16 kinds available, (4) and any of 11 additional "effects" including strikethrough, double strike, superscript, subscript, shadow, outline, emboss, engrave, small caps, all caps, or hidden. In later versions of Word, the format window will show you a sample of text so you can see what it will look like with the "changes" you choose - before you "ok" and close the window.

In the same toolbar where the "code" (i.e. the plaintext name) for the font is always displayed, you also have a separate box that displays the paragraph style in use. Probably many people have never seen anything but "Normal" in this box, but if you choose to define "Paragraph Styles" you can create any style you want, usually in language like "Based on Normal, font Arial, 14 point, All Caps, Indent 0.5, Margin 1.2, 6 point before, 12 point after ..." and you can apply all of this to any paragraph simply by clicking on the "Style" box and choosing a paragraph style from the dropdown list. You don't need codes or have to remember how to "spell" a style description. You just open a "create style" window, and apply the formatting you want once, give the style a name, and then "select it" from the style box to apply it when you want it.

In Word, you don't write a code to change a format. You simply "format" the text you want changed. In WP, a common cause of "code break" is editing with codes not revealed. You accidentally delete a "start" or "end" tag, and the "code" is broken. In Word, you can get a similar effect if you delete the carriage return that separates text of two different styles, but the essential "code" is always displayed, as the font, size, and style in the toolbar. You just put it back to what you want.

(For those Word users who haven't figured it out, the "format" moves with the cursor. If you are in paragraph 1, and delete the end of paragraph marker, the format of paragraph 1 "carries with the cursor" into what was paragraph 2. You've added par 2 to par 1, with par 1 format. If you're in paragraph 2 and backspace over the preceding paragraph marker, the format of paragraph 2 "goes with the cursor into the original paragraph 1. You've added par 1 to par 2, with par 2 format.)

In Word, the essential "codes" are always displayed on the toolbar. They're just in plain text, in the form of descriptions of the formats in use.

John