To clear formatting in Word, select the text and select Clear All Formatting on the Home tab: the big A with a small pink eraser. It resets fonts, sizes, colours and styles in one click. Two things survive it, highlighting and capital letters, so this guide fixes those too. To copy formatting instead, see how to use Format Painter in Word.
In this guide, you’ll learn how to clear formatting in Word from a phrase, a paragraph or the whole document, then remove leftover highlighting and restore proper capital letters.
What Clear All Formatting Removes
Clear All Formatting takes text back to the default style, removing:
- Font, font size and font colour changes
- Bold, italic, underline and strikethrough
- Styles such as headings and quotes
- Text effects such as shadows and glows
It does not remove text highlighting or change letters typed in capitals. Steps 2 and 3 handle those.
Watch the Video Tutorial
If you prefer to see this in action, the full video walkthrough is below, showing each method step by step.
How to Clear Formatting in Word
Step 1: Use Clear All Formatting
- Select the text you want to reset. Press Ctrl + A to select the whole document.
- On the Home tab, select Clear All Formatting in the Font group.
👉 Most of the formatting disappears straight away. Highlighting and capital letters stay, so Steps 2 and 3 remove them.
Step 2: Remove Leftover Highlighting
- Keep the text selected, select the arrow next to Text Highlight Color and choose No Color.
👉 The highlighting is gone. For more on highlights, see how to highlight text in Word.
Step 3: Fix Capital Letters With Change Case
Text typed in capitals stays in capitals. Change Case fixes it in two clicks:
- Select the text again and select Change Case (Aa) in the Font group.
- Choose lowercase.
- Select Change Case again and choose Sentence case.
👉 Each sentence now starts with a capital letter after every full stop. Check names and places, then apply the formatting you want, such as justified text and your own spacing. For every case option, see how to change text case in Word.
Keyboard Shortcuts to Clear Formatting
Character Formatting
Press Ctrl + Space to remove font changes such as bold, italic and colour from the selection.
Paragraph Formatting
Press Ctrl + Q to remove indents, spacing and alignment changes.
Normal Style
Press Ctrl + Shift + N to apply the Normal style.
Paste as Plain Text
Right-click and choose Keep Text Only to paste without any formatting.
Common Problems
The Highlight Is Still There
Clear All Formatting does not remove highlighting. Use Text Highlight Color > No Color.
The Text Is Still in Capitals
The letters were typed as capitals. Use Change Case > lowercase, then Sentence case.
The Background Colour Remains
Paragraph shading is set in Borders and Shading. Set the fill to No Color, as shown in how to add background colour to a line in Word.
FAQs
How do I clear formatting in Word?
Select the text and select Clear All Formatting, the A with an eraser, on the Home tab. Press Ctrl + A first to clear formatting from the whole document.
What is the shortcut to clear formatting in Word?
Press Ctrl + Space to clear character formatting and Ctrl + Q to clear paragraph formatting from the selected text.
Why does Clear All Formatting not remove highlighting?
Highlighting is treated separately from font formatting. Select the text, open Text Highlight Color and choose No Color.
How do I remove capital letters after clearing formatting?
Use Change Case on the Home tab. Choose lowercase, then Sentence case to put capitals back at the start of each sentence.
How do I paste text without formatting in Word?
Right-click where you want the text and choose Keep Text Only under Paste Options, or press Ctrl + Shift + V.
Does clearing formatting delete my text?
No. Clear All Formatting only changes how the text looks. The words stay exactly as they are.
Conclusion
To clear formatting in Word, select the text, use Clear All Formatting, remove leftover highlighting with No Color and fix capital letters with Change Case. Microsoft covers the button in its guide to clearing all text formatting.
With a clean slate, set up the look you want with how to change the font in Word.
Related Tutorials
- How to Use Format Painter in Word
- How to Change Text Case in Word
- How to Remove Formatting Marks in Word
Word Tutorials
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For Microsoft support documentation, visit the official Microsoft guidance.
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