How do I set a style to be 'Heading' in Word 2013?

Question

I have created my own custom heading style in Word and want it to appear under `Headings` in the Navigation pane. How can I do this?

Answer 1

To make your custom style appear under Headings in the Navigation pane in Word 2013, you need to link it to one of Word’s built-in heading levels.

Here’s how to do it:

✅ Steps to Link Your Custom Style to a Heading Level

1. Open the Styles Pane
2. Press Ctrl + Alt + Shift + S or go to Home > Styles and click the small diagonal arrow in the corner.
3. Modify Your Custom Style
4. Find your custom style in the list.
5. Click the drop-down arrow next to it and choose Modify.
6. Set the Style Type
7. In the Modify Style dialog:
8. Click Format > Paragraph (bottom-left corner).
9. Under Outline level, choose Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 depending on where you want it to appear in the Navigation pane.
10. Apply the Style to Your Headings
11. Select your heading text and apply your custom style.
12. Open the Navigation pane (View > Navigation Pane) — your headings should now appear.

🔍 Why This Works

Word’s Navigation pane only shows styles with an Outline Level of 1–9. By default, built-in styles like Heading 1 are set to Level 1. Linking your custom style to an outline level tells Word to treat it like a heading.