Style Templates

Each report run must have a Style template. Style templates are used in Accelerus to ensure consistency of look and format of the different components of a printed report for a report run. Style templates should not contain any text. If they do, it will be ignored.

A Style template in Accelerus contains:

•	Word formatting styles.

•	The default page set-up settings for the cycle, including:

•	Paper size

•	Page orientation

•	Page margins, including gutter and mirror margin settings

•	The header and footer settings, including whether there are different odd, even or first page headers and footers; and distance from the page edge

•	Paper source settings

These form the basis of every newly-created template for the cycle, whatever its type.

Word styles define the appearance of various text elements of your Word documents, such as headings, the default body text, etc. You may not even know you have used Word styles – many don’t – but you cannot avoid styles, even if only the Normal style.

The main styles in a document are displayed in the Styles section of the Home ribbon in Word

If you have not used consistent styles in your templates, reports may not print out exactly as expected – the margins or formats may not be right. For example, the Normal style in one template may be set to font Arial but in another to Times New Roman. When the composite report for the student is printed, only one Normal style will be able to print. This is because Microsoft Word does not allow one document, which is what a composite printed report for a student is, to contain different formatting for the same style name.

Note that it is not necessary to change all of the default styles, eg Heading 1, Heading 2, etc, in your report run’s style template. However you should at least make sure that the Normal style contains the correct font and font size that you predominantly want to use in your reports. Most styles, by default, are based on Normal. Therefore, if Normal is changed, all others follow suit.

Also, by default, Word sets the spacing after a paragraph in the Normal style to 8 or 10pts which means there are large gaps between paragraphs. It is suggested this aspect of the Normal style is also changed.

To create a style template:

•	Ensure you have already created a report run and open this in the Prepare Report Run window.

•	Click the Create style template icon at the end of the Style Template field.

SRP Step2

•	A New style template directory window will appear, already positioned in the nominated folder for the report run's templates. In this you either accept the name assigned automatically or enter a different style template name.

•	Click Save and wait a moment while the template is created, at the end of which its name appears in the Style Template field.

Once you have created a style template for your report run, it should be set up with the required styles and settings:

•	Double click the template name in the Style Template field.

•	Click the Open style template in Word icon.

SRP Step2B

•	With your style template now open in Word, go to the Home ribbon and click the Show styles button at the right bottom end of the Styles section. This will display a pane with all of the styles in the template.

Click the arrow at the end of the Styles section of the Home ribbon in Word to display the Syles panel.

•	Modify the Normal style as follows:

➢	In the Styles pane, hover over the Normal style, click its dropdown arrow and select Modify.

Click the down arrow at the end of the Normal style in the Styles panel and select Modify

➢	In the Modify Style window, select the font and font size you want to normally use.

SRP StyleModifyNormal

➢	Click the Format button in the bottom left of the Modify Style window and select Paragraph.

SRP StyleFormatParagraph

➢	In the Paragraph box, in the Spacing section, select the Before and After spacing required – usually 0 – and the Line spacing – usually Single or Multiple 1.1.

SRP StyleParagraphAfter

➢	Click OK in the Paragraph box.

➢	Optionally make any other changes to the Normal style, eg justification, tabs, etc.

➢	Click the OK button to save the changes to the Normal style in the Style template.

•	Make any changes to the page set up, eg orientation, margins, header and footer settings, etc, as you wish the reports in the run to appear.

These settings are best modified through the Page Setup window, activated through the Page Layout ribbon in Word.

SRP PageSetup

•	Save the template and close Word.