diff --git a/OpenXLSX/sources/XLStyles.cpp b/OpenXLSX/sources/XLStyles.cpp
index f546c38..1220461 100644
--- a/OpenXLSX/sources/XLStyles.cpp
+++ b/OpenXLSX/sources/XLStyles.cpp
@@ -701,31 +701,16 @@ XLColor XLFont::fontColor() const
 /**
  * @details getter functions: return the font's bold, italic, underline, strikethrough status
  */
-bool                    XLFont::bold()          const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "b",         "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
-bool                    XLFont::italic()        const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "i",         "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
-bool                    XLFont::strikethrough() const {
-    if (m_fontNode->empty()) return false;
-    XMLNode strikeNode = m_fontNode->child("strike");
-    if( strikeNode.empty() )  // no strike node: return false
-        return false;
-
-    // if execution gets here: strike node is not empty
-    XMLAttribute valAttr = strikeNode.attribute("val");
-    if( valAttr.empty() ) {     // if no val attribute exists: default to true as per specification
-        appendAndSetAttribute(strikeNode, "val", "true" );  // explicitly create & set attribute
-        return true;
-    }
-
-    // if execution gets here: attribute val exists
-    return valAttr.as_bool(); // return attribute value
-}
+bool                    XLFont::bold()          const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "b",        "val"); }
+bool                    XLFont::italic()        const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "i",        "val"); }
+bool                    XLFont::strikethrough() const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "strike",   "val"); }
 XLUnderlineStyle        XLFont::underline()     const { return XLUnderlineStyleFromString       (appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "u",         "val", ""     ).value()  ); }
 XLFontSchemeStyle       XLFont::scheme()        const { return XLFontSchemeStyleFromString      (appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "scheme",    "val", ""     ).value()  ); }
 XLVerticalAlignRunStyle XLFont::vertAlign()     const { return XLVerticalAlignRunStyleFromString(appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "vertAlign", "val", ""     ).value()  ); }
-bool                    XLFont::outline()       const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "outline",   "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
-bool                    XLFont::shadow()        const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "shadow",    "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
-bool                    XLFont::condense()      const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "condense",  "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
-bool                    XLFont::extend()        const { return                                   appendAndGetNodeAttribute(*m_fontNode, "extend",    "val", "false").as_bool() ; }
+bool                    XLFont::outline()       const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "outline",  "val"); }
+bool                    XLFont::shadow()        const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "shadow",   "val"); }
+bool                    XLFont::condense()      const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "condense", "val"); }
+bool                    XLFont::extend()        const { return getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue(*m_fontNode, "extend",   "val"); }
 
 /**
  * @details Setter functions
diff --git a/OpenXLSX/sources/utilities/XLUtilities.hpp b/OpenXLSX/sources/utilities/XLUtilities.hpp
index 66321ed..8c4a134 100644
--- a/OpenXLSX/sources/utilities/XLUtilities.hpp
+++ b/OpenXLSX/sources/utilities/XLUtilities.hpp
@@ -450,6 +450,30 @@ namespace OpenXLSX
         if (removeAttributes) node.remove_attributes();
         return appendAndSetAttribute(node, attrName, attrVal);
     }
+
+    /**
+     * @brief special bool attribute getter function for tags that should have a val="true" or val="false" attribute,
+     *       but when omitted shall default to "true"
+     * @param parent node under which tagName shall be found
+     * @param tagName name of the boolean tag to evaluate
+     * @param attrName (default: "val") name of boolean attribute that shall default to true
+     * @returns true if parent & tagName exist, and attribute with attrName is either omitted or as_bool() returns true. Otherwise return false
+     * @note this will create and explicitly set attrName if omitted
+     */
+    inline bool getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue( XMLNode & parent, std::string const & tagName, std::string const & attrName = "val" )
+    {
+        if (parent.empty()) return false;     // can't do anything
+        XMLNode tagNode = parent.child(tagName.c_str());
+        if( tagNode.empty() ) return false;   // if tag does not exist: return false
+        XMLAttribute valAttr = tagNode.attribute(attrName.c_str());
+        if( valAttr.empty() ) {               // if no attribute with attrName exists: default to true
+            appendAndSetAttribute(tagNode, attrName, "true" ); // explicitly create & set attribute
+            return true;
+        }
+        // if execution gets here: attribute with attrName exists
+        return valAttr.as_bool(); // return attribute value
+    }
+
 }    // namespace OpenXLSX
 
 #endif    // OPENXLSX_XLUTILITIES_HPP
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 97e4cf0..93906fb 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -7,6 +7,10 @@ Microsoft Excel® files, with the .xlsx format.
 
 As the heading says - the latest "Release" that is shown on https://github.com/troldal/OpenXLSX/releases is from 2021-11-06, and severely outdated - please pull / download the latest SW version directly from the repository in its current state. Link for those that do not want to use ```git```: https://github.com/troldal/OpenXLSX/archive/refs/heads/master.zip
 
+## (aral-matrix) 23 March 2025 - XLStyles: get bool settings when omitted attribute shall default to true - addresses #347
+* added function ```getBoolAttributeWhenOmittedMeansTrue``` to ```XLUtilities```
+* ```XLStyles``` ```XLFont```: changed bool getter functions to return ```true``` when tag exists, but attribute ```val``` is omitted, to be in line with OOXML spec. This addresses https://github.com/troldal/OpenXLSX/issues/347. Affected getters: ```bold()```, ```italic()```, ```strikethrough()```, ```outline()```, ```shadow()```, ```condense()```, ```extend()```
+
 ## (aral-matrix) 16 March 2025 - XLSheet::findCell added to address #333, setting an XLFormula to an empty string now deletes the formula
 * added function(s) ```XLSheet::findCell``` that allow to try and fetch a cell without creating the row/cell XML (like the non-creating XLCellIterator). This function complements ```XLSheet::cell``` (which always creates the XML cell node and returns a valid object)
 * after using ```findCell```, the returned ```XLCellAssignable::empty()``` method must be checked to ensure success before accessing any cell properties