Goodwill and Intangible Assets (Goodwill balance by business segment) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014 Acquisition	Dec. 31, 2013 Acquisition	Dec. 31, 2012 Acquisition
Goodwill Information
Goodwill acquired during the period which is deductible for tax purposes	$ 0
Increase (decrease) in goodwill related to preliminary allocation of purchase price for prior acquisitions		10,000,000
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	7,345,000,000	7,385,000,000
Acquisition activity	65,000,000	10,000,000
Translation and other	(360,000,000)	(50,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	7,050,000,000	7,345,000,000	7,385,000,000
Number of business combinations completed	1	0	3
Amount of Goodwill impairment	0	0
Industrial
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	2,166,000,000	2,174,000,000
Acquisition activity	0	10,000,000
Translation and other	(129,000,000)	(18,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	2,037,000,000	2,166,000,000
Safety and Graphics
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	1,740,000,000	1,751,000,000
Acquisition activity	0	0
Translation and other	(90,000,000)	(11,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	1,650,000,000	1,740,000,000
Electronics and Energy
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	1,612,000,000	1,622,000,000
Acquisition activity	0	0
Translation and other	(53,000,000)	(10,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	1,559,000,000	1,612,000,000
Health Care
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	1,596,000,000	1,598,000,000
Acquisition activity	65,000,000	0
Translation and other	(72,000,000)	(2,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	1,589,000,000	1,596,000,000
Consumer
Goodwill
Balance at the beginning of the period	231,000,000	240,000,000
Acquisition activity	0	0
Translation and other	(16,000,000)	(9,000,000)
Balance at the end of the period	$ 215,000,000	$ 231,000,000