Set Microsoft Word’s Default Font

Businesses, regardless of the industry they operate in, usually produce documents on a regular basis. How these are presented will tend to vary, with some being printed, put on the Web, or simply left on hard drives and accessed electronically. Whatever you do, in terms of presentation and readability, the font you use can make a huge impact. It is therefore a good idea to pick a default font based on what medium you plan to use the most. If you have Microsoft Office 365 and Word, this can be done quickly and easily.

Below are steps highlighting how you can change the default font for Word 2010 and 2013, along with a few suggested fonts for different types of documents produced.

How to set the default font in Word 2010 and 2013

1. Open a new Word document.
2. Press Ctrl+D to open the font selection window. You can also open this by looking at the Font group in the Home ribbon and clicking on the button beside Font that is a right-angle line with an arrow pointing down and to the right.
3. Under the text box, set the font you would like to use, along with size, and style. Note: If you use more than one language, one of which isn’t based on Latin script, pick the Latin Script box to apply the format to.
4. Press Default, followed by Yes when it asks you if you would like to set this to all NEW documents based on the Normal template. This will apply the formatting to all new documents created when you open a new Word document without picking a template.

The biggest reason setting this default is recommended, is when you create a large number of the same types of document, e.g., blog articles, and want to ensure there is uniformity. When looking to pick a font, you want to choose one that will be easily legible in the medium readers are more than likely to see your content on e.g., on paper or a website. Here are four of the most common font types and what they are best used for.

1. Serif – Fonts that have hooks on the end of letters. These hooks usually become indistinguishable on most monitors and are therefore normally used in printed material, or material printed from a website. Three common Serif fonts are: Times New Roman, Georgia and Garamond.
2. Sans Serif – Fonts that don’t have hooks on the end of letters. The lack of hooks makes the font look cleaner and much easier to read online. Three common Sans Serif fonts are: Arial, Helvetica and Verdana.
3. Cursive – Fonts that are generally more fancy than both the Serifs and usually modeled after styles of cursive or flowing writing. These fonts are usually spaced closely together and are hard to read in most printed material (at smaller sizes) and online. It is best to use these only for printed material, as headlines with larger font sizes. Three common Cursive fonts are: Comic Sans MS, Lucida Handwriting and Monotype Corsiva.
4. Monospace – Fonts that have letters that are evenly spaced, so that all letters take up the same amount of space. These fonts are best for coding e.g., HTML because they are easy to read, and closely resemble typewriter fonts. Three common Monospace fonts are: Courier, New Courier and Monaco.

To sum up: If you are printing material, or it will be printed, use a Serif font. If words are to be presented online, or stored in Word (not printed), use Sans Serif, and for HTML or other code, use Monospace. Most Cursive fonts should generally be avoided in business communication, reserved instead for marketing materials such as posters, flyers, and leaflets.

There’s more to Word that you might know. If you would like to learn more about Word, or any of the other programs in Office 365, please contact us today to see how we can help.