How do I change the default font in Word 2013?

Anonymous
2013-04-03T20:38:32+00:00

I am using Office 2013 on a Windows 7 platform. When I open Word the font is set to Calibri size 11. I would like the default to be Times Roman size 12. I cannot seem to find this as an option.

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Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
2013-04-03T22:02:00+00:00

In the old days, you would modify the Normal style and click the "New documents based on this template" option in the Modify Style dialog to make it change Normal.dotm. While that still sorta works, it now has some nasty side effects (such as not taking effect in tables). The right way:

  • Open a new blank document.
  • Click the Design tab.
  • Click the Fonts button (near the right end of the Document Formatting group) and click Customize Fonts at the bottom of the gallery.
  • Change the Body Font box to Times New Roman, and optionally change the Heading Font and the Name entries. Click OK
  • Click the Set as Default button (to the right of the Fonts button) and OK the prompt.
  • To change the size, first display the Styles pane (Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S) and click the Manage Styles button (third from left at the bottom).
  • Go to the Set Defaults tab of the dialog. With the "+Body" entry selected in the Font box, select 12 in the Size box. Click the "New documents based on this template" option and click OK.
  • Close Word. If you're prompted to save the Normal template, say yes.

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-04-18T07:12:00+00:00

    Can u include the screen shot(s), please?

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  2. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-03-15T20:28:42+00:00

    A slightly less convoluted way (as described in http://wordfaqs.mvps.org/CustomizeNormalTemplate.htm#Word2013Font ) is this:

    1. Open the Manage Styles dialog using the button in the bottom left corner of the Styles pane (which you can open with Alt+Ctrl+Shift+S or using the dialog launcher in the Styles group on the Home tab).
    2. Select the Set Defaults tab.
    3. Make the desired changes to the font and font size.
    4. Select "New documents based on this template" and click OK.

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-03-15T19:51:59+00:00

    A very convoluted way to set default font, Wow! But this "How to is very helpful!" Thank you!

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  4. Suzanne S Barnhill 279.3K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2016-02-01T17:41:34+00:00

    If it doesn't work (and keep in mind that the change is only for the present and future documents--it has no effect on existing ones), then it could be because the Normal template is not being saved when you quit Word. If so, the problem is usually an interfering add-in, which is an issue to be dealt with, but as a temporary workaround, you can open the Normal template for editing and change the font directly there. I imagine there are instructions for doing that elsewhere in this thread.

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