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. Jay Freedman 208.3K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2015-09-20T00:54:07+00:00

    It's possible that, even though you clicked the Set as Default button on the Design tab and selected the "New documents based on this template" option in the Manage Styles dialog, Word didn't save your selections in the Normal.dotm template.

    One way to check on this is to go to the Templates folder (in Windows Explorer, type %appdata%\Microsoft\Templates in the address box and press Enter) and look at the Modified date/time of the Normal.dotm file. Is the the same as (or later than) the most recent time when you tried to change the default font? If not, then your selections weren't saved.

    If that's the case, right-click the Normal.dotm file and click Open (not the default command of New). That will open the template itself in Word instead of creating a new blank document based on the template. Try again to set the default font according to the instructions. Before closing Word, type a single space character in the body of the template and then backspace to delete it. That will force Word to save the file.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-01-21T16:13:56+00:00

    Thank you! I consider myself quite knowledgeable about Word and Styles, but was going crazy. I had already set my default font to TNR 12 (not using this method, I might point out) and that worked except for tables, which would always come in at TNR11. 

    I have changed styles, deleted styles, cleared styles, and created styles to try to resolve this issue. Nothing worked. I'm so happy to have found this, as it gives me a new tool to make Word behave itself.

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  3. Charles Kenyon 170.9K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator
    2016-01-21T17:41:42+00:00

    Charles,

    Thanks for the quick response.

    I opened the from Windows, with Word closed.  I DID figure a work-around:  I saved a file as template from within Word, then when I reopen Word 2013, I now choose "Personal" and my template is there.

    This, however, hasn't solved the macro problem.

    PS--Thanks for the advice about using an old thread. I posted a new one this morning.

    David

    A very late response; sorry.

    To open the normal template you must use the vba set forth in Normal Template in Microsoft Word - How to Find or Open the Normal Template  or locate the file and either use File > Open from within Word or right-click on it and select the Open command. Double-clicking on a template creates a new document based on the template, it does not open the template. Templates in Microsoft Word  This is normally one of the advantages of the template format.

    I hope you found the answer in your new thread.

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  4. Anonymous
    2016-02-01T17:36:59+00:00

    I have tried the simple approach by going to the Font change dialogue.  It does not work on my  Word 2013  in Windows 7 Home Premium.

    Fred

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