How to Change Fonts, Styles and Zoom in Microsoft Word

To set a default font in Word for Windows, open Home > Font, choose your font and size, select Set As Default, and apply it to All documents based on the Normal template. This changes the starting font for documents using that template.

The steps below cover desktop Word, including Microsoft 365, Word 2024 and Word 2021. Windows and Mac use different controls. Start with a blank document and note your current font and size so you can restore them later.

Set the Default Font in Word for Windows

Use Microsoft’s default-font instructions:

1. Open a blank document and select Home.
2. Open the small dialog launcher at the bottom-right of the Font group, or press Ctrl+D.
3. Choose a font, style and size in the dialog. The same dialog has an Effects section, which is where you apply small caps in Word.
4. Select Set As Default.
5. Select All documents based on the Normal template for future documents. Choose This document only when you want the change confined to this file.
6. Select OK twice to confirm.

Check the result by creating another blank document and typing a short sentence. Inspect the font and size shown on Home. Test ordinary body text rather than a heading.

Set the Default Font in Word for Mac

Microsoft’s template and default-setting guide explains the Mac approach:

1. Open the document, then choose Format > Font from the menu.
2. Select the font and size you want.
3. Select Default and confirm with Yes.
4. Create a new document based on the same template and check its starting font.

A template is the starting pattern for a document. Normal is Word’s usual blank-document template; a resume, letterhead or company template can carry its own formatting. Changing Normal does not replace the settings in every other template.

Use the Styles Method for Default Font and Size

On Windows, Microsoft’s font-size guide also provides a route through Styles:

1. In a blank document, select Home and open the Styles dialog launcher. You can also press Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S.
2. Select Manage Styles, the third button from the left at the bottom of the Styles pane.
3. Open Set Defaults and select your font and size.
4. Select New documents based on this template, then confirm the dialog.
5. Close and reopen Word. If asked to save the Normal template, choose Yes.

Check a fresh document afterward. This method is useful when you are adjusting the document’s starting formatting rather than changing one selected passage.

Understand Which Documents Will Change

Think of the default as a starting choice. A file you already wrote has its own formatting, and a template with a different design can start differently. You can still select another font for a particular document; setting a default does not remove that flexibility.

For example, you might use Arial for new blank documents but open a company letter template that uses another font. That result does not necessarily mean your default failed. Compare two new blank documents before diagnosing a problem with the company template.

For existing text, select the passage and choose the desired font from Home. If you intend to change the whole document, Ctrl+A selects its text on Windows; check the result carefully because headings may need their own formatting.

Choose a Readable Font and Check Sharing

Microsoft’s Word accessibility guidance recommends familiar sans serif fonts such as Arial or Calibri and avoiding excessive italics, underlining and all-capital text. Use clear contrast and a size your intended readers can comfortably read.

If a downloaded font is missing from Word, Microsoft’s font-installation guide explains that Windows fonts must be installed before Word can use them. Use a trusted source, extract a ZIP if necessary, install the font file, and restart Word. On a managed computer, ask IT before installing fonts.

When sharing a document, font availability matters more than another person’s preferred default. Microsoft’s font-embedding guide explains how embedding can help preserve a custom font. In Word for Windows, check File > Options > Save > Embed fonts in the file. Not every font permits embedding, and embedding can increase file size. Send a sample to your recipient and confirm that the layout looks right.

Install a Downloaded Font for Word on Windows

Download a licensed font from a source you trust. If it arrives in a ZIP, extract it first. Right-click the actual .ttf or .otf font file and choose Install; review any administrator prompt. On a managed PC, use the organization’s approved installation process. Installing the font in Windows makes it available to desktop Word, rather than importing the ZIP into the document.

Close and reopen Word, create a test document, and choose the new font from Home > Font. Check the typed result. Installing a font does not make it the default; use the default-font instructions above for that separate choice. Microsoft’s font installation guide documents the supported file types and Windows procedure. Recipients also need access to the font or appropriate permitted embedding.

If Word Keeps Returning to the Old Font

• Check the scope: a current-document option does not establish the starting font for new documents. Repeat the appropriate desktop method and test a new blank file.
• Check the template: a specialized template can keep its own font. Compare a normal blank document with the file that looks different.
• Check permissions: Microsoft identifies a read-only Normal.dotm file or missing write permission as possible causes. If you cannot save template changes, ask your administrator to check access.
• Consider add-ins: Microsoft also notes that add-ins can reset font settings. On a work computer, ask IT to investigate rather than disabling required company tools.

Keep a copy of customized templates before attempting repairs. You do not need to delete Normal.dotm simply to try another default font.

Change the Font of Selected Text in Word

In Word 2019 or current desktop Word for Windows, select the text you want to format; use Ctrl+A only if you intend to select the document’s text. Open Home and choose an installed font from the Font name dropdown. Choose a font size in the adjacent size box and use the Font Color dropdown if you want a different text color. Click outside the selection and check that the intended words changed, then save. Use Ctrl+Z to undo an unintended result. This changes the selected text, rather than setting the default for future documents. Use the default-font procedure above for that separate task; avoid selecting an entire document if headings or other styles should retain their formatting.

Apply, Modify and Create a Word Style

In Word 2019 or current desktop Word for Windows, select the intended text or place the cursor in its paragraph. Open Home > Styles and choose a style; use the small Styles dialog launcher or Ctrl+Alt+Shift+S to open the pane. Check that the intended passage changed. A paragraph style can apply to the whole paragraph, so test in a copy before formatting a long document. Microsoft’s Word design guide explains applying styles.

To change a style, right-click it in the Styles gallery or pane and choose Modify. Set the desired font, size, color and paragraph options, choose the current-document scope when that is intended, then select OK. Check multiple passages using the style; modifying its definition affects those instances, rather than only the selected words. Microsoft’s style-customization guide distinguishes modifying a style from direct formatting. Save the document and use Undo promptly for an unintended result.

For a new style, open the Styles pane and select New Style, give it a distinct name, set its formatting and document scope, and confirm OK. A supported alternative is to format sample text, select it, then use the gallery’s More arrow > Create a Style, name it and confirm. Select another intended passage and choose your new style to check reuse. Microsoft’s Styles gallery guide documents that alternative. Choose New documents based on this template only when you intend a template-wide change; the default-font procedures above address that separate scope.

Zoom In or Out in Word Without Changing Printed Text

In Word 2013 or current desktop Word, choose View > Zoom, select an offered preset or enter your desired Percent, then choose OK. Check that the document is easier to read. The status-bar zoom slider and its plus/minus controls provide another route. Microsoft’s zoom guide covers both. In the older Many pages dialog, selecting the 1×1 page arrangement can help return from a multiple-page view; current View controls also offer One Page, Multiple Pages and Page Width.

Use View > 100% to return to 100% magnification. Zoom changes the onscreen view, not the document’s font size, page margins or printed text size. Use the selected-text font-size controls above when you intend an actual formatting change, and inspect print preview for the printed result. Restore the previous zoom percentage if needed. If controls are limited in Read Mode, switch to the normal editing or Print Layout view before checking the full View zoom controls.

Change the Document Theme in Word

In desktop Word for Windows, save a recoverable copy, then choose Design > Themes. Point to a theme to preview it and select the one you want. Check headings, body text and any shapes or charts that use theme fonts or colors, then save the document. Microsoft documents applying a document theme. The neighboring Colors and Fonts controls let you choose those theme components separately when available. Text with a manually assigned font or color can keep that direct formatting instead of changing with the theme. This changes the document’s design; the Office theme used for the application’s interface is a separate preference. Use Undo promptly or reselect the previous document theme to reverse the change, and inspect the actual formatting rather than assuming every word must look different.

Turn Off the Dark Office Theme in Word for Windows

In desktop Word for Windows, open File > Options > General, find Office Theme under the Microsoft Office personalization settings, select White or Colorful, then choose OK. Some versions also offer Office Theme under File > Account. Check that Word’s ribbon and surrounding interface are light. Microsoft documents the available Office themes. Restore the previous theme here to undo the change; Use system setting follows your Windows appearance. This Office setting can affect other Office apps. It is separate from Design > Themes, which changes document formatting, and from Page Color, which changes the document itself. If you want to keep the dark interface but use a white editing page, inspect the version’s document-page dark-mode control instead. Preview the document before printing; interface colors do not determine printed page colors.

Remove Text Highlighting or Paragraph Shading

In Word 2013 or current desktop Word, select the highlighted text, open Home > Text Highlight Color using its dropdown arrow, and choose No Color. Use Ctrl+A only if you intend to select all document text. Microsoft documents removing highlighting. Check that the intended colored background disappeared while other formatting remains. If it is still present, it may be paragraph shading instead: select the affected paragraph, open Home > Paragraph > Shading and choose No Color. Highlighting and shading use different controls. A picture’s colored background is different again. Save after checking the result, or Undo an unwanted change. Clear All Formatting below changes more than the highlight, so use the specific color control when you want to preserve the other formatting.

Clear Formatting From Selected Word Text

Select the text to return to its default formatting, then choose Home > Font > Clear All Formatting, the A-with-eraser control. The historical Word 2010 ribbon can call it Clear Formatting. Microsoft’s instructions include Word. Inspect the selected text and any affected headings before saving; this removes text formatting such as bold, italics, color and superscript rather than deleting the words. Use Ctrl+A only when changing the whole document’s text is intended. It does not reset every page-layout setting, delete a text box or remove every kind of background object. Use the specific highlighting or shading controls above if that is the only change needed. Press Ctrl+Z promptly to restore an unwanted formatting change, or keep your recoverable copy for comparison.

Undo or Redo an Edit in Word

In Word 2019 or current desktop Word for Windows, press Ctrl + Z to undo the most recent undoable action. Inspect what changed before pressing it again; repeated presses move farther back through the available edit history. To redo an action you just undid, press Ctrl + Y when Redo is available, or choose the Redo control. Microsoft explains Undo, Redo and Repeat. Ctrl+Y can repeat an action in other circumstances, so do not press it blindly expecting recovery. Some actions cannot be undone and the control can be disabled. Undo is not a guaranteed backup after closing and reopening a file, nor does it automatically retrieve an unsaved document. Check the final text and save the version you want; use an existing backup or version history if the needed change is outside the available undo history.

Choose a Default Font Color for New Word Documents

For the original Word 2013 procedure, open a blank document, choose Home > Font dialog launcher and select your intended Font color. Select Set As Default > All documents based on the Normal template > OK. In current desktop Word for Windows, use the same Font-dialog/default-template workflow described above, choosing the color before confirmation. Microsoft explains the default font’s template scope. Create another blank document, type ordinary body text and check its font color. Existing documents and other templates keep their own formatting; headings can use separate styles. Record the previous color and repeat the procedure with it to restore your default. This changes the starting font color, rather than redefining every theme color or recoloring all existing documents. Automatic is a particular font-color choice, not a synonym for every color saved as your default.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I switch back to my previous font?

Repeat the same default-setting method and select the font and size you noted before changing them. Confirm the template scope, then check another new document.

Why does a new Microsoft 365 document use Aptos?

Microsoft’s new Office theme overview explains the move to Aptos in Microsoft 365. Older templates can still have older defaults. Choose the font you actually want instead of assuming every Word installation starts with the same one.

Does changing Word’s default change Excel too?

Each application has its own controls. For spreadsheets, follow our guide to changing the default font in Excel. Check a new workbook separately from your Word document.

What if I cannot find Set As Default?

Confirm that you are following the section for your desktop platform. The Mac route uses Default. Browser and mobile interfaces differ from desktop Word, so these desktop menu paths should not be treated as instructions for those editions.

After setting your preference, create a fresh blank document and verify the font before starting your next piece of writing.