How to Change Default Font in Microsoft Word?

By default, Word will use Calibri (body) as font family with 11 pixels size in Windows version. Word for Mac uses the same font family Calibri but the size will be 12 pixels. You can easily change the font family and size of text content within your document. However, it will be annoying to change the font on each document if you do not like to use the default settings. In this article, we will explain how to change default font in Microsoft Word Windows and Mac versions as part of Microsoft 365.

Default Font Settings in Word

Open a blank Word document and check under “Home” tab to find the default font family and size.

Word stores all default settings for a blank document in a “Normal.dotm” template file. This is a macro enabled template file and used in both Windows and Mac versions.

Change Default Font in Word Windows

Let us say, you want to change the default font to Arial with the size as 14px. Follow the below instructions in Word Microsoft 365 version.

• Open a blank Word document and go to “Home” tab in the ribbon.
• Click on the small arrow icon showing in “Font” group as shown below.
• Alternatively, you can press “Control + D” keys to open font settings in Word Windows version.

• When you are in “Font” dialog box, make sure you are in the “Font” tab.
• Change the size to 14px and select the font style as regular.
• Click “Font” dropdown and select the new font family for your documents (Arial in our case). If you have Asian language pack, change the “Asian text font” if you want to change that as well.

• Finally, click on “Set As Default” button.
• Select “All documents based on the Norma template?” option and click “OK” button.

Remember, the new font settings will be applied to all new blank documents you open in future. This will not affect any existing documents on your computer or the documents that you receive in emails or download from a website.

Change Default Font in Word for Mac

Word for Mac has a similar settings like Windows version.

• Open a blank Word document on your Mac and click the “Format” menu from the top toolbar.
• Select “Font…” menu to open font settings. Alternatively, you can press “Command + D” shortcut keys to open Font settings in Word for Mac.

• On the dialog box that appears, go to “Font” tab.
• Change the size as 14 and font style as regular.
• Click the dropdown against “Font” or “Latin text font” and select the new font family for your documents (we select Arial in our case). If you have Asian language pack installed, change the font family for “Asian text font” if required.

• After selecting the font family, size and style, click on “Default…” button.
• Select “All documents based on the Normal template?” option on the pop-up and click “OK” button.

Now, you will see the font family is changed to Arial with 14x. This will be applied to any new document you open in the future.

Using Themes to Set Default Fonts and Styles

If you want to change the complete theme for your Word document, then go to “Design” tab. Click on “Themes” dropdown and select a theme for your document. You can hover over a theme and check the document’s content before selecting a theme. Make sure to check the heading styles, font family and font size for the theme you have selected. If required, you can customize the formatting, colors and fonts of the theme. If everything looks fine, click on the “Set as Default” option. This will set the selected theme and customizations as the default theme for all new blank documents. This is the best option for creating documents with unique and custom styles.