Change Calibri back to Times New Roman...Permanently

When you buy a new computer, you usually get a few surprises...some more pleasant than others. For anyone who is buying a computer right now and upgrading to the latest version of MS Word, you'll find that the default font has changed from Times New Roman to Calibri. Lots of people still like Times New Roman and so they begin a major fight with Word as they try to suppress Calibri. Changing the default font is easy to do if you know what to do. If you don't, it will make you crazy.

Editing the Normal Template
To make a permanent change to the base fonts that your version of MS Word uses, you need to edit the Normal template. As a general rule, I wouldn't suggest that you do so because this is the base template for every document or template you create. Think about it...the first page that opens is usually your starting place for everything you do. Now here's a little secret. If you mess up the Normal.dot or Normal.dotx, you can download another copy and start again.

This subject comes up because I've had someone write to me to ask how to do this task. I checked back in the posts on this blog and realized that I've never explained this task to you. So here goes it.

Word 2007/2010

1. Open MS Word and then stop. The document that appears on your screen is a copy of the Normal.dotx (template).
2. On the Home tab, in the Styles group, click the launch arrow in the lower right of the group. The Styles pane appears.
3. Right click on the Normal style, and select Modify from the pop-up menu. The Modify Style dialog appears.
4. In the Formatting group, select another font and size.
5. At the bottom of the dialog, click the check box New documents based on this template, and then click OK.
6. Close the document. You don't have to save changes.
7. Open a new blank document, display the Styles pane, and check your Normal style. The style should include the changes you've made.
8. Display All Styles so that you can check and see if the change cascaded throughout all of the styles in the Normal.dotx.
   --At the bottom of the Styles pane, click Options... The Styles Pane Options dialog appears.
   --In the field Select styles to show, select All styles from the drop-down list, and then click OK. The system shows all built-in Word styles. Every one that is based on the Normal style (almost every body type of style) will reflect the changes you've made.  

Just an f.y.i.
The same process works for Heading 1, if you've set it up so that other Heading styles are based on Heading 1. Your system may or may not be set up in this manner. If yes, change Heading 1 and the change cascades throughout all of the Heading styles. If no (your system may be set up based on the Normal style), you must change each Heading style. I thought I'd mention Headings since newer versions of Word use Calibri for Heading styles too.

Email me if you have additional questions.

Word 2003
And just in case my Word 2003 users are suffering...

1. Open MS Word and then stop. The document that appears on your screen is a copy of the Normal.dot (template).
2. Open the Styles and Formatting pane.
   --Click the button.
   
   --Or select the Format menu, and then Styles and Formatting.
3. Right click on the Normal style, and select Modify from the pop-up menu. The Modify Style dialog appears.
4. In the Formatting group, select another font and size.
5. At the bottom of the dialog, click the check box Add to template, and then click OK.
6. Close the document. You don't have to save changes.
7. Open a new blank document, display the Styles and Formatting pane, and check your Normal style. The style should reflect the changes you've made.
8. At the bottom of the Styles and Formatting pane, select All Styles in the Show field. The system shows all built-in Word styles. Every one that is based on the Normal style (almost every body type of style) will reflect the changes you've made.

 

 

P.S. If this method doesn't work for you, be sure to read Change Calibri Follow Up...Another Way.