Don’t Love Calibri? Here’s How to Change the Default Font in Microsoft Word

In late April, Microsoft announced that Calibri will no longer be the default font for Microsoft Office sometime in the near future. The company is currently asking people to help select its successor from a collection of five specially commissioned new fonts: Bierstadt, Grandview, Seaford, Skeena, and Tenorite. Like Calibri, they’re all sans serif.

As Millennials (and older generations) no doubt remember, this isn’t the first font overhaul for the tech giant; Calibri only arrived on the scene in 2007. Before that, Times New Roman was the norm, and teachers were known to knock a few points off a research paper if you had the audacity to change it.

Maybe you’ve grown fond of Calibri over the last 14 years, and you’re dreading the moment your cursor leaves a trail of slightly unusual characters in its wake. Maybe the news of Microsoft’s impending update has shaken you into realizing your one true love was Times New Roman all along. Maybe you just want something different, but you don’t want Microsoft to choose it for you.

Whatever the case, you’re free to set your own default font in Microsoft Word whenever you want. As Lifehacker explains, Windows users can do this by first opening a new Word document and then clicking the little arrow to the right of the word Font (which should be around all the typeface customization options, like font size, color, bolding, italicizing, etc.). That’ll open what’s called the “Font Dialog Box Launcher.” Choose your font from the menu, hit “Set As Default” in the lower-left corner, and you’ll be given the option to set the default for that document only, or for all documents that use the default template. Hit “OK” twice, and you (and your default font) are all set.

If you’re using a macOS device, open a new Word document, look for “Format” in the menu bar at the very top of your screen, and click “Font” from the dropdown menu. You can also launch the box by holding down the “Command” and “D” keys. Then, pick your favorite font, hit “Default” in the lower-left corner, and confirm your choice.

If you’re using an employer-issued device and your new default font fails to show up, it could be because you don’t have access to make changes to certain programs. You can check out Microsoft’s troubleshooting advice here, but you might end up having to contact a network administrator in your office for help.