Change the default settings for Fonts, Paragraph Spacing, Line Spacing, Margins, Page Orientation

There may be specific Word settings that annoy you, like default settings where you find yourself changing over and over – paragraph spacing, size – per font when you start a new document. 

Perhaps you prefer a different font style instead of the default Calibri. Maybe you like all of your documents to have a narrower aspect ratio so you can fit more information on the page. Perhaps you even work for a company with specific documentation standards – related to color schemes or layout – and you’re tired of changing these settings every time.

Luckily, you can customize many of Word’s default settings. You need to know where to look.

Use Set as Default

You can’t change the default settings for everything in Word, but some specific tools and features give you this option. Popular examples include:

  • Font
  • Distance between paragraphs
  • Line spacing
  • Margin
  • Page orientation

To find out if you can customize the default settings for a particular element, look for the arrow in the group’s bottom right corner. This will open up a dialog where you can access all the necessary settings, plus some more advanced features you won’t find on the Ribbon.

Next, find the button near the bottom of the dialog called (Set as Default) to set as the default. All you have to do is click this button, and Word will specify your current settings – such as the font or font size you’ve chosen – as the new defaults for this particular element.

Thay doi phông chữ và kích thước chữ mặc định

Finally, Word will ask if you want to set this setting as the default for this document or All documents based on the Normal template (in other words, all future documents). Choose the second option, and from now on, Word will use these settings.

If you don’t have a lot of experience with Word, you may want to stick with the original default settings – any changes you make will be permanent unless you change them manually. But for many experienced users, this can be a great way to set up Word exactly how you want it to be.

If you’re having trouble changing your default to save, it’s probably a problem with your computer or a copy of Word. For help, we recommend that you visit the Microsoft support website.