How to Change the Default Settings on Word Documents

If you find yourself making changes to the font style or paragraph spacing each time you open a new Microsoft Word document, you may want to consider making changes to the default settings. There are many default settings but if you take the time to go through the settings and make changes to suit your preferences, you will save time when using Word in the future.

Instructions

1. Open Microsoft Word and click the "Home" tab if it is not already open.

2. Click the Font button to open the dialog box. You can view different fonts, font styles and font sizes here. Select the font settings you want to use and click the Default button and verify that you want to change the default settings.

3. Click the Paragraph button to open the Paragraph dialog box. Choose the alignment, indentation and paragraph spacing you wish to use. After making your selections, click "Default" and verify that you want to change your settings.

4. Click the "Page Layout" tab and click the Page Setup button. Set the margins and page orientation you want to use for all Word documents. Click "Default" and then click "Yes" to verify the changes.

5. Click the Office button and select "Word Options." Click the "Popular" tab and select the color scheme you want to use for Word.

6. Open the "Display" settings from the Word Options menu. You can change page display options, opt to display formatting marks and change the printing default settings here. After you finish making changes to Word Options, click "OK."

References

• Microsoft: How to Set the Default Font
• Word Tips: Setting Default Paragraph Formatting
• Java 2: Change Default Page Setup