October 20, 2005

In this discussion, we will cover how to change some of the default Microsoft Word preferences.

Since the mid 1990's business has more or less standardized on using Arial 12 point font for business letters.  This is because it is a very plain, easy to read, and works well with copiers to make clean reproductions.  It is also easier to read for those of us who are site challenged.

Microsoft, to this day, still sets the default font to Times Roman.  For the last couple of versions, it has been difficult to figure out how to change the setting, so I will explain it here.

Go to the Format menu, then Styles and Formatting.  Now, at the top of the Styles and Form box, right click on Normal, then left click on Modify.  The key here is to check the box Add to template so that the changes you make will be saved as the default settings.  Now, click the Format button, and click Font.

Now you can pick any font you want and it will be set as the default font.  Keep in mind that this only changes the font on new documents you make.  The old documents have to each be converted by selecting the text and applying the new font to each document. 

A word to the wise, don't pick a default font which has been added by another program you installed on your computer.  Most programs add fonts for their own use, but this also gives you these fonts to use for all applications on your computer.  If you use a special font, and then send the document to someone else, if their computer doesn't have that font installed, they may just get garbage on the screen when they open up the document.

Some other preferences I like to change in Word are:

Go to the Tools Menu, select Options, then, on the General tab, uncheck Startup Task Pane.  This will give you more screen real estate for your documents.

On the General tab, change the Recently Used File List number to 9. This will list the last 9 documents you had open in the bottom of the File menu.

On the Compatibility tab, click the drop down arrow on the Recommended options for box and select Word 97.  This will assure you that any documents you send to other people will work flawlessly with their version of Word.

On the Spelling and Grammar tab, if you don't want the annoyance of the grammar check on every document, uncheck Check Grammar as you type.

If you find the menu's to be irritating and want the full menus to be displayed, right click anywhere on the menu area, then left click on Customize.  Now, check Always show full menus. Now, you will get all the menu items when you click on a menu.

The one other setting I personally like to make is to make sure on the View menu, you have Print Layout selected.  This way, when you have the zoom set to Page Width, the page will resemble what the printed page will look like.

Feel free to change any of the options settings to what you prefer to see.  That's why the settings are there.

If you have any questions or comments, click