The most common way to format text is to change the font. The font determines the style and appearance of letters, such as Arial, Arial Black, Courier, Old English, or Stencil.
To change the font:
- On the Home tab, select the text you want to change.
- Click on the font list. A list of fonts available on your computer will appear.
- Hover your cursor over each font to see how the selected text will look with the selected font.
- Click on the desired font, and the text will take on the selected style.
Tip: Try to use no more than three fonts in a single document to keep the layout neat. Also, keep in mind that not all computers have the same set of fonts, so when sharing a document, it is better to choose standard fonts that are available on most devices.
Changing the font size
The font determines the style of the text, and the font size determines its visible size. There are two ways to change the text size:
- select a numerical value from the Font size list;
- use the Increase font size or Decrease font size buttons.
You can combine both methods: first select an approximate size from the list, and then use the buttons to refine the text size.
To change the font size:
- On the Home tab, select the text.
Choose one of the options:
- From the Font Size list, click the desired number, for example, 12 or 16;
- Click Increase Font Size or Decrease Font Size.
Changing text style
Text style determines its appearance. The main options are:
- Bold — Ctrl+B;
- Italic — Ctrl+I;
- Underline — Ctrl+U;
- Strikethrough — line through the text;
- Subscript — text below the main line, for example, H₂O;
- Superscript — text above the line, for example, NO₂.
To apply a style to text:
- Select the text on the Home tab.
- Click the appropriate style button (e.g., Bold or Underline).
- Repeat step 2 to add other styles (e.g., italics).
- If a style is selected without selecting text, Word applies it to any text that is entered from the current cursor position.
