One way to change the appearance of text in a document is by changing its font type. A font is a set of letters, numbers, and punctuation symbols designed around a shared appearance. A font will have variations for size and styles, such as bold and italics.
Changing a font itself will have the greatest effect on the appearance of text.
Select the text you want to change.
Click the Font list arrow on the Home tab.
You can also click the Font list arrow on the Mini Toolbar that appears when text is selected.
Select a new font from the list.
The text is now set in the selected font.
When changing fonts, be sure to choose the right font for the tone of your document. Don’t use casual script fonts in a professional document, and also avoid using too many fonts at once.
Font Type
Examples
Description
Serif
Times New Roman, Garamond, Cambria, Georgia, Palatino
Serifs are small details at the ends of some letter strokes, meant to improve legibility. Suitable for both header and body text.
Sans Serif
Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana, Trebuchet MS
Sans serif fonts lack the small details at ends of letter strokes, leading to a plainer look. Suitable for both header and body text.
Script
Brush Script, Zapfino, Lucida Handwriting
These fonts are meant to mimic handwriting, either calligraphic or casual. Useful in very specific designs, but unsuitable for body text and most headers.
Monospace
Courier New, Consolas, American Typewriter
All letters and symbols use the exact same amount of space. Useful when displaying computer code, or when precise horizontal alignment between lines is important.
In addition to changing font type, size, and color, you can also enhance the text further by using other features in the Font group like bold, italic, or underline.
If you want to change the case of a block of text, you don’t need to retype the whole thing. You can easily change the case of selected text with the Change Case menu.
With the text selected, click the Change Case button.