Word 2013

Introduction

Video: Formatting Text

Watch the video (3:02).

Formatted text can draw the reader's attention to specific parts of a document and emphasize important information. In Word, you have many options for adjusting the font of your text, including size, color, and inserting special symbols. You can also adjust the alignment of the text to change how it is displayed on the page.

Optional: Download our Lesson 8 Practice Document.

To change the font:

By default, the font of each new document is set to Calibri. However, Word provides a variety of other fonts you can use to customize text and titles.

1. Select the text you wish to modify.
   
   Selecting text to modify
2. On the Home tab, click the drop-down arrow next to the Font box. A menu of font styles will appear.
3. Move the mouse over the various font styles. A live preview of the font will appear in the document. Select the font style you wish to use.
   
   Changing the font style
4. The font will change in the document.
   
   The new font style
   

When creating a professional document or a document that contains multiple paragraphs, you'll want to select a font that is easy to read. Along with Calibri, standard reading fonts include Cambria, Times New Roman, and Arial.

To change the font size:

1. Select the text you wish to modify.
   
   Selecting text to modify
2. Select the desired font size formatting option:
   • Font size drop-down arrow: On the Home tab, click the Font size drop-down arrow. A menu of font sizes will appear. When you move the mouse over the various font sizes, a live preview of the font size will appear in the document.
     
     Selecting a font size
   • Font size box: When the font size you need is not available in the Font size drop-down arrow, you can click the Font size box and type the desired font size. Then press Enter.
     
     Entering a font size in the Font box
   • Grow and shrink font commands: Click the Grow Font or Shrink Font commands to change the font size.
     
     The Grow Font and Shrink Font commands
3. The font size will change in the document.
   
   The new font size
   

To change the font color:

1. Select the text you wish to modify.
   
   Selecting text to modify
2. On the Home tab, click the Font Color drop-down arrow. The Font Color menu appears.
3. Move the mouse over the various font colors. A live preview of the color will appear in the document.
   
   Changing the font color
4. Select the font color you wish to use. The font color will change in the document.
   
   The new font color
   

Your color choices aren't limited to the drop-down menu that appears. Select More Colors... at the bottom of the menu to access the Colors dialog box. Choose the color that you want, then click OK.

The Colors dialog box

To highlight text:

Highlighting can be a useful tool for marking important text in your document.

1. Select the text you wish to highlight.
   
   Selecting text to highlight
2. From the Home tab, click the Text Highlight Color drop-down arrow. The Highlight Color menu appears.
   
   Choosing a highlight color
3. Select the desired highlight color. The selected text will then be highlighted in the document.
   The highlighted text

To remove highlighting, select the highlighted text, then click the Text Highlight Color drop-down arrow. Select No Color from the drop-down menu.

Removing highlighting

If you need to highlight several lines of text, changing the mouse into a highlighter may be a helpful alternative to selecting and highlighting individual lines. Simply click the Text Highlight Color command, and the cursor changes into a highlighter . You can then click, hold, and drag the highlighter over the lines you wish to highlight.