MS Word 2007/2010/2013 Tip of the Month for February 2014 – How to Fix Word’s Formatting Defaults

– By Barron Henley

Henley is a frequent speaker at ABA TECHSHOW. He is a principal in  Affinity Consulting Group. This post originally appeared on their blog.

Learn more about how you can put the power of Word to work in your practice at one of Henley’s two session on the software at ABA TECHSHOW 2014:


Many people are frustrated with the default formatting Word 2007/10/13 applies to new documents. If you have to change the typeface (Calibri), the size (11 pt) or the justification (left) for every new document, there’s an easy way to make those changes permanent so they will automatically be built into every future document you create. To make all of the following changes to Word’s default Font, Paragraph & Section formatting, just launch Word and open a blank document.

Change Your Default Font Formatting

If you don’t like Calibri 11 or Word’s other defaults related to Fonts, simply follow these steps to fix them.

A. Click the Launcher in the Font Group on the Home Ribbon. This will make the Font dialog appear.

 

B. Make your adjustments to the font size and click the Default button at the bottom of the dialog.

 

C. In Word 2007, you’ll see the following dialog/warning. Click Yes and you’re done!

 

In Word 2010/13, you’ll see the following dialog. Make sure you check “All documents based …” before you click the OK button.

Change Your Default Paragraph formatting

Simply follow these steps.

A. Click the Launcher in the Paragraph Group on the Home Ribbon. This will make the Paragraph dialog appear.

 

B. Recommended changes to the Paragraph dialog (Indents and Spacing tab):

– i. Leave left and right indentation at “0” and Special at “(none)”

– ii. Make spacing before and after 0 pt.

– iii. Line spacing Single

– iv. If you prefer, switch the Alignment to Justified

 

C. In Word 2007, after making your paragraph formatting adjustments, click the Default button at the bottom of the dialog. Next, you’ll see the following dialog/warning. Click Yes and you’re done!

 

In Word 2010/13, you’ll see the following dialog. Make sure you check “All documents based …” before you click the OK button.

Change Your Default Section Formatting

Section formatting is also “Whole document” formatting and includes paper size, margins, orientation and the like.

A. Click the Launcher in the Page Setup Group on the Page Layout Ribbon. This will make the Page Setup dialog appear.

 

B. Recommended changes to the Section dialog (Indents and Spacing tab):

– i. Margins tab: Most legal users prefer 1″ margins on all sides

– ii. Layout tab: If you normally do not page number the first page of your documents, check the box for Different First Page.

 

C. After making your page setup adjustments, click the Set As Default button at the bottom of the dialog. Next, you’ll see the following dialog/warning. Click Yes and you’re done!

 

Default Settings Do Not Affect Existing Documents

It is important to note that the foregoing changes to your default formatting do not affect, in any way, documents you’ve created in the past. In other words, when you open a document you created before making these changes, it will retain its original formatting and will not automatically morph to your new default settings. The changes made previously will only apply to new documents you create in Word.