The Formatting Reversion
Google Docs relies heavily on a system of predefined styles (like “Normal text,” “Heading 1,” etc.). When you begin a new document, the “Normal text” style dictates the default font—usually Arial. If you manually highlight your first paragraph and change the font to Times New Roman, but then press Enter to start a new paragraph, Google Docs will sometimes automatically revert the font back to Arial for the new line. This happens because the underlying “Normal text” style wasn’t changed, only that specific block of text was overridden. Fighting the system on every single new line is tedious and ruins formatting consistency.
Updating the Default Style
To make your preferred font stick and stop Google Docs from automatically changing the font back to the default on every new paragraph, you must update the core style definition to match your preference.
First, type a few words into your document. Highlight those words and use the toolbar to change them to your desired font, size, and color (e.g., Times New Roman, 12pt). Leave this text highlighted. Now, look at the toolbar above the document and find the dropdown menu that currently says Normal text. Click this dropdown. Hover your mouse over the Normal text option in the menu (do not click it directly, just hover). A secondary menu will slide out to the right. Click on Update ‘Normal text’ to match. Google Docs has now learned that “Normal text” means Times New Roman. Every time you press Enter, the new paragraph will automatically adopt your chosen font.