How to Change the Default Font and Size for All New Google Docs

By default, every time you create a brand new Google Doc, the system uses the “Arial” font set to size 11. While Arial is perfectly readable, it lacks personality and might not align with your company’s branding guidelines or your personal stylistic preferences. If you find yourself constantly highlighting all your text and changing it to “Times New Roman” size 12 before you even start typing, you are wasting valuable time.

Fortunately, Google Docs allows you to completely overhaul the default styling parameters. You can instruct the system to use your preferred font, size, and even line spacing for every single new document you create from that moment forward, eliminating the need for repetitive formatting.

Setting Your Preferred Style

To change the default settings, you first need to create a physical example of exactly how you want your text to look. The system will then use that example as the new permanent template.

1. Open your web browser and navigate to docs.google.com.
2. Click the large Blank button to create a brand new document.
3. Type a few random words on the page (e.g., “This is my new default font”).
4. Using your mouse, highlight the text you just typed.
5. Look up at the main formatting toolbar. Change the font style (e.g., to “Merriweather”), adjust the font size (e.g., to 12), and set any other preferences like text colour or line spacing.

Updating the Normal Text Style

Now that you have your perfect formatting applied to those few words, you need to tell Google Docs that this specific look should be the new “Normal” text for the entire current document.

1. Ensure your perfectly formatted text is still highlighted.
2. Look at the main toolbar again and click on the dropdown menu that currently says Normal text (this is the Styles menu).
3. In the dropdown list, hover your mouse over the Normal text option. A small arrow will appear to the right.
4. Hover over that arrow to open a sub-menu, and click on Update ‘Normal text’ to match.

The system has now registered your custom font as the standard text style for this specific document. However, we still need to apply this rule globally.

Saving as the Global Default

The final step is to take the styles you just defined for this specific document and instruct Google Docs to apply them to every new file you create in the future.

1. Click on Format in the main menu bar at the very top of the screen.
2. Hover your mouse over Paragraph styles.
3. At the very bottom of the sub-menu, hover over Options.
4. Click on Save as my default styles.

A small black notification banner will appear at the bottom of your screen confirming that your default styles have been saved. You can now delete the random text you typed. Every time you click the “Blank document” button in the future, your cursor will immediately default to your newly chosen font and size.