Change New Word Document Defaults

Thanks to some questions I received while attending ASTD TechKnowledge, I decided to add this post. It's a question I get many times. "Why did they change the defaults in Word and how do I change it back?"

First, here's the answer to "why" in this article.

Next, here's the answer on how to get back your 2003 defaults. You need to remember that there are three levels of formatting: font or character, paragraph and section/page. You will need to change the default for all three levels.

We'll start with font.

1. Click on the Font dialog box launcher button.
   
2. In the Font dialog box, change the font to Times New Roman, Regular and 12 point.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Be sure to click the Yes button to confirm.

To change the paragraph spacing...

1. Click the Paragraph dialog box launcher button.
   
2. In the Paragraph dialog box, change the space after the paragraph to 0 points and the line spacing to Single.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Click the Yes button to confirm.

Finally, the Page margins.

1. Click the Page Layout tab and click the Page Setup dialog box launcher.
   
2. In the Page Setup dialog box, change the left and right margin to 1.25 inches.
   
3. Click the Default... button to change the Normal template.
   
4. Be sure to click the Yes button to confirm.

Once all three formatting levels have had their defaults changed, any NEW document you create based on the Normal template (blank documents) will be affected. If you prefer a visual, view this video.