How to Change Default Font, Size and Spacing in Google Docs

Last week I gave up Word, Microsoft’s word processing software, and jumped into Google Docs. While the overall transition was smooth and seamless, one thing immediately caught my attention. The Google Docs default Heading, Heading and Normal text size are different from what I prefer and use in Word. The range is set to 1.15, which is slightly higher than my liking. Fortunately, changing the default font and size in Google Docs is pretty easy.

You can always use the menu bar to change the font size, type and paragraph spacing. The problem is that Google Docs will revert to default settings when you try to create a new document from scratch. This can be quite frustrating when working on new documents or assignments.

In such cases, you need to change the default font settings for Heading, Heading and Normal Text. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as other competitors. You cannot go to Google Docs Settings and change the default font and size.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the trick to change the default font size for Header, Header, and Text. We’ll also talk about a way to revert to the default Google Docs settings if you change your mind. Lets start.

Change Default Title Font Type and Size in Google Docs

The default Title type and size in Google Docs is set to Arial, 26. I’m fine with the header type font, but font size 26 seems pretty big and tacky. Follow the steps to make changes.

Stage 1: Open Google Docs, open a document or create a new one.

Step 2: Type the title and change the font size to your preference.

Stage 3: Select the title and highlight the text.

Step 4: Click the Format tab in the toolbar.

Step 5: Go to Paragraph Styles > Heading > select Update Heading to match.

Step 6: Go to the menu bar. Open Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Save as my default style.

This much. From now on, Google Docs will use the selected Title font type and size by default.

Change Default Title Font Type and Size in Google Docs

I mostly use Heading 2 as a subheading when I write. By default, the Heading 2 font is set to 16 which is too small for my liking. If you want to change the title fonts, follow the steps below.

Stage 1: Open Google Docs, create a new document and select Heading 2 from the menu bar.

Step 2: Start typing a few words in the title and select them.

Stage 3: Click the Format tab in the toolbar.

Step 4: Go to Paragraph Styles > Heading 2 > select ‘Update Heading 2’ to match.

Step 5: Go to the menu bar. Open Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Save as my default style.

Using the same trick above, you can change the default font and size for Heading 1/2/3/4/5/6 in Google Docs.

How to Change Default Text Font Type, Size and Spacing in Google Docs

This was my biggest issue with Google Docs. The default text is too small for my preference and the 1.15 range is a bit wider for me. I prefer normal text size at 16 and paragraph spacing at 1. Follow the step-by-step instructions to make changes.

Stage 1: Open Google Docs, create a new document and start typing a few sentences in regular text.

Step 2: Select the entire paragraph from start to finish, and then change the font and size of the toolbar.

Stage 3: Tap the Range menu and choose Single instead of 1.15.

Step 4: Click the Format tab in the toolbar.

Step 5: Go to Paragraph Styles > Normal Text > select Update ‘Normal Text’ to match.

Step 6: Go to the menu bar. Open Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Save as my default style.

From now on, every time you create a document in Google Docs, the system will use the Font and Size of Title, Title and Regular Text set in the app. It will also solve the spacing issue for you.

Revert to Default Google Docs Style Settings

So far you have made the changes to the default Title, Title and Normal Text in Google Docs. You also changed the space according to your preference. If you don’t like the new change at all, you can easily revert to the Google Docs route in software.

You can easily revert to the default Google Docs style settings by following the steps below.

Stage 1: Open Google Docs and open a new document.

Step 2: Now the default font style and size are set to your preference.

Stage 3: Click Format in the menu bar.

Step 4: Go to Paragraph styles > Options > Reset styles.

Now Google Docs will use the default Heading, Heading and Regular Text font and size. The gap will also return to 1.15.

Customize Google Docs

Using the tricks above, you can easily make changes to the default font and size in Google Docs. You can also change the title/title colors and use the highlighter according to your preference. What font and size do you use in Google Docs? Share your preference in the comments section below.

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