Changing the font style in a document allows you to customize the appearance and improve readability. The font style refers to attributes such as bold, italic, underline, font type, font size and font color. Modifying these can make the text stand out, emphasize key points or simply make it more visually appealing.
What are the different ways to change font style?
There are a few different ways to change the font style in a document depending on what application you are using:
- Use keyboard shortcuts – Most applications have keyboard shortcuts to toggle font styles on and off. For example, Ctrl/Command + B for bold, Ctrl/Command + I for italics etc.
- Use the font toolbar – Applications like Microsoft Word have a dedicated font toolbar with options to change font type, size, color etc. Just select the text and use the toolbar to modify.
- Use the font dialog box – You can access advanced font settings in the font dialog box (Format > Font on Windows or Font > Show Fonts on Mac). This lets you change font type, style, size, color and more.
- Use texthighlighting – Some applications allow you to highlight text and apply styles like bold, italics, underline and strikethrough.
- Use paragraph styles – Styles allow you to define a set of formatting attributes and apply them all at once to text. This can include font style.
How to use keyboard shortcuts
Using keyboard shortcuts is the fastest way to change font styles:
- Select the text you want to format
- Use the relevant keyboard shortcuts:
- Ctrl/Command + B = Bold
- Ctrl/Command + I = Italics
- Ctrl/Command + U = Underline
- Ctrl + Shift + A = All caps
- Ctrl/Command + Shift + W = Strikethrough
- The style will be applied to the selected text
Some common font style shortcuts:
| Style | Windows Shortcut | Mac Shortcut |
|---|---|---|
| Bold | Ctrl + B | Command + B |
| Italics | Ctrl + I | Command + I |
| Underline | Ctrl + U | Command + U |
| Strikethrough | Ctrl + Shift + S | Command + Shift + S |
Using the font toolbar
Applications like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Outlook have a dedicated font toolbar with formatting options:
- Select the text you want to format
- Go to the Home tab and use the Font toolbar buttons to change styles:
- B = Bold
- I = Italics
- U = Underline
- abc = Change case
- Strikethrough button
- You can also change font type, size and color from the font toolbar
The font toolbar provides an easy visual way to modify text formatting.
Using the font dialog box
The font dialog box gives you access to all font settings in one place:
- Select the text you want to format
- Go to Format > Font (on Windows) or Font > Show Fonts (on Mac)
- This opens the Font dialog box. You can change:
- Font family/type (e.g. Arial, Times New Roman)
- Font size
- Styles like bold, italic, underline
- Font color
- Character spacing
- And more…
- Click OK to apply the changes
The font dialog box provides fine control over text formatting.
Using text highlighting
Some applications allow you to highlight text and apply styles:
- Select the text you want to format
- Click the highlighting tool – often available under Home/Edit menu
- Choose highlight color or style (bold, italic etc)
- Style will be applied to highlighted text
Highlighting provides a quick way to identify and style text.
Using paragraph styles
Paragraph styles allow you to define a complete set of formatting attributes including font style and apply them in one go:
- Create the style by going to Home > Styles and clicking Create a Style
- Customize the font properties – type, size, style, color etc.
- Give the style a name and save it
- Select the text you want to format
- Click the style name to apply it
Paragraph styles automate text formatting for consistency. You can also create character styles to apply font formatting only.
Font style tips
Here are some tips when working with font styles:
- Use bold to emphasize important text or headings.
- Use italics to highlight specific text and for book/movie titles.
- Avoid overusing multiple styles – this reduces readability.
- Make sure there is good contrast between styles and regular text.
- Headings should use larger font sizes than body text.
- Limit use of underlines to hyperlinks to avoid confusion.
- Use consistent font styles and limited typefaces for professional documents.
Conclusion
Changing font styles allows endless possibilities to customize text appearance. Keyboard shortcuts, toolbar buttons, the font dialog box, highlighting and styles provide different ways to modify fonts in documents, presentations, worksheets and more. Using font styles judiciously can draw attention to important text while improving overall readability and visual hierarchy.