Changing Google Docs’ Default Styles

It’s easy to change the default text styles, like fonts and spacing, in Google Docs

Originally published on my website

1. Open a Google Docs file

It can be any file, but I recommend a blank file.

2. Put some text in, such as lorem ipsum, and style it

For example, select the text and change the font to Nunito Sans.

Side note: I hate Arial. It’s very ugly. I also dislike serif fonts.

Before styling (Arial, 11px)

After styling (Nunito Sans, 10px)

3. Select your newly-fomatted text, and apply it

3a. Click where it says “Normal text” next to the font name in the toolbar

3b. Hover over where the arrow is next to “Normal text” in the dropdown that opens

3c. Click “Update ‘Normal text’ to match”

3d. Repeat for each text element you want styled differently

For example, I styled my normal text, title, and headings with Nunito Sans

4. After making all the styling changes you want, open the dropdown, and hover over “Options”, then click “Save as my default styles”

Now, if you are ever in a document that does not yet have your default styles, simply open the dropdown in that document, hover over “Options”, and click “Use my default styles”.

Thanks for reading!