Word Solutions

You open the Font dropdown in Word and see only font names in plain text. The live preview that shows each font in its own typeface is missing. This happens when a setting in Word is turned off or when the document is in a compatibility mode that disables the feature. This article explains why … Read more

You apply a custom ligature setting to a paragraph in Word, but when you update the paragraph style, the ligatures snap back to the default. This happens because Word stores font-level settings like ligatures separately from paragraph style definitions, and the style update overwrites the manual font formatting. This article explains the cause of this … Read more

OpenType variants let you change the look of certain fonts without switching to a different typeface. These built-in alternates include stylistic sets, swashes, and ligatures that modify specific characters. Word supports these features, but the controls are hidden in the Font dialog box rather than the ribbon. This article explains how to enable OpenType variants … Read more

When two or more users co-author a Word document, one user may see a specific Unicode glyph such as a checkmark, arrow, or emoji rendered correctly while another user sees a blank square, a different symbol, or a line break. This problem typically occurs because each co-author’s system uses a different font fallback chain or … Read more

When you open a Word document created on another system, missing fonts cause text to display incorrectly or shift page layouts. Word uses a built-in font substitution algorithm that often picks a default like Microsoft Sans Serif or Times New Roman, which may not match your design intent. This article explains how to configure Word … Read more

When you apply bold or italic formatting to a custom font in Word, the text may revert to the regular weight or style instead of using the intended bold or italic variant. This happens because Word cannot find the specific font file that corresponds to the bold, italic, or bold italic variant of your custom … Read more

When you share a Word document with colleagues or clients, they may accidentally change the fonts, breaking your company’s brand guidelines. Manually checking each paragraph for font changes is time-consuming and unreliable. Word provides built-in formatting restrictions that let you lock font choices while still allowing text edits. This article explains how to use the … Read more

You type a paragraph in Word using a custom font, and when the text wraps to the next line, words break with a hyphen in the middle of a syllable or at an illogical spot. This problem usually occurs because the custom font lacks proper hyphenation metrics or because Word’s hyphenation engine is misapplying language-specific … Read more

Kerning adjusts the spacing between individual characters to improve readability and visual balance. In Word, kerning is typically applied to text at or above a certain font size. By default, Word enables kerning for fonts at 14 points and above, but this setting applies globally to all text unless you customize it. This article explains … Read more

You open a Word document on one PC and see theme fonts named “Calibri Light” and “Calibri.” On another PC, the same pane shows “Calibri Light (Headings)” and “Calibri (Body)” or entirely different names. This inconsistency happens because Word reads theme font definitions from the document’s theme part and the local system’s installed fonts, but … Read more