When you start a new worksheet, Excel 2007 assigns a uniform font and type size to all the cell entries you make. The default font is Excel's new Calibri font (the so-called Body Font) in 11-point size. Although this font may be fine for normal entries, you may want to use something with a little more zing for titles and headings in the worksheet.
Changing the font type and size
If you don't especially care for the standard font that Excel uses, modify it from the Popular tab of the Excel Options dialog box (click Office Button --> Excel Options --> Popular). Look for the Use This Font drop-down list box in the When Creating New Workbooks section and then click the new standard font you want from its drop-down list. If you want a different type size, choose the Font Size drop-down list box and click a new point size on its drop-down menu or enter the new point size for the standard font directly into the Font Size text box.
Using the buttons in the Font group on the Home tab, you can make most font changes (including selecting a new font style or new font size) without having to resort to changing the settings on the Font tab in the Format Cells dialog box (Ctrl+1):
- To select a new font for a cell selection, click the drop-down button next to the Font combo box and then select the name of the font you want to use from the list box - note that Excel displays the name of each font that appears in this list box in the actual font named (so that the font name becomes an example of what the font looks like - on-screen anyway).
- To change the font size, click the drop-down button next to the Font Size combo box; then select the new font size or click the Font Size text box, type the new size, and press Enter.
Applying font attributes
You can also add the attributes of bold, italics, underlining, or strikethrough to the font you use. The Font group of the Home tab contains the Bold, Italic, and Underline buttons, which not only add these attributes to a cell selection but remove them as well. After you click any of these attribute tools, notice that the tool becomes shaded whenever you position the cell cursor in the cell or cells that contain that attribute.
Although you'll probably make most font changes using the Home tab on the Ribbon, on rare occasions you may find it more convenient to make these changes from the Font tab in the Format Cells dialog box (Ctrl+1). The Font tab brings together under one roof fonts, font styles (bold and italics), effects (underlining and strikethrough), and color changes. When you want to make a lot of font-related changes to a cell selection, working in the Font tab may be your best bet. One of the nice things about using this tab is that it contains a Preview box that shows you how your font changes appear.
To change the color of the entries in a cell selection, click the Font Color button's drop-down menu in the Font group on the Home tab and then select the color you want the text to appear in the drop-down palette. Keep in mind that you can use Live Preview to see what the entries in the cell selection look like in a particular font color by moving the mouse pointer over the color swatches in the palette before you select one by clicking it (assuming, of course, that the palette doesn't cover the cells).
If you change font colors and then print the worksheet with a black-and-white printer, Excel renders the colors as shades of gray. The Automatic option at the top of the Font button's drop-down menu picks up the color assigned in Windows as the window text color. This color is black unless you change it on the Advanced Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box in Windows Vista and XP.
