How To Set Default Font Indesign

3 Means to Change the Default Font in InDesign (Don't Edit [Bones Paragraph]!)

What should you do if y'all want to change the default font in InDesign? In just a minute I'll tell you three ways, from easy to overkill, merely kickoff I want to make sure you don't fall into the trap of changing the settings of the default paragraph style [Basic Paragraph]. It is not a good thought, and it tin can cost yous dearly if you lot decide to change it. I've seen it happen!

The Problem with Editing [Bones Paragraph]

Here's the problem with editing [Basic Paragraph]: at first, it all looks fine in your certificate. Elevate out a text frame, start typing, and woo-hoo! y'all're automatically using Lush Script or Museo Sans or whatsoever font you lot changed to from Minion Pro, the font called for by the default [Basic Paragraph] fashion.

But, if y'all re-create and paste that text into a new document, you'll see the problem. The blazon reverts dorsum to the original [Basic Paragraph] definition. Yikes! Take you ever seen text change its typeface, or suddenly become "pinked" (unavailable) simply by cut and pasting from one file to another? This is why. When you paste text, if the receiving file already has that way proper name, the attributes of the receiving document's manner "wins." And every InDesign file has [Basic Paragraph].

Before:

Original file: The user decided to edit [Bones Paragraph] to be used for trunk copy, so they changed the font and first line indent.

After:

New file, after copying/pasting the frames over: The original settings for [Basic Paragraph] reassert themselves, changing all the text formatting that uses that style.

Sometimes, as shown in the screenshots higher up, the difference is subtle, and in the rush of production, no one notices it (because no ane suspects a simple re-create/paste would somehow change the typeface), and the task gets printed and distributed.

Ah, but (I hear you saying) what if I make ALL my documents have the aforementioned modifications to [Basic Paragraph], by editing the style with no documents open in InDesign, so it becomes an application default? Still non a good idea, because that just applies to whatsoever new documents yous create. The old ones still have the old definition. And if a colleague or freelancer needs to apply some of your styled text (copy/paste, drag and drop, library items, snippets, etc.), they'll have the aforementioned trouble, and they'll likely take no clue as to the cause.

It's just not a smart InDesign exercise.

Iii ways to modify the default font in InDesign

OK, so if y'all shouldn't alter [Bones Paragraph] only you even so want to change your default font and text styling, what should you do?

Method i: The simplest way is to cull the typeface you want from the Type menu. Make sure nil is selected when you practice so (choose Edit > Deselect All first, to make certain). Bam. Your new typeface is ready, sir. Drag out a text frame and commencement typing, information technology uses the typeface you selected. If you want this to be the application default (for all new documents, remember), choose a face with no documents open up, so restart InDesign.

Yet: while that is super piece of cake, information technology comes at a cost. You'll notice equally yous blazon that the [Bones Paragraph] fashion has a plus symbol next to it, indicating local formatting. Formatting overrides in the final file are not a best exercise.

Method 2: The best practice is to create your own paragraph mode and then make that the default style for your certificate, instead of [Bones Paragraph]. To do this, commencement but brand a paragraph style (I'll call mine "Body copy" for this example), and and so select it in the Paragraph Styles console with the Option tool when cipher else is selected in the document. From then on, whenever you lot drag out a text frame, Body Copy is selected past default, and the content you blazon appears in the typeface you specified in the style.

With cipher else selected in the file, utilise the Selection tool to click on the Paragraph Style you lot want to exist the default, such equally Body Copy. Text copied and pasted from here into another layout will retain its formatting (assuming the receiving doc doesn't accept a Trunk Re-create way already).

You can practise this on a document-by-certificate basis if you want, likely choosing the Body Copy style you create for that layout to be the default. Or make it apply for all new documents you make by adding information technology to the Paragraph Styles panel when no other files are open.

Method 3: OK, I think this terminal method is kind of overkill, but if y'all're really obsessive near styles, this is the way to become: create a custom Text Frame object style and have information technology apply the paragraph fashion for you. The key here is that you can include a default Paragraph Style for the object style (as shown in the screen shot beneath). And then make a paragraph style, then tell this object mode to use information technology automatically. Like the methods above, you can practise this on a document-by-document basis, or do it with no files open so it becomes the default for all new files.

Create a new object fashion based on the default [Bones Text Frame] object manner, and cull a Paragraph Fashion for information technology. Here, I'm naming my new style "Text Frame."

The final step is to drag and drib the little text frame icon you'll see in the Object Styles panel down to your new text frame object style. That tells InDesign "use this as the default for all text frames I create from now on" Since you're non editing the default [Bones Text Frame] (some other no-no for the same reasons every bit above), you lot don't need to worry about changing whatsoever existing text frames in your files.