
At the top of the left-hand navigation pane, expand Microsoft Word, click on Templates, and then select the file Normal.dotm and click Open. Any changes made to the settings in this document template will become the new default settings in Word. Microsoft Word’s default document settings are saved in a document template file named Normal.dotm. If you prefer a different default configuration, simply adjust these instructions accordingly. In this example, I’ll be setting the defaults to Times New Roman 12, single-spaced, with no extra space between paragraphs.

If you are still using Word 2007, the process explained below is similar enough that you should still be able to follow along. Here’s how to change the default settings for new documents in Word 2010. I can’t count the number of times I’ve looked over someone’s shoulder and have seen them selecting the text in the document and manually setting the font, paragraph, and style settings back to the Word 2003 defaults (or something closely approximating it).
