Default font size

[Alanheal]

DEFAULT FONT SIZE: Open Office looks like a fine program. I simply can't get it to change the default font size. I went to "help" and followed the directions, and also tried about half a dozen other suggestions from the internet, but it keeps going back to font 12, which is a bit small for my old eyes.

Suggestions?

[robleyd]

Please see [Tutorial] Creating a new default template

[Zizi64]

I created a new template but there was no place to change the font size. Been at this for 2 hours now. What sort of program requires all these steps to change default font size?

Please do not post questions into the TUTORIAL topics:
viewtopic.php?f=71&t=1161&p=452441#p452441

viewtopic.php?f=71&t=1161&p=452441#p452441

Do you mean the printed papers? Or the screen font size?

Maybe it is enough for you to adjust the zoom level on the screen. It will increase the sizes of the letters (virtually only) of the old and the newly created documents.

If you want to modify the default font size inside the new documents, then you must create a new template.
Then you must modify the font size of the default Styles (charater and/or paragraph Styles) in the template file.
And finally must set it as default template.

The possibilities about the older documents depends on the structure of the formatting methods. In a well structured document it is enough to change the font size of the default (base) Style, when all of the font sizes in the other styles are adjusted as a percentage value of the font size of the base (default) style: all of the font sized will be changed proportionally.

[Alanheal]

i have followed yor instructions and there has been no change in my documents. The font has remained the same.

"If you want to modify the default font size inside the new documents, then you must create a new template.
Then you must modify the font size of the default Styles (charater and/or paragraph Styles) in the template file."


All I have is a name of the template, how do I enter the template to change the font size? I am not sure where that is. Can you please be more specific.

Thanks

[Zizi64]

All I have is a name of the template, how do I enter the template to change the font size? I am not sure where that is. Can you please be more specific.

Please read the linked article above (in robleyd's post).

1. You need create a template file: File - New - Text document.
2. Then save it as a Template (choose the "ODF text document template" option from the fileformat drop down selector. The file name extension will be .ott Open Text Template.
3. Then adjust the font size OF THE DEFAULT STYLES. Save the file again.
4. Set your template file as Default template of the office suite (see the description)

[RoryOF]

As Zizi64 says: normally in a template the font size cascades from the Default paragraph style to related styles. It is as well to check that this has happened - one might not want it in the case of every paragraph style. For example, Paragraph Style Quotation: you might wish that to be (say) 2 points smaller than the normal text paragraph, so that it shows extended quotations in a distinctive style.

[Alanheal]

Thanks. I give up.

[RoryOF]

Try /Tools /Options /OpenOffice Writer /Basic fonts (western); this allows one to change the default fonts used for five paragraph styles in the default template, both font and size.

It is a bit of a sledgehammer approach which is why we normally advise fine tuning the default template.

[Bill]

Tools > Options > OpenOffice Writer > Basic Fonts... can change the default font for all new documents (leave the "Current document only" box unchecked) of for the active document only (check the "Current document only" box). In either case, the default font will not be changed in all existing documents. You have to open each document individually, change the default settings and check the "Current document only" box to change the default fonts in that document.

To use a template to change the default fonts for existing documents, the template has to be applied to each existing document. Simply creating a template won't affect any existing documents. There is an extension which might work (I haven't used it lately). Be sure to back up your documents before using the extension.

[Solved] How to assign new template to Writer document

[Alanheal]

JUST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE IN CASE ANYONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM, Tools > Options > OpenOffice Writer > Basic Fonts can't be used to create a new default setting. As soon as you open a new document it goes back to the former setting. As for Templates, I created one and there was nothing I could do with it. In MSWORD you can do this with a couple clicks of the mouse. It's just too expensive to keep up with it.

[RoryOF]

I think you could use that setting to change the default fonts for the template when editing it (then Save it as a template). If so, then all documents created from the altered template will use the new settings.

[Alanheal]

I created a template but it just says TEMPLATE in a little box. It isn't a "thing" that I have any way of working with. The biblical story of the Tower of Babel comes to mind. Language is ambiguous and creating shared meaning is not so easy in real life.

[Bill]

JUST FOR FUTURE REFERENCE IN CASE ANYONE ELSE HAS THIS PROBLEM, Tools > Options > OpenOffice Writer > Basic Fonts can't be used to create a new default setting. As soon as you open a new document it goes back to the former setting.

That's not universally true. I've used Tools > Options > OpenOfficeWriter > Basic Fonts... many times over the past 10+ years to change the default font. It has never reverted unless I manually reset the user profile. I even did it just now to make sure there wasn't some new bug that I hadn't noticed. Either something is preventing OpenOffice from updating your user profile or you missed something when you changed the default font setting.

As for Templates, I created one and there was nothing I could do with it. In MSWORD you can do this with a couple clicks of the mouse.

That's because MS Word uses a global template which is changed when you change the default font. OpenOffice doesn't use a global template, so some extra steps are necessary when using OpenOffice. To use the template on a new document in OpenOffice, you either have to set the template as the default template or select File > New > Templates and Documents then select the template when opening a new document.

[RoryOF]

I created a template but it just says TEMPLATE in a little box. It isn't a "thing" that I have any way of working with. The biblical story of the Tower of Babel comes to mind. Language is ambiguous and creating shared meaning is not so easy in real life.

It may not be helpful, but just in case: I found it took three reasonably substantial projects (30k-40k words) to make the full transition from MS Word 97 to OpenOffice (in a earlier version, as StarOffice 7, circa 2007). Since then I have written or edited millions of words using it. I previously needed to use MS Word and PageMaker (later InDesign) to do nicer print layouts. Now I use OpenOffice, and need no other layout program.

Two documents you might find helpful are linked in this posting
viewtopic.php?p=275320#p275320

This document may also be informative:
Writer for students (several languages)

This latter covers quite advanced formatting. It is not as complete as the Manual or the Help files, but equally, it is not as long.