Why the new default font size (Word 2007)?

G

Guest

Why has the default font size been changed from 12 to 11 in this latest
version of Word?

Is it better suited to Calibri or something? Is the line spacing affected by
the font size?

Thanks.
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

All part of the total redesign. There are "classic" templates for those who
want 12-pt TNR with the old "Single" spacing.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 
G

Guest

So I take it that 11pt is better than 12pt for Calibri in particular? Or are
Microsoft recommending that all fonts look better as 11pt standard? A letter
in TNR/Arial size 11 would obviously look different to a letter in TNR/Arial
size 12.
 
R

Robert M. Franz (RMF)

Hi Dan
Dan said:
So I take it that 11pt is better than 12pt for Calibri in particular? Or are
Microsoft recommending that all fonts look better as 11pt standard? A letter
in TNR/Arial size 11 would obviously look different to a letter in TNR/Arial
size 12.

Maybe it's just taste, right. Though, for most letters, 12 pt is
probably not what Corporate Design will recommend, these days.

0.2cents
Robert
 
G

Guest

Why's that? Is 11pt considered the new 'standard' in the modern day? Even
with formal documents like letters and CVs? Thanks.
 
R

Robert M. Franz (RMF)

Hi Dan
Why's that?

No particular reason. But I've made the experience that, on a given
sheet of paper, designers tend to work with smaller font sizes and more
whitespace than most people. [They fit the same amount of text on the
page, mind you.]

Is 11pt considered the new 'standard' in the modern day? Even
with formal documents like letters and CVs? Thanks.

Of course, this all depends on your font. Personally, I rather use 11pt
or even 10.5 in a letter than 12 (with most non-serif fonts like Arial,
Gill, Meta, etc.).

I would also try to style my CV in a way that it does not look like the
standard Word table, anyway, and yes, I've been using less than 12pt
font size for the bodytext there, too.

Given Office marketshare, 11pt _might_ become the de-facto standard for
many, many documents (depending on how well Office 12 is received ...).
The biggest problem with the default Office settings is not whether they
are bad, mediocre, or good, but that most people use them without a
thought (IMHO :)).

2cents
Robert
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

If I'm mixing Arial and TNR, I find I have to reduce Arial to 10 pts to keep
the same line spacing. Also, keep in mind that 12-pt TNR has been standard
only since Word 2000, in which it was changed to be more Web-friendly (a lot
of the changes in Word 2000 were a result of the increasing Webification of
Word). Previous versions used 10-pt TNR as the default font.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

Robert M. Franz (RMF) said:
Hi Dan
Why's that?

No particular reason. But I've made the experience that, on a given
sheet of paper, designers tend to work with smaller font sizes and more
whitespace than most people. [They fit the same amount of text on the
page, mind you.]

Is 11pt considered the new 'standard' in the modern day? Even
with formal documents like letters and CVs? Thanks.

Of course, this all depends on your font. Personally, I rather use 11pt
or even 10.5 in a letter than 12 (with most non-serif fonts like Arial,
Gill, Meta, etc.).

I would also try to style my CV in a way that it does not look like the
standard Word table, anyway, and yes, I've been using less than 12pt
font size for the bodytext there, too.

Given Office marketshare, 11pt _might_ become the de-facto standard for
many, many documents (depending on how well Office 12 is received ...).
The biggest problem with the default Office settings is not whether they
are bad, mediocre, or good, but that most people use them without a
thought (IMHO :)).

2cents
Robert
--
/"\ ASCII Ribbon Campaign | MS
\ / | MVP
X Against HTML | for
/ \ in e-mail & news | Word
 
C

Cindy M -WordMVP-

Hi Dan,
Is 11pt considered the new 'standard' in the modern day? Even
with formal documents like letters and CVs?
I think, every few years, companies just feel they have to
change things. Otherwise, everything starts to look the same...
and who'd be interested in buying new products :) Once upon a
time, the default was TNR 10 point. Then they changed it to 12
point. After 10 years, it's just time for a "new look".

Go with what you find agreeable to the eye or, if you work in a
company, what the corporate identity dictates.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17
2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow
question or reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail :)
 
G

Guest

Ok, thanks guys!

Cindy M -WordMVP- said:
Hi Dan,

I think, every few years, companies just feel they have to
change things. Otherwise, everything starts to look the same...
and who'd be interested in buying new products :) Once upon a
time, the default was TNR 10 point. Then they changed it to 12
point. After 10 years, it's just time for a "new look".

Go with what you find agreeable to the eye or, if you work in a
company, what the corporate identity dictates.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17
2005)


This reply is posted in the Newsgroup; please post any follow
question or reply in the newsgroup and not by e-mail :)
 
R

Robert M. Franz (RMF)

Suzanne said:
If I'm mixing Arial and TNR, I find I have to reduce Arial to 10 pts to keep
the same line spacing.

When using "single," maybe, but not when you use "exactly x pt," I
presume? Not least due to the old Footnote text bugs, I've come to set
to "exactly" or "at least" as a matter of principle. :)

Greetinx
Robert
 
S

Suzanne S. Barnhill

Yes, I still use Single for most documents, as I create very few documents
with footnotes.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.
 

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