Enforcing a Desired Font

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 29, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

Bryan has an Excel workbook that is shared in his office. He created the workbook and set the default font, but someone is changing the font. Bryan wonders if he can force the font to his desired font when the workbook is closed.

An easy way to do this is to use the BeforeClose event handler for the workbook. You can have the handler step through each of the worksheets and set the font for all the cells in this manner:

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
    Dim s As Worksheet

    For Each s In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
        s.Cells.Font.Name = "Calibri"
    Next
End Sub

This sets the font to Calibri, but you can change the font name, as necessary. If you need to change other font characteristics, you can modify the event handler to do so:

Private Sub Workbook_BeforeClose(Cancel As Boolean)
    Dim s As Worksheet

    For Each s In ActiveWorkbook.Sheets
        With s.Cells.Font
            .Name = "Calibri"
            .Size = 10
        End With
    Next
End Sub

You'll want to be careful, though, changing too many font characteristics, as you may end up getting rid of some you want to keep, such as bold or italic.

Remember that these macros should be added to the ThisWorkbook object in the Visual Basic Editor.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (4801) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Adding Gridlines to a Table

You can easily add borders to your table cells. This tip shows you how.

Discover More

Applying Table Formats

Want to make short work of formatting a large data table? You can use the AutoFormat feature of Excel to apply all sorts ...

Discover More

Indenting a Paragraph to the Next Tab Stop

Need to indent an entire paragraph from the left margin? It's easy to do using the tool described in this tip, easily ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Accurate Font Sizes

Need to use some bizarre font size in your worksheet? Not a problem, provided it is a full or half point size.

Discover More

Changing Fonts in Multiple Workbooks

If you need to change fonts used in a lot of different workbooks, the task can be daunting, if you need to do it ...

Discover More

Using an Exact Number of Digits

Excel allows you to format numeric data in all sorts of ways, but specifying a number of digits independent of the ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is eight less than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.