Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Increasing the Size of the Draft Font.

Increasing the Size of the Draft Font

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 24, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Word provides an editing mode that allows you to suppress many of the frills typically associated with a document's display. This mode, called draft mode, results in documents being displayed in a draft font with only minimal formatting, and graphics being displayed only as place-holder boxes or blank lines (depending on which version of Word you are using). You put Word into this draft mode by selecting the Draft view button near the right side of the status bar if you are using earlier versions of Word. If you are using Word 2013 or a later version, you will have to access Draft mode by displaying the View tab of the ribbon and clicking Draft in the Views group.

For some people, the draft font used in this mode may not be large enough to be easily visible. You can modify the actual font used as the draft font, along with its size. This setting is made by following these steps:

  1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left side of the dialog box click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the options until you see the Show Document Content section. (See Figure 1.)
  4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Word Options dialog box.

  5. Select the Use Draft Font in Draft and Outline Views check box.
  6. Use the two controls under the check box to specify what font and size of font you want to use.
  7. Click OK.

If you prefer to not change the actual font used in Draft view, you can change the apparent size of the text by simply changing the zoom setting for the screen. Simply increase the zoom setting until the text is the size you find comfortable.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7916) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Increasing the Size of the Draft Font.

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

Simultaneous Scrolling

If you have two worksheets displayed at the same time, you might want those worksheets to remain visually "in sync" with ...

Discover More

Restarting a Numbered List Easily

Word provides tools that allow you to add numbered lists to your documents. Sometimes the quirks built into these tools ...

Discover More

Inserting a Paragraph from within a Macro

Macros are often used to process documents, resulting in changes of one manner or another. If you need your macro to add ...

Discover More

The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2019. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2019 For Dummies today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

New Page Appears at Right of First Page

When you start typing in a new document and you get to the end of the first page, Word could place the next page at the ...

Discover More

Changing the Startup Directory

When you start Word, it makes an assumption about where your documents are stored. If you want to force Word to change ...

Discover More

Making the Show/Hide Setting Persistent

Word allows you to either display or hide non-printing characters that are in your document. This configuration setting ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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

View most recent newsletter.

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 5 - 0?

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

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, 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.