How to modify Word formula font

Key points of this article

The font sources of ordinary text and mathematical variables in formulas are different and must be set separately, otherwise the changes may not take effect.
First confirm that the formula is an editable formula object. The font of formulas in picture form cannot be changed like text.
After modification, zoom in and check the variables, numbers and Chinese fonts to avoid accidental changes to italic or upright styles.
When only changing one formula, just select the settings one by one; the entire formula needs to be processed separately.

Many people search for "how to change the font of word formulas" and encounter roughly the same situation: the main text is in Times New Roman, but the inserted formulas are in another font, which is very inconsistent together; or the templates of journals and schools require formulas to also use Times New Roman, but the default font for formulas is not this. It's a common confusion when you click on the font box but nothing changes.

This article only talks about one thing: changing the font of a certain formula to Times New Roman or other fonts in Word. It is a different problem from "the formula font is displayed in disorder" and "the entire formula is unified in batches", and the reasons and methods are different. After reading, you will be able to judge which category your formula belongs to, know what to select, which item to change, and how to check after making changes.

How to change the font of a single formula? One sentence conclusion

When changing only one formula, select the entire formula first, and then distinguish the content inside it: ordinary text should be changed directly using the regular font settings, while mathematical variables and symbols should be changed using the font options of the formula itself. The font sources of the two types of content are different, and only part of them can usually be changed using only one method.

your situation	Recommended practices	reason
The formulas are mainly ordinary text, such as "where" and "means"	Select these words and set them directly to Times New Roman	Ordinary text uses regular font settings, and the operation is straightforward.
There are mainly letter variables in the formula, such as x, y, E	Use the math font setting in the formula tool and change it to Times New Roman	Variables use mathematics-specific fonts by default, and ordinary font settings often do not take effect.
I only want to change one or two characters	Drag and select these characters first, then set the font	Avoid affecting other parts of the entire formula
I can't click on the formula, I can only drag it as a whole.	First confirm whether it is a picture and re-insert the formula if necessary	The font of the picture cannot be modified, and the display of the old formula objects may be different from the new formulas.
To unify all formulas in the entire document	It does not belong to the scope of a single formula and needs to be processed separately.	To make batch modifications, you must first sort out the type of each formula. The idea is different from this article.

Before you start: Confirm these points first

Before you start, take a minute to determine the type of formula, which can save you a lot of back-and-forth attempts.

Confirm that the formula is an editable formula object. After clicking the formula, if you can see the cursor flashing in it, or a formula-related tab appears, it means that it is an editable formula. If you can only drag it as a whole like a picture, it may be a picture, the font cannot be modified, and the formula needs to be reinserted.
Distinguish what is in the formula. The font sources of ordinary text (such as words, Chinese descriptions) and mathematical symbols (such as letter variables, operators, numbers) are different. First, make sure you know clearly which are text and which are variables, so that the subsequent settings can be targeted.
Confirm your Word version and window status. The menu location and tab names are slightly different in different versions. The interface you are currently seeing shall prevail. If the tab doesn't appear, it's usually because the cursor isn't actually in the formula.
Check the formatting requirements first. Many journals and school templates stipulate that variables should be in italics, numbers should be in upright, and Chinese should be in Song font. Before changing to Times New Roman, confirm the requirements first to avoid having to readjust the italics or upright styles after the change is completed.
Back up the original file. After the font is changed, the width and height of the formula may change, and the paragraph wrapping may also change. Save a copy first and then modify it. If something goes wrong, you can roll back.

# steps to modify a single formula font in Word

The following steps apply to editable Word formulas. If you only want to change a small paragraph of the formula, you can skip the formula option and start directly from step 5.

Open the document and locate the formula. Click on the formula with the mouse to let the cursor enter the inside of the formula. If a gray border appears around the formula, it has been selected.
determine the scope of selection. if you want to change the font as a whole, keep the entire formula selected; if you only want to change parts, drag and select the characters or text that need to be modified with the mouse.
Open the Design tab of the Formula tool. When a formula is selected, a tab related to the formula usually appears at the top of the window. Switch to the design options that contain the structure, symbols, and formatting of the formula.
set the mathematical font. in the formula-related font settings, find the option to control the mathematical character font and set it to Times New Roman. This step mainly affects alphabetical variables and mathematical symbols. If you need to keep the math italics or upright styles, you should confirm the relevant options separately and do not change them all to the same style at once.
handle ordinary text separately. if there are ordinary words such as "where" and "denote" in the formula, select them separately and change them to Times New Roman in the regular font settings. Ordinary text is not controlled by mathematical font settings and needs to be operated separately.
check Chinese characters. if Chinese is included in the formula, it is recommended to select Chinese alone and set the font according to the typesetting requirements, such as the font specified in Song style or periodicals. Do not force to change Chinese to Times New Roman for the sake of unification. Chinese usually has no corresponding western glyph.
zoom in to see the effect. increase the view scale and look at the glyphs of alphabetic variables, numbers, and operators one by one. Make sure that the variable is still the style you want and that the number has not been mistakenly changed to italics.
Save and check paging. after saving the file, go back to the paragraph to see if the formula is open, across lines or squeezed to the next page. If there is a problem, adjust the display size of the paragraph spacing or formula.

If you are not sure which item to change between steps 4 and 5, you can undo it first, try it again, and compare the two effects before deciding. This takes less time than revising it over and over again.

# check item by item after completion

After the formula font has been changed, don't close the file at a glance. The following items are prone to problems. Check them one by one to avoid finding errors after submission or printing.

Check item	What do you think?	What if there's a problem?
Glyph of alphabetic variable	Zoom in to see if x, E, k and other variables are consistent with other formulas.	Go back to the mathematical font setting of the formula, reselect and confirm
Is the Chinese character normal?	Whether the Chinese description is clear, there are no boxes or abnormal glyphs.	Select Chinese separately and change it back to the font specified by Song or periodical.
Numbers and operators	Whether the number remains upright and whether the plus sign, equal sign and other symbols are normal.	Check to see if the number has been changed into italics by mistake, undo it and redo it if necessary
Line spacing and line wrapping	Whether the paragraph of the formula is stretched out, and whether the text before and after the formula is misplaced.	Adjust paragraph line spacing, or appropriately reduce the size of the formula display
Other formulas for the same document	Are the fonts of other formulas consistent with this one?	Check one by one and unify the setting method to avoid changing one place without changing the other.
The effect of exporting PDF	Whether the glyph of the formula is the same as that in Word after saving as PDF	Check the font embedding settings in the export options before re-exporting

If you find that a formula can't change the font all the time, go back to the first item before you start and make sure it's a picture. If it is a picture, change the font can only re-insert an editable formula, and then follow the above steps to modify.

# frequently asked questions (FAQ)

1. Why did I change the font when I selected the formula?

There are two common reasons. First, the formula is actually a picture, and the picture cannot be modified through the font setting. Second, the mathematical characters in the formula are controlled by the mathematical font setting, only the regular font button will not take effect, you need to use the formula's own font options.

2. After changing to Times New Roman, the variables still look different. What should I do?

First verify that the variable still retains the italic style. Times New Roman itself has italic glyphs, but the mathematical font used by mathematical variables by default is not exactly the same. If the journal requirements are uniform, the mathematical font settings and the italic state of variables should be checked at the same time, and compared with other formulas.

3. Do you want to change the Chinese in the formula to Times New Roman?

It is generally not recommended. Times New Roman is a Western font, does not contain Chinese glyphs, the Chinese text will be automatically replaced by the system to other fonts, the effect may be unstable. The Chinese description is usually set to Song or boldface according to the requirements of schools or periodicals, which can be set separately.

4. There are dozens of formulas in the whole document, all of which need to be changed. What should I do?

This article talks about the practice of a single formula, and the efficiency of modifying one by one is not high. The whole unified question needs to sort out the type of each formula, distinguish between pictures, old objects and editable formulas, and then decide on a unified method. This kind of batch problem will not be carried out in this paper.

5. After changing the font, the formula went to the next line. What went wrong?

Font changes change the width and height of the formula, which may cause one line to hold and be squeezed to the next line. You can appropriately reduce the display size of the formula, or adjust the line spacing of the paragraph. If the formula is long, you can also consider splitting it into two lines to display.

# Summary

To modify the font of a single formula in Word, the key is to select the formula first, then distinguish between ordinary text and mathematical symbols, and use the corresponding method to set it. Following the steps and checklist in this article, even common problems such as "how to change fonts in word formula" can be solved quickly. After the correction, please enlarge and check the glyph, line spacing and export effect to ensure that the formula is consistent with the text when submitted or printed.

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