Published on 20.11.2019

Default formatting in Microsoft Excel

The original default formatting in Microsoft Excel leaves room for improvement in typography and design. One practical starting point is:

• Font: Tahoma, 10 pt
• Cell alignment: top
• Gridlines: off

Several settings work together to make this the default. This historical guide was published in 2019. Its screenshots and keyboard sequences refer to the German desktop interface. Menu names, default fonts and storage locations can differ in later releases and other language editions.

Set the default font

Open File and then Options in the Backstage view. In the General options, choose the font and font size for new workbooks, here Tahoma, 10 pt. Close and restart Microsoft Excel so that the change takes effect.

This setting determines the default font used when formatting is cleared.

Create template files

Microsoft Excel can use templates for new workbooks and worksheets. A new workbook created with Ctrl+N and a new worksheet inserted with Shift+F11 can then inherit your chosen defaults.

• Create a blank workbook with Ctrl+N.
• Delete all but one worksheet.

• On the View tab, in the Show group, turn Gridlines off.

Change the Normal cell style

On the Home tab, open Cell Styles, right-click Normal and choose Modify. In the German screenshots this style is called “Standard”.

The style dialog covers all aspects of cell formatting. Alignment and font are particularly useful here.

After changing the style, the row and column headings also use the chosen font.

Create a theme

This is a useful point to define a theme and save it for reuse. Themes are on the Page Layout tab in the Themes group.

The Fonts menu lists built-in font combinations. Choose Customize Fonts to create your own combination.

Choose a built-in colour set or define your own, for example to reflect the organisation’s corporate design.

You can also choose theme effects and save the theme on your computer.

Choose a startup folder

Find or define the startup folder in which the templates will be used. In File, Options, Advanced, scroll to General. The setting “At startup, open all files in” specifies an additional startup folder. Use a dedicated folder containing only files that should open automatically.

The original example used q:\template\excel\start. Your own folder and permissions will differ.

Save the workbook and worksheet templates:

1. Open Save As from File, or press F12.
2. Select the template file type *.xltx.
3. Navigate to the intended startup folder.
4. For the default workbook, use Book.xltx in the English edition or Mappe.xltx in the German edition.
5. Save the single-sheet workbook again as Sheet.xltx in the English edition or Tabelle.xltx in the German edition.
6. Close the file.

Microsoft’s startup and template documentation explains the role of the XLStart folder and the alternative startup folder. Use the location and default template names appropriate to the installed language edition.

Verify the result

Create a workbook with Ctrl+N and check the formatting. Insert a worksheet with Shift+F11 and check that it uses the intended defaults too.

Why these choices?

The book explains why sans-serif fonts often work well in tables and why gridlines can be unnecessary or distracting. The settings above are a considered starting point, rather than a rule for every workbook.