Restore Windows Notepad to the Default Font or Settings
One of the most common utilities you will encounter in Windows is the text editor Notepad. Apart from being the default viewer and editor for text files, it’s also used by Windows to edit several other file format types such as batch files, registry files and scripts etc. It may not be the most advanced text editing utility you’ll come across, but the fact it’s remained almost unchanged for years, including in Windows 8, says it does just enough for most people without over complicating things.
One of the problems with Notepad is it’s very easy to change certain things like the default font, and if you or someone else has changed anything about the font, there is nothing in the program that allows you to reset the setting back to the default. If you have children in the family or like to experiment with various settings yourself, it’s easy to mistakenly set the font to something like Wingdings or Webdings and the words “Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00” from a .reg file look a little different!
Of course, you’re free to use whatever font you choose that’s on your system, but after using Notepad for so many years, it looks odd with anything other than the default font and you may want it set back.
To set Notepad back to the default font and size in Windows is really very easy, and the issue is more about knowing which font is used as opposed to how to change it. Just follow the simple instructions below.
1. Open Notepad, click on Format in the menubar and select Font…
For Windows 2000, XP, Vista and 7.
2. Select Lucida Console for the Font, the Regular Font Style with a Size of 10, followed by clicking the OK button to save the changes. Script type should also be Western.
For Windows 8
One thing that has changed in Windows 8 is the default Notepad font. Set the Font to Consolas, a Regular Font Style and a new size of 11. Obviously, if you don’t like this newer font and prefer the old, you can always change it to Lucida Console 10.
Strangely, although Notepad stores whatever font you used last as the new default, Wordpad doesn’t seem to have this problem because whenever you open a new empty document, it will always use the default font which is Calibri with font size 11.
Completely Resetting Notepad Settings to Default
If for some reason you have problems changing the font through the program or other settings seem to be causing issues, there is a way to reset Notepad completely back to all default settings. This simply involves deleting the key for Notepad in the registry and the program will recreate the new defaults when it runs next time. Download the following .reg registry file and import into the registry to delete the key. If Notepad is open, the settings will reset on the next run.
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Thank you, that helped.
I changed the characters’ size on a file to make it more readable and didn’t know it would default that for all documents.
Thanks. Due to some reason my Notepad font was changed and I could’nt change it to Default. But your infor helped me to change it to Default.
thanks dude, was very helpful
Thanks,
when doing a lot of .ini editing, those slashed zeros of Consolas hurt my eyes and make it difficult to differentiate it from numbers like 8 or 6.
Changed to Lucida Console.
It’s good. But complicated… I suggest you it.
Thank you very much for generous contribution
BLESS YOU FOR THIS!!!! The change in font was bugging me for days!
Carolyn
Thanks for the information.
Why not just state the registry key to delete for the complete reset? Simpler than some potentially infected download.
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Notepad
Thank You. Excellent advice. But people who don’t know about the Registry should be careful. But this is the easiest and fastest solution.
Super helpful!
Thank you. :)
I’ve always wondered – and it’s good to know that there are people like me, who like their Notepad just the way it has been – I knew it was Lucida Console for XP and Windows 7, so imagine my horror when I open Notepad on Windows 10 to find that not only have they changed the default font (which itself is a transgression), but also I couldn’t find the font I wanted to revert to.
Thanks to your simple but lucid instructions, I now know to look for the Consolas font for Windows 8+.
Thanks a ton!!! :-))
Thank you SOOO much!! (I am hugging you right now. You have been hugged.)
Thanks it is all back to normal.
Great job! o/ (Windows 7)
THANKS ALOTTTT
THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks a lot! It helped me.
Thank you sooooo much!!!
thanks a lot solve my problem
Thanks! Love Notepad!
Thanks a Lot.
Thanks a lot! I changed my font unawares and I didn’t know which font there was.
Thanks. It works for me. (Windows 8)
Thank you very much. You have solved my problem :-)
I thought the default font was Arial but it wasn’t, and as you said, after looking at Notepad for many years with the default font, all the others were annoying. Your solution was right on, and now I’m back to the default setting.
Thanks for the tip, and all the other great articles you publish on this site.
thankyou so much :)
Thank you….It worked….THANKS….
Thank you.
is this registry file good for all windows operating systems?
viz xp, vista, 7, 8, & server?
Yes, the registry file works for all of them as the registry entry is always in the same place.
A better font choice would be Consolas :)