Changing font type, style, color, and size
You can use a variety of fonts in TextEdit, and you can change the way they look. You can use the Styles pop-up menu on the ruler to choose common text styles, or you can use keyboard shortcuts (such as Command-B for bold text).
Some fonts have special characteristics, such as ligatures or character shapes, that you can add to letters. Special characters, such as the copyright symbol or graphical arrows, may also be available.
Plain text documents cannot contain formatting.
- To quickly select a commonly used font style, such as Bold, select some text and choose the style from the Styles pop-up menu.
- To customize the text, select some text and choose Format > Font > Show Fonts. In the Font panel, select a font and style in the Family and Typeface columns. Select a font size in the Size column or use the slider to change the font size.
- To change the font color, select some text and choose Format > Font > Show Colors. Then select a color in the Colors window.
- If your font uses special ligatures, add them by choosing Format > Font > Ligature.
- If your font has special character shapes available, add them by choosing Format > Font > Character Shape. Then select or deselect Traditional Form.
- To open the Character Palette, which gives you access to more special characters, choose Edit > Special Characters.
You can customize text and save those settings as a style that appears in the Styles pop-up menu.
To change the default font for all new documents, choose TextEdit > Preferences and click New Document. Click the Change button next to "Rich text font" or "Plain text font." Select the font you want to use in the Font panel.