PowerPoint Change Font in Master Slide - Customize Option Missing

Question

I want to change the default font in a PowerPoint presentation, which is described in a Microsoft Help Article. Once in the Master Slide, the Font drop-down menu has a limited number of fonts and should have a "Customize Fonts" option. Customize Fonts is missing from my drop-down menu.

I want to change the Default Font to Bookman Old Style, which is an available font option outside of the Master Slide. However, since it is not listed in the drop-down Font menu inside the Master Slide, I would need to select Customize Fonts.

Does anyone have the Customize Fonts option in their Font drop-down menu inside the Master Slide?

Is there another way to change the Default Font to one that is not listed in the Master Slide?

PowerPoint for Mac

Version 16.71

Thanks

Answer 1

For Mac-specific information, use "for Mac" in quotes in your search terms. The Customize Fonts option is Windows only.

Fortunately, a font theme is a simple text file. You can create one use TextEdit if you're careful, but I recommend the free version of BBEdit (look for the Free download button). Here's my how-to article on creating font themes on a Mac: OOXML Hacking: Font Themes

Answer 2

The Theme Fonts list is nothing more than pairs of fonts which the Microsoft designers consider to be preferable for everyone but you are not limited to those fonts.

In the Slide Master View select the Title Placeholder on the Master Slide then either go to Format> Font in the main menu or go to the Home tab to select the font you want to use. Select the Content Placeholder & do the same. Actually you can select both placeholders & change the font rather than doing one placeholder at a time.

Note, however, that this affects only the current presentation, it doesn't change the default of the program.

Answer 3

Yes, this is my problem. I've edited all of the text boxes to the font that I want inside the Master. However, outside the master when inserting a new text box the font is defaulted back to the Font Theme. I'll try your technique of creating a custom font theme with BBEdit.

Answer 4

You can get by by just setting the font on the slide master, but inserted text boxes, tables and charts will still use the font theme fonts (Calibri, with the default font theme). Setting a proper font theme makes the presentation work more as users expect it to.