Simplifying the Font List

Summary: Excel normally displays the font list on the toolbar or using the very fonts it is displaying. Here's how to change that behavior in some versions of Excel. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

When you click the Font drop-down list on the Formatting toolbar, Excel shows you the names of all the fonts you can use to format whatever you have selected on the screen. Normally, Excel shows the font names using the actual font. You may find the differing font faces to be distracting, or your slower computer may be really slow when listing all the fonts.

Whether you can turn this capability off or not depends on the version of Excel you are using. If you are using a version of Excel prior to Excel 2007, the program provides a control that turns the feature on or off. If you are using Excel 2007 the control has been removed; you cannot simplify the font list and it must be displayed using the actual fonts.

To turn this feature off in Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003, follow these steps:

Select Customize from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Customize dialog box.
Make sure the Options tab is displayed. (Click here to see a related figure.)
Clear the List Font Names In Their Font check box.
Click Close.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2832) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Simplifying the Font List