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I have a Word document with an equation. The font of the equation is "Cambria Math". How can I change this font into another font1?

Selecting the equation (or something inside it) and changing the font on the "Start" tab does not change anything at all.

1 I don't want to make this question too specific by specifying a font which might introduce additional challenges, e.g. because the font would not cover all glyphs required for math.

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3 Answers 3

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While not being a universal solution (Not every font is suitable for this solution), the alternate font XITS Math provides a font that works with the equation editor out of the box. Here is what it's going to look like in the end (You will notice the font looks similar to the font "Times"):

Formula with XITS Math font

1. Setting XITS Math as a default font for new equations

  1. Head to the Downloads page of xits-math. Select the .zip version of the latest release, as demonstrated below:

    Selecting the .zip version of the latest release

  2. Unzip the .otf fonts from the archive.

    OTF fonts inside the XITS Fonts zip bundle

  3. Install all the font files by selecting them in the Windows Explorer, right-clicking and Selecting "Install".

  4. Open Word and create a new equation. Then select the little "additional settings" corner.

    How to open additional settings for equations

  5. In the menu, change the "Default font" to "XITS Math".

    Changing the default font to XITS Math

  6. In order for the changes to take effect, you will have to create a new equation environment (the current one will not be changed).

    Formula with XITS Math font

2. Changing existing equations to XITS Math

You need to have the fonts for XITS Math installed first. If you have not done so yet, please complete steps 1–3 of the section "Setting XITS Math as a default font for new equations" (above).

  1. If you want to change only one equation environment, just position your cursor inside it. If you want to change multiple environments, you can them by selecting one after the other whilst holding Ctrl.

  2. In the "Home" tab, select the font "XITS Math" by choosing it from the list or typing its name into the box.

    Changing the font in the "Start" tab

Support for other fonts than XITS Math

The use of XITS Math was just an example chosen for this answer. There are probably more fonts that qualify as math fonts, but I have not found more. Please edit this answer or comment if you have found a font that could be added here.

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    This doesn't change the font of current written equations – it only changes that of new ones. To change the fonts of already written equations, just select them and then change the font as you would normally to the math font. Also, restart Microsoft Word if it's already open to see the newly installed font. Other than that, thank you.
    – Skeleton Bow
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 16:55
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    @SkeletonBow Thank you for your comment, I have edited my answer to include how to change existing equations.
    – randers
    Commented Oct 20, 2016 at 17:16
  • Note that formidable Latin Modern Math - the one we all cherish in LaTeX documents - is also available for Word. To install the font, follow the instructions from here.
    – normanius
    Commented Jun 2, 2020 at 0:15
  • I couldn't find the "little additional settings corner" on Word for MacOS, but you'll find the menu under Format => Equation Options. The Ctrl/Cmd selection of multiple equations doesn't work on Mac.
    – normanius
    Commented Jun 2, 2020 at 0:19
  • @normanius I can't find "Equation options" in "Format" menu either, on MacOS, and Office 2019. Can you describe in more detail, where to find it?
    – kostrykin
    Commented Jun 3, 2022 at 8:57
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An addition to the answer by RAnders00, there is a very quick way to change all of the fonts of existing equations using the advanced find.

Advanced find

"Advanced Find" allows you to search by format as well as for text content.

Leave the "Find what" field blank, and choose "Format > Font… " to select the font you want to find.

(picture)

Then click the "Replace" tab, and do the same to choose the font you want to replace with.

(picture)

Then click "Replace All", and it will replace all occurrences of the font you chose.

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So I kept running into a problem where I would change the equation font to Times New Roman and it would immediately jump back to Cambria. To fix this you may have to find this super obscure little button on the equation design tab towards the left side of the bar (in 2010) that has three options "professional", "design", and normal. You need to make sure "normal is selected. Then you can change it to Times New Roman.

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