Arial Narrow in Word, Excel & PowerPoint: Setup and Tips

Last reviewed by the ArialNarrow.com editorial team

Short answer

Arial Narrow comes with Microsoft Office, so you can pick it straight from the font list in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. To keep it when you share a file, export a PDF or turn on Embed fonts in the file under File > Options > Save.

Word: set Arial Narrow as your default

  1. Open a blank document and press Ctrl+D (Cmd+D on Mac).
  2. Choose Arial Narrow under Font and pick a size. We suggest 11 pt for letters and reports.
  3. Click Set As Default.
  4. Select All documents based on the Normal template and click OK.

Want it only for headings? Right-click Heading 1 in the Styles gallery, choose Modify, and switch the font there. Your body text stays in its usual font while headings save space.

Excel: fit more columns on a page

  1. Click the triangle at the top left of the sheet to select everything.
  2. Set the font to Arial Narrow on the Home tab.
  3. Double-click any column border so Excel resizes every column to fit the narrower text.
  4. Open Page Layout > Scale to Fit and set Width to 1 page. Excel now has to shrink much less, so the printout stays readable.

To make it the default for new workbooks, go to File > Options > General and change "Use this as the default font". Restart Excel to apply it.

PowerPoint: use it in your theme

Changing fonts slide by slide wastes time. Set it once in the theme instead:

  1. Go to Design > Variants > Fonts > Customize Fonts.
  2. Set the heading font to Arial Narrow and the body font to Arial or another roomy font.
  3. Name the set and click Save. Every placeholder now uses it.

Arial Narrow Bold headings above regular Arial body text look tidy because both come from the same family. More combinations are in our Arial Narrow pairing guide.

Keep the font when you share files

  • Best: send a PDF (File > Save As > PDF). It looks the same everywhere.
  • If others must edit: turn on File > Options > Save > Embed fonts in the file in Word and PowerPoint for Windows.
  • For Mac or Google Docs users: warn them to install Liberation Sans Narrow, which keeps every line break. See Arial Narrow on Mac.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Arial Narrow change to another font when I email my Word file?

The person opening it doesn't have Arial Narrow, so Word swaps in a substitute. Fix it by sending a PDF, or turn on File > Options > Save > Embed fonts in the file before you save. Embedding makes the file bigger, but the layout survives.

How do I make Arial Narrow the default font in Word?

Press Ctrl+D to open the Font dialog, pick Arial Narrow and a size, then click Set As Default and choose All documents based on the Normal template. New documents now start in Arial Narrow.

Is Arial Narrow a good font for Excel?

Yes. It is one of the best built-in choices for wide spreadsheets. The narrow letters let you shrink column widths, and its digits share one width, so numbers line up. Most sheets fit one or two more columns per printed page.

Can I use Arial Narrow in Word on the web?

Usually, yes. Word for the web lists Arial Narrow and displays it, because Microsoft serves the Office fonts from the cloud. Colleagues using the desktop app without the font installed will still see a substitute.