Format with fonts and styles in TextEdit on Mac

You can change text font, size, color, and other basic formatting using the toolbar. For example, to change the font size, select a size in the list.

If you don’t find what you need in the toolbar, you can access more advanced text formatting options in the Fonts window.

1. In the TextEdit app on your Mac, choose Format > Font > Show Fonts, or press Command-T to open the Fonts window.

2. Select the text you want to format, then do any of the following:

   • Change the font: In the top left, click the Collections menu to choose a collection, then select a typeface in the sidebar and a style on the right.

   • Bold, underline, or strike through text: Click the Text Formatting button , then choose an option from the pop-up menu, such as Double Strikethrough. To change the line color, choose Strikethrough Color from the pop-up menu, then click a color.

   • Add a shadow to text: Click the Text Shadow button , then turn on Shadow. Drag the sliders to adjust the shadow opacity, blur, and offset. Drag the Angle wheel to change the direction of the light source.

   • Change the font color: Click the Text Color button , then select a color in the Colors window.

   • Set typographic options: Click the Typography button (next to the search field), then select options such as case-sensitive layout, vertical positions, fractions, ornaments, ligatures, glyph variants, and number spacing. Each font has its own typographic options.

   • Find other fonts: Enter the font name in the search field. If you don’t see the search field, click the Search button .

   Use Font Book to install and manage fonts on your Mac. To open it from the Fonts window, click the Collections menu , then choose Manage Fonts. See the Font Book User Guide.

In the TextEdit app on your Mac, choose Edit > Transformations, then choose Make Upper Case, Make Lower Case, or Capitalize.

In the TextEdit app on your Mac, select your text, click the Paragraph Styles button in the toolbar. then do any of the following:

• Apply a style: Choose a style.

  Tip: To match the text around paste text as you paste it, select where to paste the text, then choose Edit > Paste and Match Style.

• View all instances of a style: Choose Show Styles, then select Document Styles or Favorite Styles. Locate the style you want to use, click Select, click “Select within entire document” or “Select within existing selection,” then click Select.

• Define a new style: Choose Show Styles, click Add to Favorites, then enter a name. Select which characteristics (font, spacing, or tabs) you want to apply when the style is selected.

  Tip: To transfer a style to another selection without defining a style, choose Format > Font > Copy Style, select the text to reformat, then choose Format > Font > Paste Style.

1. In the TextEdit app on your Mac, select the text you want to highlight.

2. Do one of the following:

   • Choose Format > Font > Highlight.

   • Click the Highlight button in the toolbar.

3. Choose a color.

Text highlights are saved in documents and can be copied and pasted into other apps that use text, such as Notes.

When you choose the Accent color option and copy and paste text into another app, the highlight appears as an app-specific accent color.

1. In the TextEdit app on your Mac, choose Format > Font > Show Fonts, or press Command-T to open the Fonts window.

2. Click the Document Color button in the toolbar, then select a color.

   To revert to the previous background color, click anywhere in the document, then choose Edit > Undo Set Document Background Color.