If you want, create a document with the table formatted the way you want and attach it here so we can look at it. That document should carry all the styles you use.


Attach a Sample File Demonstrating the Problem - Here's How

By the way, in my opinion, 10 pt is too small for general document use.
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I am a lawyer and use 10 pt for the stuff I don't want anyone to read.
Sometimes I will compromise and use 11.5. For things I file in court that I want judges to read, I use 14 pt.
If you want people to read what you write, don't make the text too dense.

I created my own template I use for documents. I read that if I mess with the normal.dotm and someone else opens it, it might mess up the formatting.

What's confusing me now is that I've noticed in the same table, with my "Table Text" style applied to the entire table, Column 1&2 is Arial Size 10, Column 3 is Arial Size 11. Changing size 11 to size 10, results in a "Table Text +" style appearing. Makes no sense.

I'll check out quick tables, see how that goes.

I'm a mechatronic design engineer and Size 10 Arial or Size 11 Calibri are the typical font styles preferred by the companies I've worked for. This company uses Arial 10 and size 7 for the small print. For the technical documents I create or modify, legibility has never been an issue.

I've created a test document with the issue. First table was pre-existing / in the upper half of the original document. The second table is newly inserted, and defaults to the wrong font size despite showing the correct style is applied.

Attached Files

test.docx (33.7 KB, 5 views)

Documents inherit their styles from the template at the point of creation. From that point forward the styles in the document are independent of those in the template unless changes are explicitly saved back to the template. The only exception to this is if the document is set to automatically update styles.

The template "normal.dotm" is personal to the user so nobody else will be opening your template. Share the document with anyone else though and they can certainly mess with the formatting, but only in the document.

If the test document is based on the template you created then you have not set the template up correctly. The default font for the document is shown as Times New Roman.
Screenshot 2025-04-17 141210.png

For table styles to work correctly it is essential that they are inserted in a paragraph formatted with a style that matches the document defaults. For details see BEHIND THE CURTAIN: STYLES’ ORDER OF OPERATIONS and BEHIND THE CURTAIN: STYLES, DOC DEFAULTS, STYLE SETS, AND THEMES

The default table style used is Table Grid which is set to use Calibri 11pt, which is likely where the 11 point text is coming from. Calibri is also the font for the theme that is attached to the document/template.
Screenshot 2025-04-17 141156.png

If you want your documents to be consistent then you first need to ensure that your template is consistent. Based on the document you posted your template needs work.

A different perspective: I work with engineers. Many of the tables contain a lot of detailed information, and Calibri 10 is very legible. Some fonts at 10pt are more compact and hard to read. Any table footnotes do get down to 9pt which is rather small. What works best for legal documents might not work as well for science and engineering.