Formatting Issues

How to Fix Thai Text Appearing Too Small in Microsoft Office

Phi Hung Vo Oct 1, 2026 868 views

Question details

Users experience an issue where Thai characters appear significantly smaller than English text in Microsoft Office applications.

How to Fix Thai Text Appearing Too Small in Microsoft Office

Product: Microsoft Office
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Working with bilingual text or documents containing both Thai and English characters, especially after an Office update.
Observed behavior: Thai font size is noticeably smaller than English text, heavily affecting column headers, row labels, and message previews in applications like Excel and Outlook.

Before you start

Check your current Microsoft Office version and verify if there are any pending updates available. It is also helpful to test if the issue occurs across multiple applications to determine if it is an app-specific or system-wide rendering bug.

Solution 1Recommended

Verify Font Settings and Update Office

Ensure that a compatible font supporting both English and Thai characters is selected and that Office is fully updated.

Often, Office updates can alter default font rendering engines, causing discrepancies in how complex scripts like Thai are scaled relative to Latin characters. Updating to the latest patch or using a universally supported Unicode font can mitigate this.

Check for Office Updates

Open the affected Microsoft Office application (e.g., Excel or Outlook), navigate to 'File' > 'Account', click on 'Update Options', and select 'Update Now'.

Change the Default Font

Highlight the affected text, go to the 'Home' tab, and manually change the font to a standard Unicode font like Tahoma or Leelawadee that properly scales Thai scripts alongside English.

Adjust Font Size Manually

If the font still appears small, use the 'Font Size' dropdown in the 'Home' tab to increase the size until the Thai characters are legible in your row and column headers.

Report to Microsoft: If this issue began immediately after a recent Office 365 update and affects system-level UI like message previews, it is likely a bug. Report the behavior directly to Microsoft Support with screenshots.

Solution 2

Adjust Windows Language and Region Settings

Modify your system language settings to ensure proper rendering of Thai characters across all applications.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Try WPS Office for Seamless Multilingual Document Editing

If you continue experiencing text scaling and font rendering issues after Microsoft Office updates, consider switching to WPS Office. It provides excellent rendering for international languages, a highly familiar user interface, and is completely free to use.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Visit the official WPS website, download the free version, and follow the simple installation instructions.
2. Open Your Office Files: Launch WPS Spreadsheet or WPS Writer, click 'Open', and select your existing Microsoft Office documents.
3. Edit Without Formatting Loss: Enjoy editing your documents with proper font scaling and complete layout fidelity.

Highly compatible with Microsoft Office formats including .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx.Accurate font rendering and consistent scaling for Thai and other complex scripts.Lightweight architecture ensures it runs smoothly on older devices without lag.Includes a built-in PDF editor and comprehensive formatting tools.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why did my Thai text suddenly become smaller in Excel?

This issue often occurs after a Microsoft Office update that alters the default font rendering or scaling engine, causing non-Latin scripts like Thai to display smaller than Latin characters in headers and data cells.

Which fonts are best for documents containing both English and Thai text?

Fonts like Tahoma, Arial Unicode MS, and Leelawadee are excellent choices because they contain well-proportioned glyphs that balance both English letters and Thai characters evenly.

Does this font size issue affect printed documents as well?

Typically, yes. If the text appears noticeably smaller in the application's interface, column headers, or print preview, it will likely print smaller. Adjusting the font settings or using an alternative office suite can resolve the print output.

Document & File Issues