Using Handwriting Fonts in Microsoft Word

How to make your handwriting fonts for Microsoft Word® look more “real”

Use these 3 simple adjustments to make your handwriting fonts for Microsoft Word documents look more realistic – and more like real handwriting.
  1. Move individual words above and below the baseline – just a little – so the line is not perfectly straight
  2. Create a ragged left margin so it’s not perfectly aligned
  3. Adjust the line spacing so the lines aren’t all the same distance apart
The following diagrams show how to perform the above adjustments. To create a “bumpy baseline,” first select the word to move up or down and then open your font settings using Control-D (Windows) or Command-D (Mac). Then select the advance tab and move the Position up or down just a point or two.
Make a "bumpy baseline" for Handwriting Fonts in Microsoft Word
To make a ragged left margin, type a carriage return (enter) at the end of the lines so you can adjust each line separately. Then use the ruler to adjust the left margin by very small increments in or out.
Make "ragged" left margins and variable line spacing for Handwriting Fonts in Microsoft Word
Finally, change the line spacing just a little from one line to the next. Make some lines a single space apart, and others 1.2 or .8 apart. Try different amounts until you get a more “human” appearance in the use of your handwriting font.
Microsoft Word sometimes cuts off the tops or bottoms of characters if the characters go very high or very low. Since these are real handwriting fonts, some letters were written to overlap into the line above or below, and the line display in some versions of Word doesn’t show this correctly. If it’s the first line of a page in particular where the tops of letters are being cut off and you want it to display properly, you can always adjust the line down or add a blank line above it. But even though it may not display completely it should print ok.
Don’t overdo any of these subtle adjustments, and soon you’ll be rewarded with a, “I can’t believe that’s a font!” when you show your print-out to others!
NOTE: These enhancements are especially effective when used on the addresses of envelopes!