How to Change Font Size in LaTeX
To change font size in LaTeX, use a size command such as \small, \large, \Large, \huge (and \normalsize to return). Apply it inside a group {\Large big text} so it does not affect the rest. To change the whole document, set the base size in the class option, e.g. \documentclass[12pt]{article}.
Example
{\small smaller} normal {\large larger} {\Huge huge}
% Document-wide base size (10pt default; 11pt/12pt common):
\documentclass[12pt]{article}
% Exact size + line spacing:
{\fontsize{14pt}{17pt}\selectfont custom size}Frequently asked questions
What are the size commands from smallest to largest?
\tiny, \scriptsize, \footnotesize, \small, \normalsize, \large, \Large, \LARGE, \huge, \Huge.
How do I set an exact point size?
Use \fontsize{size}{baselineskip}\selectfont, e.g. {\fontsize{14}{17}\selectfont text}. The second number is line spacing.
Why does \documentclass only allow 10pt, 11pt, 12pt?
The standard classes (article, report, book) ship only those three base sizes. For other base sizes use the extarticle/extreport classes (8-20pt) or KOMA-Script classes.
How do I change the font size of section headings?
Load the sectsty package (\sectionfont{\Large}) or titlesec for full control: \titleformat*{\section}{\Large\bfseries}.
How do I change font size inside a table?
Put a size command right after \begin{table}: e.g. \small or \footnotesize before the tabular. It applies to the whole table and resets after the environment ends.
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