w:rPrDefault (Default Run Properties)

Specifies the default run (character) formatting properties applied to all runs in the document unless overridden.

Parent elements

w:docDefaults

Child elements

w:rPr

Description

w:rPrDefault contains a w:rPr child that defines the document-wide default run formatting. These defaults apply to any character-level property not otherwise specified by a style or direct formatting on a run.

It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §17.7.5.4.

w:rPrDefault lives inside w:docDefaults in styles.xml.

Attributes

None. All defaults are expressed through the child w:rPr.

Examples

<w:docDefaults>
  <w:rPrDefault>
    <w:rPr>
      <w:rFonts w:ascii="Calibri" w:hAnsi="Calibri"/>
      <w:sz w:val="22"/>       <!-- 11 pt -->
      <w:szCs w:val="22"/>
      <w:lang w:val="en-US" w:eastAsia="en-US" w:bidi="ar-SA"/>
    </w:rPr>
  </w:rPrDefault>
</w:docDefaults>

using DocumentFormat.OpenXml.Wordprocessing;

var docDefaults = new DocDefaults(
    new RunPropertiesDefault(
        new RunPropertiesBaseStyle(
            new RunFonts { Ascii = "Calibri", HighAnsi = "Calibri" },
            new FontSize { Val = "22" },
            new FontSizeComplexScript { Val = "22" },
            new Languages { Val = "en-US", EastAsia = "en-US", Bidi = "ar-SA" }
        )
    )
);

Notes

w:rPrDefault is the lowest rung in the run formatting priority chain: run-level direct formatting > character styles > paragraph styles > w:rPrDefault.
It is always present in a Word-generated styles.xml even if empty.