Try this: (defun set-font (font-family height) (interactive "sFont family: \nnHeight: ") (set-face-attribute 'default nil :family font-family :

Try this: (defun set-font (font-family height) (interactive "sFont family: \nnHeight: ") (set-face-attribute 'default nil :family font-family :height height) (set-fontset-font "fontset-default" 'unicode font-family)) Then, if you have the right font installed, the following will work: (set-font "Monaco" 140) ; for 14-pt Monaco or, e.g., (set-font "Anonymous" 120) ; for 12-pt Anonymous (M-x set-font also works.)