Text may be contextually previewed in various fonts using preview panes with a level of transparency. Fonts or font groups may then be applied to a document using the preview panes. In one example, text to be inserted may be previewed in different fonts against the document in which the text is to be added. Once a user has selected a desirable font, the user may choose to insert the text into the document using the preview pane. Alternatively, a user may apply a font to existing text from the preview pane. Text in fonts of different types and/or sizes may be previewed in a variety of formats in a single preview area and/or with individual font preview panes.