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Learn how to add custom fonts to Microsoft Word on Windows or Mac
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Want to use a custom font in your Microsoft Word documents? This wikiHow teaches you how to install a font on your Windows or Mac computer in order to use the font in Microsoft Word.
Quick Steps
- Download a font from a website you trust.
- Extract the font if it's downloaded as a ZIP file.
- Right-click (Windows) or double-click (Mac) the font file.
- Select Install (Windows) or Install Font (Mac).
- Give administrator privileges as required.
- Wait for the font to finish installing.
Steps
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Download a font from a trusted website. Fonts are a common way to transmit viruses, so take care to only download fonts from trusted sources. Avoid any fonts that come in EXE format, as fonts typically come packed into ZIP files or in TTF (TrueType Font) or OTF (OpenType Font) format. A few popular font sites include the following:
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Extract the font file if necessary. If your font is in a ZIP folder, right-click the ZIP file and select Extract All… . Follow the instructions in the unzip wizard that pops up. If the wizard asks where you want to extract the files, select a location you can find again easily (such as your Downloads folder).
- Skip this step if the font is in TTF or OTF format, not in a ZIP folder.
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Right-click the font file and select Install . It's at the bottom of the contextual menu, and it has the Windows administrator shield icon next to the option.
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Click Yes if prompted. Since installing a font requires administrator permissions, you may be prompted to confirm this step. [1] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
- If you aren't on an administrator account, you can't install a font.
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Wait for the font to install. This will usually only take a few seconds. Once the font is installed on your computer, it will be accessible by any programs which use system fonts, including Microsoft Word.
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Download a font from a trusted website. Fonts are a common way to transmit viruses, so take care to only download fonts from trusted sources. Avoid any fonts that come in EXE or DMG format, as fonts typically come packed into ZIP files or in TTF/OTF format. A few popular font sites include the following:
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Extract the font file if necessary. Since most font files download in a ZIP folder, you'll need to unzip the folder by double-clicking it and waiting for the extracted folder to open. If you aren't sure how to unzip a ZIP file on Mac, check out this wikiHow article.
- Skip this step if your font downloads as a TTF or OTF file, not a ZIP folder.
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Double-click the font file. Doing so will bring up a preview window.
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Click Install Font . It's at the top of the preview window. This will install your font for all text-based programs on your Mac, thus making it usable with Microsoft Word. [2] X Trustworthy Source Microsoft Support Technical support and product information from Microsoft. Go to source
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Open Word and click Blank document . You'll find this option in the upper-left side of the launch page. Doing so opens a new Word document.
- If Word was open when you installed your font, close the program and restart it. Your custom font won't show up until Word is restarted.
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Click the dropdown next to the font name in the Home tab. The font dropdown is in the upper-left corner of the Font section of the Home tab, directly above the buttons to bold, italicize, or underline your text.
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Find your new font. Scroll through the drop-down menu until you find your font's name. If you don't remember your font's name, check your Downloads folder.
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Test the font. Click the font's name, then try typing using the font. You may need to adjust the size of the font in order for it to be legible.
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Community Q&A
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QuestionWhat can I do if my fonts don't appear in the dropdown?Community AnswerClosing Microsoft Word and then opening it again will usually refresh the font list. If this doesn't work, try re-installing the font.
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QuestionIt says it does not appear to be a valid font and cannot install. What should I do?Community AnswerInstead of copying onto the control panel, double click on the extracted font file. You will then see either an open type or a true type file, double click on this and a preview of the font will show up. On the top left area of the window, there will be a button saying install. Click that.
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QuestionHow do I rename the font?Community AnswerNever rename a font while it's in the installed folder; it could get corrupted. Delete the font, and reinstall it. Before putting it into the fonts folder, right-click it, and select the option "Rename." After naming it whatever you want, put it into the fonts folder normally.
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Tips
- After a font is installed, it will be available in any program that can access your computer's fonts, not just Microsoft Word.Thanks
- If you plan on sending your Word document to someone else, save it as a PDF to ensure that your custom font is retained. You can save as a PDF by clicking the "Save as type" (Windows) or "Format" (Mac) drop-down box on the "Save" window and then selecting PDF .Thanks
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References
About This Article
Article Summary
X
1. Download the font.
2. Unzip the font if necessary.
3. Double-click the font.
4. Click Install
or Install Font
.
Did this summary help you?
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 1,738,699 times.
Reader Success Stories
- "I needed a quick and easy way to find out how to download and start using a special font in MS Word. These set of instructions provided an easy-to-understand, step-by-step process of how to do so. Plus, the images were there to illustrate as I moved along. Very helpful! " ..." more
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"I needed a quick and easy way to find out how to download and start using a special font in MS Word. These set of instructions provided an easy-to-understand, step-by-step process of how to do so. Plus, the images were there to illustrate as I moved along. Very helpful! "
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"Uh... Just wanna say that this article really helped me. I was supposed to do something for our project in our school, but the fonts in MS Word are all common, and I thought if I could do a Star Wars font, y'know? This really helped me thanks!"
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"I was nervous about doing this, but having plucked up courage, I found the whole article really easy to follow. It even gave me the confidence to embed the font, something I would not have dreamed about doing without the help of this article."
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"As a visual learner, this is exactly what I need. Saves me time and effort when there are pictures and short explanations in bullet points. The info about what to do depending on what version of Windows you have was also great."
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"I saw a free font on a design site, so looked up how to install it here. The instructions were easy to follow. I especially appreciated the tip on how to be sure the files to be downloaded weren't viruses. "
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