How to Install and Manage Fonts in Windows

This tutorial shows how to manage and install fonts in Windows. You can use existing Microsoft fonts or download new ones from Microsoft Store and other online sources. It’s very easy to uninstall or hide the fonts you don’t need.

Tip: for creative types, it may be more fun to create a font from scratch instead.

How to Know Which Fonts Are Available on Your PC

Windows offers two distinct ways to help you know which fonts are available on your computer.

• Windows Personalization settings
• Control Panel

1. Access Windows Personalization settings by right-clicking anywhere on the desktop and choosing “Personalize” or by navigating to Personalization from the Settings menu.
2. Click the “Fonts” sub-menu to view all of the available fonts.

3. The Control Panel also provides a detailed glimpse into all the fonts on your Windows device. Open the app and select “Appearance and Personalization.”

4. Click “Fonts.”

5. All of the fonts installed on your PC are available in one single window. You can view and print a preview of any fonts from there.
6. Click “Font settings.”

7. In the “Font settings” window, you can hide the fonts that are not based on your language input settings. For example, if you primarily use English and other Latin alphabet languages, you can save a lot of space on your disk by hiding the fonts that you don’t recognize very well.
8. You can also use a shortcut to install fonts.

Good to know: did you see a cool font online? Here’s how you can identify a font from an image (or a site).

How to Install Fonts on Windows

If you want to install fonts through the drag-and-drop method, the Windows Personalization settings window offers this option. To download the fonts you want, go to the Microsoft Store by following the steps below:

1. Click “Start -> Settings -> Personalization.”

2. Select the “Fonts” sub-menu among the various Personalization options.

3. Click the “Get more fonts in Microsoft Store” link.

4. The Microsoft Store will open. (If it’s not working properly, take a look at these fixes.) You can see free and premium/paid fonts, which you can install just as you would a game or app from the Store.
5. Click on the desired font you want to install on your system.

6. Click the blue “Get” button to download the desired font to your computer.

7. Windows will download and install the fonts for the languages used.

8. Once the download is over, click “Open” to view the newly downloaded font in the Personalization settings window.

9. Each downloaded font is specific to the Windows operating system language edition. For instance, if your Windows version is in English, you’ll see the fonts for the Latin character set only.
10. The font you downloaded should be clearly visible in the list of fonts of Personalization settings. If you can’t see it, just refresh the screen or restart your computer.

11. Click the downloaded font to change its default font size. You can review its styles and categories including bold, italics, regular, etc.

12. Any font you download and install from Microsoft Store is readily available on core Microsoft programs, such as Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Tip: dealing with corrupted fonts on Windows? Here’s what you can do about it.

How to Install Fonts for Other Languages in Windows

1. If you want fonts for different languages, go to the “Fonts” screen of the Control Panel and click “Download fonts for all languages” on the upper right.

2. Downloading all font styles and language packs for fonts consumes a lot of disk space, so Microsoft warns you about this before you start the download process.

3. It may take a few minutes to download the entire package of fonts for other languages. You can interrupt the process by canceling the ongoing downloads.

4. However, adapting the installed font styles to your Windows device requires a PC restart followed by an offline update, which can consume a lot of time.

5. Downloading all of the language fonts is unnecessary. If you need another language temporarily, you can install them as needed. We recommend this, as the initialization files and different characters can greatly slow down your system.

6. Search for the other language fonts you need in Microsoft Store. The following screen shows the results for the “Thai” language. Download the ones you require.

7. Most font packs in Microsoft Store come in different styles and designs. Select the ones you plan to use and download them.

8. Go back to the Personalization settings window for your Fonts and select the “Drag and drop” option to bring the downloaded fonts into your Windows system tray. You can also import them via File Explorer.

9. Following a download, the other language fonts are just as easily available with Personalization settings and Microsoft Office.

How to Manage Fonts in Windows

To manage the fonts you’ve installed in Windows, use one of the methods below:

1. Uninstall Fonts from Windows Personalization Settings

1. Check the fonts under the Personalization settings. Select any unprotected or recently installed fonts.
2. Click the “Uninstall” button near the “Metadata” section to remove the font from your computer. You cannot uninstall system fonts, such as “Arial” or “Times New Roman,” as the option is disabled by default.

Good to know: if you have these programs on your Windows PC, we show you why you may want to uninstall them.

2. Uninstall Fonts from “Apps & Features.”

Any fonts or language packs you install can be easily removed from the “Apps & Features” menu. Find the pack and press on the three dots next to it and select “Uninstall.”

3. Delete or Hide the Fonts in Control Panel

1. Go to “Control Panel -> Appearance and Personalization -> Fonts.”
2. Right-click the font you want to manage and review the options.
3. To delete the font, click “Delete.”

4. Before deleting, you can see a preview of the font by clicking it once.

5. If you’re not sure whether you would be using the font in the future, it is better to hide it temporarily.

6. To unhide any previous fonts, right-click and select the “Show” option.

Note: Windows has preinstalled fonts that work with the apps you install, so make sure you’re only uninstalling the fonts you installed and no longer need. You don’t want to affect the proper display and functioning of installed apps.

Best Places to Get Free or Premium Fonts

If you need a font for your creative project – whether it’s a blog, poster, or branded project – there are a variety of sources with good fonts. However, not everyone can afford licenses for popular paid fonts, which is why you have the choice between free or premium fonts. We have covered some of them below.

1. Google Fonts

Google Fonts is among the popular, reputable, free font sites and has one of the biggest Web-ready font collections with over 1400 different font families.

1. To download any given font in Google Fonts, select it.
2. Download an entire family of fonts or individual styles.

3. After downloading the fonts into Windows, extract them into a desired folder.

4. Go back to the Personalization settings window for the fonts and use its drag-and-drop feature to install the downloaded Google fonts.

Tip: if you work with a lot of text, it may be worth learning how to rotate your screen on Windows for improved productivity.

2. DeviantArt

DeviantArt is one of the largest sources of creative freestyle fonts that offer a wide variety of design possibilities. You need to sign up for a DeviantArt account and log in to access these free fonts.

Each font page has its own download button that can be imported into your Windows File Explorer window.

3. Premium Font Sources

If you prefer to purchase fonts instead, you can check with reputable sites, such as Linotype, which sells an enormous selection of quality fonts singularly and in family packs. You can also check FontShop run by Monotype, which has a free font selection plus a premium section where you can make a selection by category, designer, or foundry. Adobe offers the single largest font library for everyday use.

Tip: still working with Windows 10? Check out these reasons to switch to Windows 11.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I fix "Font cannot be deleted because it is in use. Try again" error?

If you’re unable to delete your fonts in Windows because it shows an error that it is in use and asks you to try again, restart your PC. It will remove the instance of the font files being used. You can also remove these fonts from Registry Editor by navigating to the path: Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts. If the problem persists, try to do a System Restore or even a device reset (only in extreme cases).

How do I fix poor font rendering in Windows?

In Windows, the best way to fix poor font rendering is to use a feature called “Adjust ClearType text,” which can be accessed from the “Fonts” folder in Control Panel. It makes the text you see on the screen sharper, clearer, and easier to read. Also, it’s useful to adjust your Windows display settings to make the screen brighter and use the proper scale and maximum display resolution recommended for your system.

Are there other ways to install fonts in Windows?

Apart from using the Personalization settings option, you can install fonts by pushing a Group policy and using programs like Chocolatey.

Image credit: Unsplash. All screenshots by Sayak Boral.