Windows Vista

Fonts Overview

Choosing appropriate fonts makes documents easier to read and helps in the communication of ideas and information. This document explores font use and management.

Understanding Font Families and Font Qualities
Tips for Effective Font Use
Accessing the Font Folder
Exploring Font Samples
Installing Fonts from Other Sources

Understanding Font Families and Font Qualities

Fonts, like people, have names to distinguish one from another. Fonts are also divided into two families or types: serif and sans serif. Serif fonts have small strokes called serifs on the ends of each letter; sans serif fonts do not. Each "family" has a different purpose and appearance as explained in the following table.

example fonts and purposes

Fonts have other distinguishing characteristics: they are either proportional or monospaced, and are either True Type or Printer fonts.

Monospaced fonts look like typewritten text because each letter uses the same amount of space (e.g., W and I both take up the same amount of space). In contrast, proportional fonts give each letter the correct amount of space based on its size and shape. Proportional fonts use less space and, therefore, less paper to print. Try changing text in Courier New (which is monospaced) to Bookman or Times New Roman (which are proportionally spaced) and notice the difference in your printouts.

True Type fonts use a technology that allows your computer to scale them to any size and at the same time print them the way they look onscreen. Printer fonts are fonts inherent to the printer you are using and do not print the way they look on the screen.

In Office programs, when choosing fonts from the Font pull-down list, you can see if the font you pick is a Printer, Open, or True Type font. The letter A appears before a Printer font, the letter O before an Open font (a superset of the True Type fonts) and a double T appears before a True Type font.

The table below summarizes the qualities of some commonly used fonts. Each font and its description have been typed in that font type at the 12-point size.

Font Examples

Tips for Effective Font Use

Do not use too many different fonts in a document. Two or three are considered good taste. Too many fonts in one document confuse the reader, who may not understand where to look or what is important.
Pick a heading/title font and a body font and use them consistently. For emphasized words, consider using boldface, italics or color.
Use body fonts that are big enough to read. Recommended point sizes range from 10-12 points. Also consider the visual needs of your audience.
Use of a point size not listed is allowed. For example, 1/2-point font sizes like 11.5 or odd point sizes like 13 or 17 may be typed into the size box.
Make headings, subheadings, and titles large enough to provide contrast and to be effective. Sans serif fonts work well because they tend to look larger. Point sizes of 14-22 generally provide enough contrast.

Accessing the Font Folder

To view the list of installed fonts you must access the Control Panel in the Start menu or through Windows Explorer.

Accessing the Font Folder: Start Menu Option

From the Start menu, select Control Panel
The Control Panel appears.
Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION
The Appearance and Personalization pane appears.
Click FONTS
The installed fonts list appears in alphabetical order.

Accessing the Font Folder: Windows Explorer Option

On the Taskbar, right click START » select Explore
Windows Explorer opens.
In the Navigation pane, under Folders, select Control Panel
The contents of the Control Panel appear.
Click APPEARANCE AND PERSONALIZATION
The contents of the Appearance and Personalization Settings appear.
Click FONTS
The list of fonts appears in the files window on the right.

Exploring Font Samples

You may find it useful to have font sample pages for reference and comparison. These sample pages contain a list of all letters and numbers, sample phrases in different point sizes, and other useful information.

Viewing Font Samples

Access the Fonts folder
NOTE: The Font icon shows whether the font is a Printer font, True Type font or an Open Type font.

Symbol	Meaning
	is the symbol for a Printer font.
	is the symbol for a True Type font.
	is the symbol for an Open Type font.

Double click the desired font
The font sample screen appears.
OPTIONAL: To print the sample page, click PRINT
When done viewing the sample, click CLOSE

Printing Samples Without Viewing Them

Access the Fonts folder
Select the desired font
HINT: To select multiple fonts, hold down [Ctrl] and click the fonts you want.
WARNING: To save your computer from extra work, only choose a few fonts samples at a time because it will open each font sample that you choose to print. Too many selected fonts may freeze up your computer.
To print the selected sample page(s), right click on the highlighted fonts » select Print
Each font sample will open with the Print dialog box inside it.
Click PRINT

Installing Fonts from Other Sources

Fonts are simply files that contain character and symbol information. For this reason, users may exchange font files, purchase them, or download them from the Internet. However, simply copying the font file(s) to the system's hard drive is not enough; all new fonts must be installed. Use these instructions to enable Windows to recognize the new font(s).

Installing Fonts from Other Sources: Dialog Box Option

Access the Fonts folder
From the File menu » select Install New Font…
HINT: If you do not see the menu bar, press [Alt].
The Add Fonts dialog box appears.
Use the Folders scroll box to navigate to the drive and directory containing your new font(s)
From the List of fonts scroll box, select the desired font
HINTS:
To select multiple fonts, hold down [Ctrl] and click the fonts you want.
To select the entire list, click SELECT ALL.
At the bottom of the dialog box, verify that Copy fonts to Fonts folder is selected
NOTE: The item is selected if a check mark appears before it.
Click INSTALL
The new font appears in the Fonts folder.

Installing Fonts from Other Sources: Copy & Paste Option

Access the Fonts folder
In Windows Explorer, navigate to the drive and directory containing your new font(s) and select the desired font(s)
From the Edit menu » select Copy
HINT: If you do not see the menu bar, press [Alt].
OR
Press [Ctrl] + [C]
In the Fonts folder, from the Edit menu » select Paste
HINT: If you do not see the menu bar, press [Alt].
OR
Press [Ctrl] + [V]
The Install Fonts Progress dialog box appears.