How to Import New or Custom Fonts to Microsoft Office

Software

Updated September 27, 2018

Ever wonder how some people get fancier or custom fonts in programs like Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and others?

Microsoft Office comes with several fonts pre-installed, but many users get tired of using the same old standard options. You may have a project that could use a little pizazz, or you may just want to stand out from the crowd on that next business proposal.

If you want to add custom fonts to use in these programs, you can do so fairly quickly.

A Note on Finding and Choosing Fonts

Different fonts come with different rules. Always look for fonts on sites you can trust. To find these, look for recommendations from others you know or reach out for advice online.

Some fonts online are free but many require a purchase, particularly if you will be using the font for professional or commercial use.

Also, keep in mind that choosing a font is an important consideration for business and professional documents or projects. Before you buy a font or spend time developing a document based on a questionable font, it's a great idea to get a second opinion. Find out how others respond. It can be surprising to learn that a font you thought was completely readable is actually difficult for others to read.

A Note on Operating Systems

Even though you are integrating new fonts with Microsoft Office, the operating system it is installed on could affect the precise steps for importing fonts into programs like Word. So even if the following steps are not exactly what they should be for your computer setup, hopefully, this serves as a general guideline to help you find your way.

How to Import New Fonts

Find a font from an online site, as described just above.
Download the font file and make sure to save it to a location you will remember. This is because you will need to make sure it ends up in a place Microsoft Office can recognize. For now, you just need it to be in a place that you won't lose track of.
Make sure the font file is extracted, also known as unzipped. Font files are often compressed into a zipped format to reduce file size and make transfer easier. Microsoft Office cannot access these new font files unless they are unzipped. For example, in Windows, right-click the file and Extract All. If you have another preferred file extraction program, you may need to look for the program name, such as 7-Zip. This is just one example.
For Windows, click on Start - Settings - Control Panel - Fonts - File - Install New Font - Locate where you saved the font - Ok.
If you already have your Microsoft Office program open, close it.
Open your Microsoft Office program. You should be able to scroll down and see the imported font name along with the native fonts. (Home - Font). Remember that you should be able to type the first letter of the font name to jump down in the list and find your font as quickly as possible.