Font Substitution Problems

Font issues, when it comes to Word, are always interesting. The fonts used in Word are those that are installed within Windows. When you first install Windows, only a limited number of fonts are available on a system. As you install other software, other fonts are added to Windows, and those fonts automatically become available to Word. The problem is that over time, every system will have different fonts available on it. This is because different software is installed on each system, and each piece of software has its own set of fonts.

A real problem crops up when you create a Word document on one system, using the fonts available on that system, and then transfer the document to a different system. When you open the document on the other system, not all the fonts used in the document may be available on that new system. If a font is not available, Word substitutes what it believes to be the most similar font that is available, often with unpredictable results.

The best way around this problem is to make sure that both systems have the same fonts installed. In an office environment, this is not an unreasonable expectation, but it does take a bit of management time on the part of users. Some companies have solved the problem by specifying what fonts can be used in official company documents—fonts that are, again, available on all company systems.

If you cannot be sure that a font will be available, and you must use that font, and the font at issue is a TrueType font, then you can follow these steps:

1. Display the Word Options dialog box. (In Word 2007 click the Office button and then click Word Options. In Word 2010 or a later version display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
2. At the left side of the dialog box click Save. (See Figure 1.)



Figure 1. The Save options of the Word Options dialog box.

3. Make sure the Embed Fonts in the File check box is selected.
4. If you will be using a small number of characters in a particular font, choose the Embed Only the Characters Used in the Document check box.
5. To save space in the document, choose the Do Not Embed Common System Fonts check box.
6. Click on OK.
7. Work with your documents as normal.

You should realize that embedding TrueType fonts can increase the size of your document files. In fact, if you use a lot of fonts, it can increase the size drastically. (This is why you should make sure you do step 5 in the above steps.) In addition, not all TrueType fonts are "embeddable." Some fonts are protected by their creators against distribution by embedding. If you are curious about whether a particular font can be embedded, you can either contact the vendor or download a free Font Properties Extension Tool from Microsoft. You can download it at the following address:

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/tools/font-properties-editor

The tool updates Windows so it displays more information when you right-click on a font file and choose Properties. One of the pieces of information displayed is whether the font is protected or not. If it is protected, it cannot be embedded in a Word document.

You should note that the tool is rather old, so it was written for older versions of Windows. Because of this, it is entirely possible that if you are using Windows 10, it may not work on your system.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7836) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Font Substitution Problems.