TL;DR: To install fonts in Windows 11, use the font viewer for one font or the context menu or Font settings for multiple fonts. Choose Install for all users for device-wide installation with administrator approval, or use PDQ and PowerShell to deploy a font package to multiple computers.
The easiest way to install fonts in Windows 11 is to download a font file, unzip it, double-click to open the font viewer, and click Install. This method works for one new font at a time, but Windows also supports faster options for bulk installs.
If this method seems familiar, it's because it hasn't changed much since at least Windows Vista. It's quick, it's easy, and it gets the job done.
But if you're a real connoisseur of fonts and personalization, you might download fonts by the dozen. In that case, installing them one at a time using this method could take ages. No worries; we've got you covered. Here are a few other ways to install fonts that would satisfy even the most hardcore sans serif savant.
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What is a TTF file?
A TTF file is a font file that typically uses TrueType (quadratic Bézier) outlines. It contains glyph outlines plus the font tables your OS/apps use to lay out and render text. TrueType fonts can include hinting (instructions that can improve clarity at small sizes, depending on the font and renderer). Windows 10 and Windows 11 can install and use TTF files natively.
OTF vs. TTF: which should I use?
OTF and TTF are file extensions you’ll commonly see for OpenType-era fonts, but the extension alone doesn’t guarantee what’s inside. OpenType fonts can use either:
TrueType outlines (quadratic), often distributed as .ttf (and sometimes .otf)
CFF/PostScript outlines (cubic), often distributed as .otf.
Both .otf and .ttf fonts can include OpenType features like ligatures, alternate glyphs, and stylistic sets; features depend on the font, not the extension.
Quick guidance: For modern Windows apps, either is usually fine. If you’re working with older software or workflows, .ttf may be the safer compatibility choice. Otherwise, pick the file your font vendor recommends (or whichever version looks best in your target apps).
How do I install fonts with the context menu?
Installing fonts using the context menu is a popular method. This method takes a couple of extra steps and clicks compared to our first example, but there is also one significant benefit. Here's how it works.
Right-click on the .zip file containing the font, then click Extract All…
When the Extract window opens, select the folder where you want the files extracted, select Show extracted files when complete, then click Extract.
With the extracted folder open, right-click on the font file, click Show more options, then click Install.
If you're an administrator, you can click Install for all users, which will (you guessed it) install the font for all users of that computer.
You may wonder why you would use this method over the first method we covered. If you were only installing one font, I wouldn't recommend this method. However, if you need to install multiple fonts, this method will definitely save you some time.
Here's another font folder that I've already unzipped. It contains multiple font files that all need to be installed. Using the first method we covered, you would need to open up each font individually to install them. However, using the context menu allows us to install all of these fonts simultaneously. Here's how.
Left-click on the first font file to select it.
Scroll down to the last font file in the folder.
While holding Shift on the keyboard, left-click on the last font file. This action should select all the fonts between the first and last font files.
Make sure you don't include any files that are not font files in the selection. In the image above, you can see that the OFL.txt file is not selected.
With the font files selected, right-click on any highlighted file, click Show more options, then click Install.
After clicking Install, Windows will install each highlighted font.
To ensure the fonts were installed correctly, click the Windows 11 search button and type in font settings. Next, click the Font settings app to view all the installed fonts.
In the Font settings window, enter the name of the fonts you installed to search for them.
If your fonts are listed on the fonts page, they've been installed correctly. You can click on the different fonts to preview them, including additional font faces.
How do I install fonts with the Font settings page?
While we're at the Font settings page, we can actually drag and drop fonts onto this page to install them. This method also allows us to install multiple fonts at a time.
For this example, I have another folder containing multiple font files which have already been extracted. Just as with the context menu example, font files have to be extracted from their .zip file before being installed using this method.
Notice that there are two font files located on the root of this folder. There is also a subfolder called static that contains additional font files.
Here's how to install fonts via the Font settings window.
Open up both the folder containing the fonts and the Font settings window. Ensure you can see both windows at the same time.
Select the fonts you want to install. You can left-click and drag with your mouse to select the multiple files or use the Shift key method.
Drag the files onto the section of the Font settings window that says Drag and drop to install.
That's all there is to it. Using this method makes it easy to install multiple fonts simultaneously. If you have a subfolder containing more font files, you'll need to open it separately and repeat the process to add those files.
How do I install fonts with the Control Panel?
To install fonts with Control Panel, open Fonts and drag the extracted font files into the window. You can install multiple fonts at once.
Click on the Windows 11 search button and type in fonts.
Click on the Fonts Control panel application link.
With the Fonts control panel window and a folder with font files open, select all the fonts you want to install and drag and drop them onto the Fonts control panel window.
This process is almost identical to the settings panel method, so pick whichever way you prefer.
How do I install fonts with File Explorer?
Not to be outdone by the Settings or Control Panel, you can actually use File Explorer to copy font files directly into the default Fonts folder.
Select the font files you want to install, right-click them, then click Copy.
Navigate to your Fonts folder. By default, this is located at
C:\Windows\Fonts.Right-click anywhere in the folder and click Paste.
A message will display indicating that the fonts are being installed.
And just like that, you have even more fonts to spice up your resume!
How do I install fonts from the Microsoft Store?
To install fonts from the Microsoft Store, open a font’s page and click Get or Buy. Windows downloads and installs the font automatically.
1. Open Settings > Personalization > Fonts.
2. Click Get more fonts in Microsoft Store to browse the font collection. You'll see a list of fonts you can download. Some of these fonts are free; some you have to purchase.
3. Click on a font you'd like to install, then click Get or Buy, depending on whether it’s free or paid.
That's all there is to it. The font will install automatically onto your computer.
How do I deploy fonts with PDQ?
Need the same fonts on multiple Windows computers? With PDQ, you can package your font files with a PowerShell script and deploy them to managed devices. No need to open a remote session on every computer just to give someone another typeface. The target devices must have the PDQ agent installed.
Here’s how to create a font deployment package:
Download your fonts and extract the .ttf or .otf files from any ZIP folders.
In PDQ, click Packages > Create package and give your package a name, such as Install fonts.
Click Add script step, select PowerShell as the script type, and paste the script below into the editor. Set Run as to Local System. This script copies new font files into the Windows Fonts folder and adds their system-wide registry entries. It leaves existing files with matching filenames in place, so this example is for adding fonts rather than updating existing versions.
#Set folder paths and grab font files from the repo $source = $PSScriptRoot $fontFolder = 'C:\Windows\Fonts' $fonts = Get-ChildItem -Path $source -Include '*.ttf', '*.otf' -Recurse # Process each font contained in the source directory foreach ($font in $fonts) { $targetFontPath = Join-Path $fontFolder $font.Name # If the font does not exist in the target folder, copy the font if (!(Test-Path $targetFontPath)) { $sourceFont = Join-Path $Source $font.Name Copy-Item $sourceFont -Destination $targetFontPath -Force # Change the registry based on the font type switch ($font.extension) { '.otf' { New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts' -Name "$($font.Name -replace ".{4}$") (OpenType)" -Type String -Value $font.name -Force } '.ttf' { New-ItemProperty -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts' -Name "$($font.Name -replace ".{4}$") (TrueType)" -Type String -Value $font.name -Force } } } }Under Attachments, use Upload files to attach the extracted font files directly to the script step.
Click Save. From Devices or Deployments, click Deploy, select your package and a test Windows device, then click Deploy. Review the deployment status and output for errors.
Schedule a restart after deployment. This method does not load the fonts into existing Windows sessions immediately. After restarting the test device, confirm that the fonts appear in Windows Font settings and work in the intended application before deploying the package more broadly.
How do I uninstall fonts in Windows 11?
You can remove fonts from either the system fonts folder or your user fonts folder.
Uninstall with Settings
Press Windows key and type font settings, then open Font settings.
In Available fonts, search for the font name and select it.
Click Uninstall. If prompted, confirm. This removes the font and its registration for the current scope.
Uninstall with Control Panel
Open Control Panel and select Fonts.
Find the font family, open it, then right-click the font face you want to remove and select Delete. Confirm to uninstall.
Where fonts live
System-wide fonts: C:\Windows\Fonts
Per-user fonts: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts
Who knew there were so many ways to install fonts?
Whether you need just one font installed or all the fonts installed, this article should have a method that meets your needs. With so many different tools at your disposal, go wild and start spicing up all your written documents. Your coworkers may, or may not, love it!
If you're a sysadmin that can't play a single game of solitaire without being interrupted by a user wanting a font or application installed, do yourself a favor and download a free trial of PDQ. PDQ makes deploying everything from fonts and scripts to applications and updates super easy, leaving you with more precious me time.
