Drag and drop fonts Windows 10

How to remove fonts, as well

Updated on December 1, 2021

What to Know

  • Microsoft Store: Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Fonts > Get more fonts in Microsoft Store. Choose a font and select Get.
  • The font downloads and installs. When complete, close Windows Store. The new font appears at the top of the Available fonts list.
  • Web: Download a font file to the desktop. Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Drag the file to Drag and drop to install.

Windows 10 comes with an assortment of fonts installed with the operating system. If you can't find a built-in font that suits your project, download a font from the web or the Microsoft Store and install the new font in Windows 10. Here's how to install fonts in Windows 10 and delete fonts you no longer need.

How to Install Fonts in Windows 11

How to Install a New Font to Windows 10 From the Microsoft Store

When you can't find the perfect font for your documents, search the Microsoft Store. The Microsoft Store offers several free fonts along with others that cost a nominal price.

Here's how to search the Microsoft Store and add a font to Windows 10:

  1. Go to the Start menu and select Settings.

    Your computer must be connected to the internet before you begin.

  2. In the Settings window, select Personalization.

  3. Go to Fonts.

  4. Select Get more fonts in Microsoft Store.

  5. Select a font.

    The Microsoft Store contains several free fonts and other fonts for a fee.

  6. Select Get.

  7. In the Use across your devices window, select either No thanks or Sign in to choose whether to use this font on all your devices.

  8. Wait while the font downloads and installs on your computer.

  9. When the download and installation are complete, a notification appears in the Windows Store.

  10. Close Windows Store.

  11. The new font appears at the top of the Available fonts list.

How to Install a New Font from the Web

If you can't find a font you like in the Microsoft Store, download fonts from the web and install those font files in Windows 10. Windows can use several types of font files, including the TrueType Font (TTF) and OpenType Font (OTF) file formats. 

Before downloading a free font file, check for any use restrictions. Some free fonts are only for personal use.

  1. Find the font file you want to use.

  2. Download the font file to the Windows desktop.

    If the font file is contained in a ZIP file, you must extract the files before installing the font in Windows.

  3. Select Start > Settings > Personalization > Fonts.

  4. Resize the Settings window to show the Settings window and the downloaded font file on the desktop.

  5. Drag the font file from the desktop to the Drag and drop to install section of the Fonts Settings screen.

  6. The new font appears in the Available fonts list.

How to Uninstall Fonts in Windows 10

When your computer has too many windows fonts, you may need to delete fonts to free up space on the hard drive. Here's how to delete fonts you no longer need.

  1. Go to Start > Settings > Personalization > Fonts.

  2. Select the font you want to remove.

    If you know the name of the font and don't want to scroll through the Available fonts list, enter the font name in the search box.

  3. Select Uninstall.

  4. In the Uninstall this font family permanently dialog box, select Uninstall.

  5. Select the back arrow to return to the Fonts Settings window.

  6. The uninstalled font no longer appears in the Available fonts list.

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Are you tired of using the same old fonts on your Windows 10 computer? Why get stuck when there are several ways you can install fonts on Windows 10? Having new fonts to use can be exciting as they can bring new life to your work.

In this article, learn how to install and manage fonts on Windows 10, and you’ll never again have to settle using the default system fonts. Let get started!

  • Prerequisites
  • Installing Fonts in Windows 10
    • From the Microsoft Store
    • Using the Windows Settings App
    • Using the Control Panel
    • Using the Windows Font Viewer
    • Using the Windows Font Viewer (All Users)
  • Uninstalling Fonts in Windows 10
    • Using the Windows Settings App
    • Using the Control Panel
  • Conclusion

Prerequisites

If you’d like to follow the steps in this tutorial, make sure that you meet these requirements.

  • A Windows 10 PC. This tutorial will be using Windows 10 version 20H2.
  • If you want to install fonts for all users on the computer, your user account must have administrative rights on the Windows 10 PC.

Installing Fonts in Windows 10

When you need to install fonts in Windows 10, there are several ways you can do so. Each method is different, but the result is the same. You’ll have new fonts that you can use with various applications, such as word processors and text editors, to name a few.

Let’s explore the different ways you can install fonts in Windows 10.

Note: That the succeeding font installation methods install new fonts in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts directory of the current user only by default. If you want to install fonts for all users on the computer, skip to the Using the Font Viewer (All Users) section.

From the Microsoft Store

Microsoft gives its Windows 10 users the ability to install apps directly from the Microsoft Store. But did you know that aside from apps, the Microsoft Store also lets you install fonts on Windows 10?

Best of all, you’ll be browsing available fonts like an online shopping catalog. And installing them is convenient with only a few clicks. To install fonts on Windows 10 using the Microsoft Store, follow the steps below.

  1. Before you can install fonts, you first need to open the Microsoft Store. To do so, click Start → Microsoft Store.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening Microsoft Store

2. Once the Microsoft Store window is up, type fonts in the Search box and press Enter to search.

After the search, on the results, click the Explore new fonts button. Clicking the Explore new fonts button will bring you to the fonts gallery.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Searching for the fonts gallery

3. Next, you’ll see the list of available fonts that you can install on your Windows 10 computer. Look for the font you want to install and click it. This example will select the Ink Draft font, which is free.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Selecting a font to install

4. After selecting the font, you’ll arrive at the font’s dedicated information page. On this page, you’ll find the details about the font. To continue installing the font, click the Get button.

The installation process may take several seconds to complete. In this example, the installation took only 30 seconds.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Installing the font

5. After Microsoft Store completed the installation, you will see a message saying This product is installed. To exit Microsoft Store, click the X button in the upper-right corner. Or, if you want to install more fonts, you can repeat the same steps.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Exiting the Microsoft Store after installing a font on Windows 10

Using the Windows Settings App

The internet offers seemingly unlimited resources that you can download, including fonts. If you’ve found a font that you like and downloaded it onto your computer, what next?

Another way to install fonts on Windows 10 is by dragging and dropping a font file into the Font setting app. How convenient is that? Follow the steps below to install a font in Windows 10.

If you don’t have a sample font for testing, you may download the Pattaya font first, which this example will use.

1. First, open the Fonts settings on your computer. To do so, right-click on any blank space on your Desktop and click Personalize.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the Personalization settings

2. On the Settings window, click the Fonts tab under the Personalization section.

Under the Add fonts section, you should see a rectangular area that says Drag and drop to install. This area is you can drop one or more font files from your computer to install.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the Fonts settings app

3. Now, open the File Explorer and navigate to the directory where you have downloaded the font. Once you’ve located the font file, click to hold the file, drag it to the Fonts settings window, and drop it to the Drag and drop to install area. Doing so will install the font on the Windows 10 computer.

You can also drag and drop multiple font files at the same time.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Installing a font on Windows 10 using the Windows Settings

After installing the font, you can find the new font immediately under the Available fonts list.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Viewing the installed font in the Windows Settings app

Using the Control Panel

The more traditional method to install fonts in Windows 10 is through the Control Panel. Like the Windows Settings app, you’ll need to drag and drop one or more files from a location on the computer to the Control Panel to install fonts.

Follow the steps below to install fonts in Windows 10 using the Control Panel.

1. Open File Explorer and locate the directory where you have downloaded the font files. Keep the File Explorer window open.

2. Next, open the Control Panel window. To do so, click the Start → Windows System → Control Panel.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the Control Panel window

3. On the Control Panel window, click the search box on the top right and type in fonts to search for the Fonts Control Panel item. On the search results, click the Fonts Control Panel item to open the Fonts window.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the fonts Window in Control Panel

4. Now you have both File Explorer and the Fonts Control Panel opened. On the File Explorer window, click or select the font files you want to install.

After selecting the font files, click to hold the files, drag them to the Fonts Control Panel window, and release the mouse button to drop the files. Dropping the files will automatically install the fonts on your computer.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Installing a font on Windows 10 using the Control Panel

After installing the fonts, you can now see them in the Fonts Control Panel window.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Viewing the installed font in Control Panel

Using the Windows Font Viewer

In Windows, font files open with Windows Font Viewer by default. The Windows Font Viewer is a built-in Windows program for viewing and installing fonts (%WINDIR%\System32\fontview.exe).

To view and install fonts in Windows 10 using the Windows Font Viewer, follow the steps below.

  1. Open the File Explorer and browse to the font file’s location.
  2. Once you’ve located the font file, double click the font file to open it in the Windows Font Viewer window.
  3. On the Windows Font Viewer, you’ll see the font details and its preview. To install the font, click the Install button at the top of the window. The font installation should complete quickly, and there will be no confirmation messages.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Installing a font using the Font Viewer

Using the Windows Font Viewer (All Users)

Up to this point, you’ve only been installing new fonts in the user context, which puts new fonts in the %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\Windows\Fonts folder by default. Meaning, in shared computers, each user must install the font in their user profiles.

Using the Windows Font Viewer, you can install fonts for all users on a computer. But your user account must have administrator rights on the computer.

Installing fonts for all users will install the font file to the %WINDIR%\Fonts folder.

To install fonts for all users, open the File Explorer and browse the font file’s location. Next, right-click on the font file and click Install for all users.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Installing a font for all users

During the font installation, you’ll only briefly see the progress indicator similar to the image below.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Fonts installation progress indicator

Uninstalling Fonts in Windows 10

There may be times when you need to uninstall fonts from your computer. Such as when you no longer need the font or if you plan to install an updated version of the font. Whatever the reason, know the there are ways to uninstall fonts in Windows 10 you can perform.

Note: When uninstalling a system-wide font (all users), your user account must have administrator rights on the local computer.

Using the Windows Settings App

One way to uninstall fonts in Windows 10 is from the Windows Settings App. To do so, proceed as follows.

1. First, open the Fonts Windows Settings. To do so, right-click the Start button and click on Run to open the run dialog box. On the Run dialog, type the command ms-settings:fonts in the Open box and press Enter or click OK.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the Fonts Windows Settings

2. Next, under the Available fonts list, type the font’s name you want to uninstall in the search box. On the search results, click the font name to open its properties.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Finding the font to uninstall

3. Once you’re in the font’s properties window, click on the Uninstall button. Clicking on this button will uninstall the font from the computer.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Uninstalling the font

Using the Control Panel

Another method to uninstall a font in Windows 10 is through the Control Panel.

1. To open Fonts Control Panel, right-click the Start button and click Run. In the Open box, type in control fonts and press Enter or click OK.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Opening the Fonts Control Panel window

2. You should now be in the Fonts list in Control Panel. To uninstall a font, click to select the font and click the Delete button. You can also select multiple fonts by holding down the CTRL key while clicking on each font.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Uninstalling a font

3. At the confirmation window that pops up, click Yes to confirm to delete the font.

Drag and drop fonts Windows 10
Confirming the font deletion

Conclusion

This article showed you how not to get stuck with the same set of system fonts, which can be boring over time. You learned the different ways to install fonts in Windows 10 and how to uninstall them, too. Which method did you like best?

Do you know other ways of installing fonts in Windows 10 that weren’t in this tutorial? Let us know!

Why can't I drag and drop fonts?

Start by clicking on the start button, then on settings, then on personalization and then on fonts. In the window that appears, drag your font files to the box reading "drag and drop to install" and this should install the fonts for you automatically. This appears to be what you've done above.

How to add fonts on Windows 10?

Add a font.
Download the font files. ... .
If the font files are zipped, unzip them by right-clicking the .zip folder and then clicking Extract. ... .
Right-click the fonts you want, and click Install..
If you're prompted to allow the program to make changes to your computer, and if you trust the source of the font, click Yes..