How to Download a Font Into Your Computer

Make documents stand out by installing specialty fonts.

All personal computers come with a range of standard fonts installed for use in word processing and graphics programs. Sometimes, however, the basic fonts don't provide enough choice to make your document or graphic really stand out. If you need a professional, artistic, unusual or attention-grabbing font, then you can choose from a range of free or paid fonts from font websites. Downloading a new font and installing it on your computer is a straightforward task.

Things You'll Need

• Internet access

Instructions

1. Open a Web browser and navigate to a specialty font website (see Resources.) Many sites offer free fonts, paid fonts and even custom-made fonts.

2. Browse through the available fonts. Most font websites arrange these alphabetically by font name or by theme and font style.

3. Download your chosen font by double-clicking the icon or link beside or under the font name. In most cases, this will download a compressed "zip" file to your computer.

4. Find the downloaded zip file. On most computers, the file will download straight to the "Downloads" folder, which you can access from the "Start" menu on your desktop. If you have trouble finding the file, click "Start" and type the file name in the search bar.

5. Unzip the downloaded file by right-clicking on it and selecting "Extract All."

6. Right-click on the font file and select "Install." Alternatively, click "Start," type "fonts" (without quotes) into the dialog box and click on "Fonts" in the search results to open the "Font Manager" window. Drag and drop the font file into this window to install.

References

• Microsoft: Installing Fonts on Windows 7
• MintyWhite.com: Windows Guides - Install a Font (TTF)

Resources

• Dafont.com: Free Fonts
• UrbanFonts: More Free Fonts