How to embed custom fonts in PowerPoint?

This post is an overview about how to embed fonts in PowerPoint. Microsoft PowerPoint allows you to use custom fonts to enhance the visual appeal of your presentations. If you have ever noticed a distinctive font in a presentation that you haven't seen previously, its likely a custom font that has been embedded in the PowerPoint presentation.

This post steps you through the key activities for embedding fonts - first to install your custom fonts in PowerPoint, then to embed your fonts in a presentation before sharing it with others.

Why use custom fonts?

Many larger organizations have custom fonts that have been selected as part of their overall branding strategy. For example, the top tier consulting firms create their own customized branded fonts to maintain a consistent and distinctive visual identity. Here are a few examples of consulting firms that have their own custom fonts:

1. BCG Henderson Institute: Boston Consulting Group's (BCG) Henderson Institute introduced the "Henderson" font. This custom typeface was developed to reflect BCG's commitment to ideas and research. The font is unique to BCG and is used in various materials, including presentations and publications.
2. McKinsey & Company - Bower: McKinsey & Company introduced a custom typeface called "Bower" in collaboration with the type foundry Commercial Type. Bower was designed to balance professionalism with a touch of informality. It's used across McKinsey's branding materials and presentations.
3. Accenture - Circular: Accenture introduced the "Accenture Circular" font. This font emphasizes connectivity and flexibility, in line with Accenture's focus on technology and innovation.
4. Deloitte - Deloitte Alpha: Deloitte developed its own custom font called "Deloitte Alpha." This typeface was designed to be modern, versatile, and align with Deloitte's brand identity.
5. PwC - PwCNext: PwC introduced the "PwCNext" font, which is part of their effort to modernize their branding. The font reflects PwC's approach to innovation and collaboration.
6. EY (Ernst & Young) - EY Sans: Ernst & Young (EY) launched the "EY Sans" font to be used across its branding and communications. It's a part of EY's visual identity system.
7. KPMG - KPMG Display: KPMG has used a custom font named "KPMG Display" in their branding materials. It's designed to convey a sense of clarity and modernity.

How can I import and use custom PowerPoint fonts?

Trying to work out how to add fonts to PowerPoint? The most common scenario is when your organization has its own custom font that you are required to use in presentations. But perhaps you're just not satisfied with the options available in PowerPoint by default and found a font that you would prefer. Either way, it's fairly straightforward to use the custom fonts, but a little more involved for updating existing presentations to apply custom fonts.

This is a step-by-step guide on how to import custom fonts into PowerPoint and embed the fonts in PowerPoint presentations. We have also provided links to some of our other blog posts that step you through how to update templates and presentations with custom fonts.

Note - the steps below for installing custom fonts are applicable for individual end users looking to quickly start using a custom font. However if you are working in a large organization and the custom fonts are part of a firmwide brand refresh activity, we recommend liaising with your corporate IT for the rollout of custom fonts. Your IT team can manage the steps for installing custom fonts on behalf of all users in your organization.

Installing custom fonts in PowerPoint

1. Obtain the Custom Font Files: First, you need to have the font files for the font that you want to use in your PowerPoint presentation. Font files typically come in two file types - either a TrueType Font (.ttf) or OpenType Font (.otf) file types. If you have purchased a custom font online, you should be able to source the font file from the relevant font website. If you are working with a designer, request the font file from them (or your Marketing team or your organizations Brand Portal). Note that if you have downloaded the font from the web, you might find the font file in a Zip folder in your Downloads. If this is the case, you will need to unzip the file before proceeding.
2. Install the Custom Fonts on Your Computer: Before you can use the custom fonts in PowerPoint, you need to install them on your computer. The steps are slightly different for Windows vs Mac:
   • Windows:
     1. Double-click the font file to open it in the Font Previewer. Click Install at the top left
   • Mac:
     1. Double-click on each font file. This will open Font Book, which is the default font management tool on macOS.
     2. Click the "Install Font" button for each font you want to add.
3. Restart PowerPoint: After installing the fonts on your computer, close and restart Microsoft PowerPoint to ensure that the new fonts are recognized.
4. Open a blank Presentation to check the fonts: Open a blank PowerPoint presentation once you have restarted PowerPoint (or you can open a presentation that you need to update)
5. Access the Font Options: From the PowerPoint ribbon at the top of the screen, navigate to the Home tab. In the Font section on the Home tab you will see a drop-down menu showing the current font that is set for your presentation. Click on this drop-down menu to see a list of available fonts.
6. Find your Custom Font: Scroll through the list of fonts until you see the custom font you installed. If you can see your custom font in the list, it has been successfully installed and is ready for you to use!

How to embed custom fonts in a PowerPoint presentation (to share with others)

Now that you have installed your custom font into PowerPoint, you can use it in the same way as any existing font. But once you complete a presentation using your custom fonts, if you plan to share the presentation with anyone else who does not have your custom font installed you need to complete an additional step to embed the custom font into a presentation, before you share it. This is commonly referred to as embedding fonts in a presentation.

To do this:

If you have created a PowerPoint presentation that uses your custom font and want to share it with colleagues/ clients/ others, open the presentation. Once the file is open, navigate to the File tab and select Options. This should launch a popup window displaying PowerPoint Options. Select Save from the left hand menu in the popup, and information about Customize how documents are saved will appear.

Near the bottom of the popup, you will see a Sub heading that says Preserve fidelity when sharing this presentation. Check the checkbox beneath this heading that says Embed fonts in the file. You will see two further options once this box is checked (refer to the screenshot below for guidance). You can either select to embed only the characters used in the presentation, or select to embed all characters. If you are sharing the presentation with an expectation that the recipient may make edits, select Embed all. Otherwise, the option to embed only the characters used in the presentation will help reduce your presentation file size. Once you have completed your selections, select OK.

Once you have completed this step, save your presentation. You can now share the presentation with others. Note that you will need to complete this step for every presentation containing custom fonts before sharing (if the intended recipient does not also have the font installed. You do not need to embed fonts if sharing only within your organization if all employees have the custom fonts installed).

How to update the Slide Master to apply custom fonts (same steps for Slide Master in presentation files and template files)

We have covered the steps for changing theme fonts in PowerPoint in a separate blog, so we recommend reading it for guidance.

How to update an existing presentation to apply custom fonts

If your presentation was created using a PowerPoint template, updating the fonts in the slide master should push the new fonts through all slides. But if a template was not used (or if a template was used incorrectly), you will likely need to update individual slides. Note that if you have PPT Productivity add-in for PowerPoint, you can use the PPT Productivity Find and Replace Fonts advanced feature to replace all or selected fonts with your custom font across your presentation. The feature also lets you update the Slide Masters, handouts and notes templates all in a couple of clicks.

So here are the options for updating an existing presentation in standard PowerPoint, as well as the steps if you have PPT Productivity add-in

Option 1: Updating an existing presentation without PPT Productivity

• Start by updating the Fonts in the Slide Master (refer to the previous section)
• Once this is complete, close the Slide Master and review your presentation. Any slides in your presentation that used the Slide Layouts from the Slide Master should have been automatically updated to your new custom font
• However - any shapes added to slides - eg if a shape has been added to a slide and a textbox added to that shape - are unlikely to have been updated
• You can select the standard PowerPoint Replace fonts feature from the Editing group on the Home Tab
• In the Replace Font window, open the Replace list to see all the fonts currently used in the file.
• To replace a font, select its name in the Replace list. Then, in the With list, select the font that you want to use in its place. 
• Select Replace, and then select Close.

If a template was not set up for the presentation, or if the template has not been used correctly,

1. Access the Font Options: Navigate to the PowerPoint slide where you want to apply the custom font. Select the text box or text you want to format with the custom font.
2. Change the Font: From the PowerPoint ribbon at the top of the screen, navigate to the Home tab. In the Font section on the Home tab you will see a drop-down menu showing the current font that is set for your presentation. Click on this drop-down menu to see a list of available fonts.
3. Select the Custom Font: Scroll through the list of fonts until you see the custom font you installed. Click on the custom font's name to apply it to the selected text.
4. Adjust Font Size and Formatting (if necessary): After applying the custom font, you can adjust the font size, color, boldness, italics, and other formatting options using the "Font" section in the "Home" tab.
5. Repeat for Other Text Boxes: If you have multiple text boxes or slides where you want to use the custom font, repeat the process for each of them.
6. Save Your Presentation: Once you're done making changes, be sure to save your PowerPoint presentation to retain the custom font settings.

Remember that when sharing your PowerPoint presentation with others, they will also need to have the custom font installed on their computers or you need to embed the font in the presentation in order for them to see the presentation exactly as you intended (unless you are sharing a .pdf version). If other viewers of your presentation don't have the font, PowerPoint will substitute it with a default font. To learn how to share a presentation with custom fonts see our article How can I share a PowerPoint presentation with custom fonts?

Option 2: Installing custom fonts in PowerPoint to update your PowerPoint Template theme fonts

So if you want to use a custom font in all of your PowerPoint presentations, creating or updating your PowerPoint Template theme font is the best solution. Learn how to change the theme font of a PowerPoint document in our article How to change theme fonts in PowerPoint?

How do I make a custom font my default font in PowerPoint?

You cannot change the default font in PowerPoint, but you can change the default font for any templates you create in PowerPoint. So if you want to use a custom font in all of your PowerPoint presentations, creating or updating your PowerPoint Template theme font is the best solution. Learn how to change the theme font of a PowerPoint document in our article How to change theme fonts in PowerPoint?

Once you've set the theme font of your presentation, you need to save the document as a Template file or .potx in order to use it as the template for future presentations. This will preserve the font as the default font for that template. To save a PowerPoint presentation as a .potx file;

1. From File at the top left hand side of the PowerPoint ribbon, select 'Save As'
2. Select the location to save the file, enter the File name then select PowerPoint Template(*.potx) from the drop down menu

3. Once you choose PowerPoint Template(*.potx) PowerPoint will automatically change the file location to the default Custom Office Templates folder on your computer. You can navigate to another location, or leave as is
4. You can now close your document.
5. To use your new template, go to File > New and select the Custom Office Template folder

6. Click on the Template with the custom font that you have created, then click Create
7. A new PowerPoint presentation file (.ppt) will open based on the template you have created. Now you can get to work on creating your slides with your custom fonts already set as default.

Learn more about how to create Templates in PowerPoint in our article How to create a PowerPoint template?

How do I set a PowerPoint Template as my default Template?

Setting a PowerPoint Template as your default Template will increase your efficiency in PowerPoint even more. Once a Template is set as your default, this is the Template that will open each time you open PowerPoint or when you select to open a new document in PowerPoint.

You can easily set a PowerPoint template as your default, using the PPT Productivity Template Manager.

1. Click on the Template Manager icon on the PPT Productivity Ribbon

2. In the PPT Productivity Template Manager select the Template you want to set as your default PowerPoint document the check the box 'Set as default'

Once your default template has been set, each time you open PowerPoint or open a new document (Ctrl+N) a document based on this template will open.

Here's a video showing how easy it is to set a PowerPoint Template as the default presentation.

To learn more about the PPT Productivity Template Manager for PowerPoint visit our Manage Templates Feature Page

Setting a default template in native PowerPoint without PPT Productivity add-in is a little more complicated, so here are the steps;

1. To set your custom theme as the default, open PowerPoint, select “New” in the left pane, and then click the “Custom” tab.
2. select the “Custom Office Templates” option
3. Your custom templates will appear. Select the one you want to make the default template.
4. A new window will appear, giving you a preview of the template. Click “Create"
5. A new document will open based on your selected template. Go to the “Design” tab and select the “More” arrow in the “Themes” group.

6. A list of themes will appear. Right-click your custom theme and then select “Set as Default Theme” from the drop-down menu.

7. Now, the next time you open PowerPoint, it will automatically begin with this theme.