Fonts

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I received a new computer with Word 2003 from my sons for Christmas. I am a shade above inept in computer use, but I do use Microsoft Word a great deal in creating overhead transparencies and documents for my high school classroom. I was extremely disappointed to see that my new computer did not have the choice of fonts that was offered on my old Word program. Is there any way for me to install (as if I would be able to figure that out) other fonts? Is there a font program that you recommend for purchase with Word 2003?
 
Hi jllo

Strictly speaking, fonts are a Windows thing, not a Word thing. Word
will use whatever is installed on the computer and is supported by
your printer driver. Office does come with a fairly limited collection
of fonts, but most other software comes with more, and those become
available in Word as soon as they're installed.

If you still have the old computer, you can just copy fonts from one
to the other. Using Windows Explorer (the file manager program, not
the web browser), open the folder C:\Windows\Fonts on the old PC. Each
file with a .ttf extension is a TrueType font. Most will have
recognizable names, such as gara.ttf for Garamond. In many cases there
will be three related files -- for example gara.ttf, garabd.ttf, and
garait.ttf -- for regular, bold, and italic variations. Copy the files
you want, and transfer them to the same folder on the new computer.

There are also thousands of fonts available on the Internet. Some are
free, some are shareware (try before you buy), and some are commercial
(pay before you download). Use Google or Yahoo! to search for the
appropriate sites. Some that come to mind are

http://www.1001freefonts.com (free)
http://www.fontfiles.com (free)
http://www.fontface.com/main.html (free & shareware)
http://www.myfonts.com (shareware & commercial)
http://www.fonts.com (Agfa Monotype, commercial)
http://www.itcfonts.com (International Fonts, commercial)

I tend to avoid the "ten thousand fonts on a CD for $19.95" variety
because the quality of most of those fonts is dreadful. Still, they
could be worth it if there's one decent font in the batch.
 
If you still have the old computer, you can copy the fonts from the Fonts
folder onto a floppy and install them on the new computer. Also, make sure
that all the fonts that come with Office/Word have been installed (they may
not be by default).

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

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all may benefit.

jllo said:
I received a new computer with Word 2003 from my sons for Christmas. I am
Click to expand...
a shade above inept in computer use, but I do use Microsoft Word a great
deal in creating overhead transparencies and documents for my high school
classroom. I was extremely disappointed to see that my new computer did not
have the choice of fonts that was offered on my old Word program. Is there
any way for me to install (as if I would be able to figure that out) other
fonts? Is there a font program that you recommend for purchase with Word
2003?
 
Thank you, Jay!!

I just replied to your earlier posting from 'emma' saying your response to her was not the problem in my case. But this!! . . . this DOES explain what's been going on!

I never knew until now that fonts were a Windows-thing and not a Word-thing. I would get so frustrated when I had all these cool fonts to choose from at work, but then would come home only to find they weren't there. Now I know . . . the workplace has a whole lot more software installed than my home computer.

And thanks, too, for all the links to websites offering free fonts. So great!

Because of your message, my computer is no longer in danger of being thrown across the room. :-)

CindyMac

----- Jay Freedman wrote: -----

Hi jllo

Strictly speaking, fonts are a Windows thing, not a Word thing. Word
will use whatever is installed on the computer and is supported by
your printer driver. Office does come with a fairly limited collection
of fonts, but most other software comes with more, and those become
available in Word as soon as they're installed.

If you still have the old computer, you can just copy fonts from one
to the other. Using Windows Explorer (the file manager program, not
the web browser), open the folder C:\Windows\Fonts on the old PC. Each
file with a .ttf extension is a TrueType font. Most will have
recognizable names, such as gara.ttf for Garamond. In many cases there
will be three related files -- for example gara.ttf, garabd.ttf, and
garait.ttf -- for regular, bold, and italic variations. Copy the files
you want, and transfer them to the same folder on the new computer.

There are also thousands of fonts available on the Internet. Some are
free, some are shareware (try before you buy), and some are commercial
(pay before you download). Use Google or Yahoo! to search for the
appropriate sites. Some that come to mind are

http://www.1001freefonts.com (free)
http://www.fontfiles.com (free)
http://www.fontface.com/main.html (free & shareware)
http://www.myfonts.com (shareware & commercial)
http://www.fonts.com (Agfa Monotype, commercial)
http://www.itcfonts.com (International Fonts, commercial)

I tend to avoid the "ten thousand fonts on a CD for $19.95" variety
because the quality of most of those fonts is dreadful. Still, they
could be worth it if there's one decent font in the batch.
 
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