List of fonts used in a document

[Ken Benson]

Is there a way to find out which fonts are used in a particular document? I
get a lot of Word files to be published on CD, and I need to make them as
generic as possible. I know how to make Word show me missing fonts
(Tools|Options|Compatibility|Substituted Fonts), but I don't know how to
make it show me fonts used (unless I uninstall all my fonts :^)).

Ken Benson

 

[Jay Freedman]

Is there a way to find out which fonts are used in a particular
document? I get a lot of Word files to be published on CD, and I need
to make them as generic as possible. I know how to make Word show me
missing fonts (Tools|Options|Compatibility|Substituted Fonts), but I
don't know how to make it show me fonts used (unless I uninstall all
my fonts :^)).

Ken Benson

Hi Ken,

Probably the easiest way to find the fonts in use is to open the document
with the setting "Recover text from any file" in the "Files of type" box of
the Open dialog. ***WARNING: be careful not to save the document while it's
open in this form!*** Near the bottom of the document you'll see a list of
the fonts used.

This isn't 100% reliable. For example, I have a document that claims by this
method that Symbol font is in use, but searching for Symbol font in the
document itself finds nothing. However, I haven't yet seen it miss a font
that really is used.

Secondary warning: In earlier versions of Word, the "Recover text" setting
is sticky -- it will still be there the next time you use the Open dialog --
and if you save a document that's been opened that way you will lose all its
formatting. In Word 2003 (and, I think, in Word 2002) this was fixed, so the
setting will return to "All files" after each use. Always pay attention to
what's in the "Files of type box".

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

If you open the file using the Recover Text from Any File setting (in the
File Open dialog), you will see a list of fonts at the end. Be careful not
to save in this format, and if you have Word 97 or 2000, be sure to change
the file type back before opening another document.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Ken Benson]

Thanks, Jay and Suzanne. That works great.

Ken Benson

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Is it possible that you've inserted a character from the Symbol font as a
SYMBOL field? Word used to actually display these fields, and you could edit
them. Now it seems to be done "behind the scenes," but symbols from
non-Unicode font are still protected in some way so that if you change the
font of the surrounding text, they are not changed.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[Jay Freedman]

I don't think so, although it's possible that I inserted something in Symbol
font at one time and later removed it. This is a "Lorem ipsum" file with an
assortment of indents, graphics, and formatting that I use (usually calling
it from Include > File) for experiments. All the characters are in
non-symbol fonts and there are no fields.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

That's another possibility. It would be interesting to see whether Word is
retentive of fonts ever used as it is of styles in the "Styles in use" list.

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

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.