Works For Me Wednesday: Installing New Fonts on Your Computer

I love fonts. They are such an artistic way to write, and come in a near-infinite variety! But, figuring out how to get new and much cooler fonts on your computer can be an overwhelming task! Here's a simple guide for Windows XP users. (yes, it's wordy, but it really is simple!)

1. Find a free fonts site (I highly recommend you NOT pay for any!) - 1001 Free Fonts is pretty good.

2. Follow the instructions on the site of your choice to download the fonts you like. (for 1001 Free Fonts, it's simply clicking the button titled "Download Win Font" (or Mac if that's what you have). Be sure you save the file to your computer, rather than just opening it. I recommend you select an easy-to-find place to save to, as you'll need to be able to find it later. (I download to my desktop)

3. Find the file folder that you just saved on your computer. Open that folder. It will most likely be a zipped (or compressed) folder, so you'll need to extract the files out of it. To do this in Windows XP look on the left hand side of the open folder. Click on "Extract all files" under "Folder Tasks" and the Extraction Wizard will pop up. Click next. The following screen asks where you'd like to extract files to, I put them directly in my font folder. To do this, click browse to change the folder option. To find your main font folder use the following path:

My Computer
-Local Disc (C:)
-Windows
-Fonts

Select the Fonts folder, continue through the Extraction Wizard - click OK, Next and then Finish! And that's it!

The next time you open Word (or any other program that uses fonts) your lovely new fonts will be ready and waiting!