Embedding Fonts in Microsoft Word Documents

Provided by Molly Pell, Senior Systems Analyst

When sharing Word documents with users on other computers, there’s a risk that the document will appear altered if the target computer doesn’t have the same fonts installed. This may affect the line breaks, spacing, and overall appearance of your document.

Microsoft Word includes an option to save the fonts that are used in your document with the file. This option allows all readers to see the fonts in your document, even if they don’t have the fonts installed. This option increases file size, but should be used if it’s important that everyone reading your document sees your fonts the same way.

Additional font embedding options are available as well:

Embed only the characters used in the document (best for reducing file size): If you only use fewer than 33 characters from a font, only those characters (not the entire font) are embedded to save space. Use this option if the document will be viewed only, not edited.
Do not embed common system fonts: Common fonts installed by Microsoft Windows and your version of Microsoft Office are not embedded. Do not choose this option if your document readers may have a different version of Office installed.

In Microsoft Word 2003, these options are available on the Save tab of the Options dialog (available from the Tools menu):