Fonts - Change

**Brink** · **OPTION ONE:**

How to Change the Default Fonts in Windows 7

Information

This will show you how to change most of the default fonts in Windows 7 for Active Title Bar, Icon, Inactive Title Bar, Menu, Message Box, Palette Title, Selected Items, ToolTip, and various Dialog Box text and buttons.

WARNING

Changing a Windows 7 font doesn't change your program fonts.

RELATED LINKS:

OPTION ONE:
Advanced Appearance Settings

NOTE

This will let you change the default font, font size, and font color for the Active Title Bar, Icon, Inactive Title Bar, Menu, Message Box, Palette Title, Selected Items, and ToolTip text.

1. Right click on a empty space on the desktop and click on Personalize. (See screenshot below)

2. Click on the Window Color link at the bottom of the window. (See screenshot below)

3. Click on the Advanced appearance settings link. (See screenshot above)

WARNING

If you have selected a Basic and High Contrast Themes, then you will not see the screenshot. Instead, you will see the screenshot below step 4.

If you have selected a Aero Themes, then you will see the screenshot. Continue to step 4.

4. Select a Item that you want to change the font for. (See screenshots below)
NOTE: Not all of these items will have a font for them.

5. To Change the Item Font -
A) Click on the Font drop down menu and select a font. (See screenshot below)

6. To Change the Item Font Size -
A) Click on the Size drop down menu and select a number for the size. The higher the number, the larger the size. (See screenshot above)

7. To Change the Item Font Color -
A) Click on the Color drop down menu and select a color. (See screenshot below step 5)

8. To Have the Item Font in Bold -
A) Click the B button to highlight it. If it is not highlighted, then the font will not be in bold. (See screenshot below step 5)

9. To Have the Item Font in Italic -
A) Click on the I button to highlight it. If it is not highlighted, then the font will not be in italic. (See screenshot below step 5)

10. Repeat steps 4 to 9 until you have changed all of the fonts for the select items that you wanted.

11. When done, click on OK. (See screenshots below step 4)

12. Close the Window Color and Appearance window. (See screenshot below step 3)
NOTE: You will not have this to do if you have a Basic and High Contrast Themes selected.

OPTION TWO:
Dialog Box Text and Buttons

NOTE

This will let you change the default fonts for most of the Windows 7 dialog box text and button text through the registry.

1. Open the Start Menu.

2. In the Start Menu Search box type regedit and press Enter. (See screenshot below)

3. If prompted by UAC, then click on Yes.

4. In regedit, go to: (See screenshots below)
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes
NOTE: The default fonts are the ones displayed below.

5. In the right pane, right click on MS Shell Dlg and click on Modify. (See screenshot above)

6. Type in the name of the font you want to use and click on OK. (See left screenshot below)
NOTE: You can get the name of the font from the Font Folder Location C:\Windows\Fonts. Right click on the single font and click on Properties to see the file name. For a font group, you will need to open it first to see the single fonts in it. Be sure that you use the exact same font name that is listed. Do not include the Regular part or file extension in the font name. For example, I would type Impact instead of Impact Regular or Impact.ttf.

7. In the right pane, right click on MS Shell Dlg 2 and click on Modify. (See screenshot below step 3)

8. Type in the name of the font you want to use and click on OK. (See left screenshot below)
NOTE: You can get the name of the font from the Font Folder Location C:\Windows\Fonts. Be sure that you use the exact same font name that is listed. Do not include the Regular part in the font name. For example, I would type Impact instead of Impact Regular.

9. Close regedit.

10. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to apply the font changes.

That's it,
Shawn

Coldout · 01-15-2009

Hi, I have adjusted some fonts in the Adavanced Apperance settings, and also the Registry for Gabriola font. But still I have some text on teh Desktop that is the default text. I would like to change it all to the same Gabriola text if possible. Any other places I need to adjust to make it so?

Thanks!
Also would just like to say, this site is great. SO much info.

**Brink** · 01-15-2009

Hello Coldout,

What text location on the desktop has not changed?

Shawn

Coldout · 01-15-2009

I've taken a screenshot of my desktop, which shows the fonts that still seem to be default.
Example is, holding mouse over taksbar shows default text. But when I right click on Windows explorer, I have the Gabriola text.
Also Computer, Network and Recycle Bin are default fonts.

Edit: I just got the Computer, Network and Recycle Bin to Gabriola. I went through the list in Advanced Apprerance settings, (these were under Icon) which I hadn't noticed before

Thanks.

Edit 2: I have all but one changed to Gabriola font, mouse over taskbar 'tooltip' still shows default text.

I can live with it, if it is a pain to find.

Once again, thanks. Very much appreciate the info, and the help.

**Brink** · 01-15-2009

No problem Cold Out.

I'm not sure where that one may be at.

96accord · 01-15-2009

might have been asked....... but........

how do you make the desktop icons smaller?

**Brink** · 01-15-2009

Hello 96accord,

You can do so by right clicking on a unused area of the desktop and click on View and Small Icons.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

stormy · 05-12-2009

I too am struggling with this, option 1 works but as with Vista some fonts seem uneditable, some dialogue boxes refuse to change (delete for example), the advanced font selection list itself! (which has to be some sick joke), gadgets, RSS sidebar feeds, fonts in Outlook, insisting on the ugly Segeo / Calibri which looks dreadful with ClearType disabled.

Option 2 above, I just don't have the registry keys here on my Windows 7 RC install. At the moment Windows 7 seems worse than Vista in not allowing you to change all the fonts, so I have the clean lines to Tahoma and Trebuchet MS but with sprinklings of the ugly Segoe.

A pain.

Some examples attached.

Any ideas?

**Brink** · 05-12-2009

Hello Stormy, and welcome to Seven Forums.

I'm not sure which registry entries you are missing, but here are the default entries inside the FontSubstitutes key. You can download the ZIP file, extract the .reg file, then double click on the .reg file to merge it to add them.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

stormy · 05-12-2009

Thanks, I will check it out.