Let’s Explore v4 – Installing Fonts

You found some really neat fonts, now how do you get those to show up in the Silhouette Software?

The fonts used in the Silhouette software found in the Text Style Panel are pulled in from the computer programs Fonts folder.

Downloading Fonts

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Let’s start with fonts from the Silhouette Design Store.

Some simple fonts that have just the basic 26 letters and numbers may install just by syncing the library. That is because they are simple files, straight from the Design Store. However, fonts have recently become larger files with “extra characters” called glyphs – these are called Premium Fonts. For these larger font files, you will need to install those directly onto the computer for them to show up.

After you purchase a font in the Silhouette Design Store, click on the person icon (Account Tools) icon in the top right corner.

Then click on “My Download History” and click on the Order # that includes the fonts purchased.

Once the order opens, check the box next to Download on the individual fonts file (Select All if the entire order is fonts).

Then choose Download Checked in the top right. The download will process and it will pop up a window for you to select the location to save the file to or it will download to the default location on your computer – often the Downloads folder. This will all depend on how the computer is set up to download files.

Choose the location that you want the font file to save to. I keep all my fonts in folders on my external hard drive, then I can transfer them to a new computer in the future if I need to.

MAC users – instructions listed below the PC instructions

Installing Fonts on a PC

When files download to your computer, whether it is designs or fonts, they will most likely be in a zipped file. This is a condensed file format so large files can easily be stored and downloaded.

In order to access designs and fonts, the folder has to be unzipped or extracted in order to view and access the information inside completely.

Note: some users may be able to access font files without unzipping the folder. I am sharing my process that I’ve found to have fewer issues for a user. 

Compressed or zipped files are designated by a zippered folder icon as shown below.

As you can see, all of these folders except the top are zippered folders.

A Windows 10 computer has a built in file extraction, however, you may have to tell the computer to use it. To do this, right click on the file and choose “Properties”.

Then change the “Opens with:” to the “Windows Explorer”. You may need to click on the “Change” button to find this option.

Now, you should have the option to “Extract” the file

Extracting the folder will now give you access to all of the files inside of it. It will pop up a window asking where you want to save it. Choose Extract and the folder will be ready to use.

After the file is extracted, there will be 2 folders. One without a zipper and one with a zipper. I delete the zippered file and this is how I know which fonts I’ve finished installing on my computer. As you can see, I have several zippered folders. This tells me that those have not been installed yet.

Next, close the Silhouette Software. Once a font is installed the software has to be closed and reopened after the fonts are installed in order to pull up the new font in the Text Style Panel.

Go back to the Windows folder where the fonts are saved. Double click on the unzipped font folder. This will open up the contents of the font file. Each font file may contain different things. There may be terms of use documents, more zippered files, instructions, etc in the folder.

As you can see in this folder I downloaded, there are several font files in this download and 2 of them have further folders that need to be extracted to access the font files.

There are 2 types of font files – .otf files and .ttf files. If the font has the .otf font option, that is the one you want to choose as it’s the newer font file and contains any special characters that are in the font file. For more information on the differences in these font file types, I would suggest checking out this post by Cutting for Business – “Fonts – OTF versus TTF – What is the difference?”

Right click on the .otf (or .ttf) file and choose “Install for all users”. A window will pop up that indicates it’s installing on the computer programs folder and then it will disappear when it’s done.

If you get a message that the font has already been installed do you want to replace it, just choose no. This can happen on some Silhouette Design store fonts as I referenced above because they are “simple” font files and were able to install directly on their own.

If there are multiple fonts in the folder or you have more fonts to install, open each folder and repeat the installation process.

Ta-Da! Fonts installed.

Now, open the Silhouette software and open the Text Style Panel. The font should appear in the Text Style Panel once all the fonts load in the program.

Mermaid Font by Rivka Wilkins – Design #303522

Updated 6/23/22
Windows 11 users

With the release of Windows 11, Microsoft has hidden some menus within menus. If you do not see the “Install for All Users” after right clicking on the font file, choose “Show More Options”.

Then you should see the “Install for All Users” option.

MAC users continue reading below the MAC instructions for more information. 

Installing Fonts on a MAC

Now, I am a PC gal, so I recruited some help from my friend & TJC Licensed Silhouette Instructor colleague Libby with LibbyAshcraft.com.
— Thank you Libby for the MAC info!

Installing a font on a Mac is quick and easy. If the font is included in a Zip file, you can just double left click on the font name and the file will be unzipped.

Open the font folder. Double click on the font file itself (either TTF or OTF). Font Book will open a window.

Click Install Font. Font Book will open and show you the installed font in your list of fonts.

Close Font Book.

If your Silhouette Studio was open during the installation of the font, close Studio and reopen it. Your font will be in the font drop down list.

You can also select more than one font at a time. To do this, click on the first font. Hold the CMD key down and click on the next font you want to install.

With both fonts selected, right click and select Open With and select Font Book from the fly-out menu. (You can also double click on one of the selected fonts to open the Install Windows.)

The Install Font windows for the selected fonts will open in a cascade.

Click on Install font in the first window. Close the window and click on Install font for the next font. Repeat for all the fonts you wish to install.

Just like when you installed a single font, Font Book will show you the installed font in the Font Book list.

Restart your Silhouette software and use your new fonts!

More Font Tips

– When you click on the Text Style Panel, that is when the software loads all the fonts to the program. Be patient and give it some time to load all the fonts. The more fonts you have the longer it will take for all of them to load in the program and be available.
You may notice if you try to scroll down or search by name in the Text Style Panel, it will jump back up to the top. This indicates it is still loading fonts in the software.

– The more fonts you have installed on your computer, will affect all programs, not just Silhouette Studio in loading the fonts. I have started being very selective in the fonts that I choose. I don’t grab every single free font I see, but ask myself if I will use it or not.
It also can make the design process a lot longer because you have so many options to choose from.

– If you don’t see the font by the main name, look for it under another name. Such as the designer’s initials in front of the font name, etc. For instance, a Lori Whitlock font may be named “LW Wide Marker” in the Text Style Panel or a “PN Handicraft Script” font is for ScrapNFonts.

– When you close the software after installing new fonts, you may get a message that Silhouette is installing fonts and will ask you to approve the changes. Click OK and then approve the pop up to make changes.

– While I used a Silhouette Design Store font for the example above, the same steps apply to all font files where ever you would collect them from.

Now that you know how to install new fonts so they show in the Silhouette software, on to creating fabulous designs!

Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.

I would love to see what you create!
Feel free to post on my Facebook group at Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.

Enjoy!

**This post may contain affiliate links. What that means is that I may receive compensation if you purchase through the links I have provided. The price you pay for the product or service is not higher but I may get compensated for sharing.