Sharing a bit of information today on how to install fonts for use in the Silhouette Studio software. Well, any program really. Fonts are installed directly on the computer and then software programs pull from the Fonts folder on the computer hard drive to access.
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Font files are typically OTF or TTF font files. OTF stands for Open Type Font and if you have the option to install this, that is the one you should install. The OTF file is the newer font format and is the one that has all the special characters, also called glyphs, that we have seen evolve over time. Over time we have seen a shift in font development and are now seeing hundreds of characters in one font file versus the original 26 characters of the alphabet + numbers.
TTF stands for True Type Font and these are the older style font files that do not have as many special characters. If TTF is the only option you have to install for a font, that will work just fine. All it means is that the font file does not contain as many special characters.
How to Install Fonts for Silhouette
Check out the new video tutorial on the Silhouette Secrets+ YouTube channel as I’m sharing step-by-step how to install fonts for use in Silhouette.
As a Silhouette user we’ve been kind of spoiled in seeing font file thumbnails show up in the Fonts folder of the Silhouette library and with most of your basic fonts, the font will install on the computer when the font thumbnail syncs to the library. However, with the Silhouette website migration issues that started on 5/22/24, we have seen fluctuation in files actually syncing properly to the Silhouette library.
The fonts from the Silhouette Design Store, do NOT have to sync to the library for use. It’s just kind of a perk that we have gotten used to. Once things are back to working like they should with the Silhouette websites someday, we may see things return to normal.
The Silhouette Fonts folder only contains thumbnails for fonts that are purchased and synced to the library directly from the Silhouette library. Font files can be found in many online sites. Check out the Recommended Design & Retailers for the group for more options HERE.
The same steps apply for all fonts to be installed no matter what site you obtain them from.
I also have a written tutorial that I published a few year back called Let’s Explore v4 – Installing Fonts. In this tutorial I have provided additional details on things you might encounter such as extracting downloaded files and installation steps for a MAC.
As technology changes and we see updates from both Microsoft and Apple in the computer operating systems, there can be new ways they “hide” things or change things that users have to figure out. For instance, with the release of Windows 11, Microsoft hid the “Install for all users”. It is an important step in the process or the font file might not show up in all programs. That is also another change by Microsoft that occurred with Windows 10 release. If you encounter any issues with installing fonts or see something different than my video tutorial shows, please check out the written tutorial HERE for more details.
If you have any questions, please let me know in the comments below.
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**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.
Are you a Silhouette owner and just got a new computer? Not sure where to go from there?
It is pretty easy to get setup and running with a new computer and I’m going to share a few tips.
First when you get a new computer, be prepared that it will take a little bit for it to be ready for you to start using. There will be some computer setup instructions for you to follow. And if you are a Windows owner, you may find that you have a lot of Windows updates that need to install in order to get it ready for use. Be patient and let it setup correctly. I know you are excited, believe me, I always am too! But, there really is no rushing it. The updates will finish when they finish.
Steps to Setting Up a New Computer with Silhouette Studio
Below I’m going to list the steps to start with when setting up a new computer with Silhouette Studio. Each step in this process has some tips that can help you get set up faster and I’ve included important information in detail below. I would highly recommend reading the entire post before you get started.
1 – Download Silhouette Studio from the Silhouette America website 2 – Activate Software Upgrades 3 – Log in to the Silhouette Library 4 – Install Fonts 5 – Export User Designs
IMPORTANT TIPS!
1. Silhouette Studio Software Installation
When you get a new computer, you will first need to download the software on to the new computer. This can be found on the Silhouette America website. Click on Software & then Get Software
For the Silhouette cutting machines, you will select the Silhouette Studio option.
For the current version of the software, you simply click Download and it will download the current version to your computer. It is the Basic software program. We will talk about upgrade activation further down.
Note: As of the publication date of this post, I DO NOT recommend the current version unless you have a Silhouette Auto Sheet Feeder to use. I would highly recommend v4.4.554 for most users.
Legacy Versions
To find Legacy versions click on Learn More
Click on Download Legacy Versions
Choose which Legacy version you want to install
This will download the installer to your computer and you will open that to start the installation.
Click HERE to go directly to the Software download page.
There may be some pop ups that come up that need approval in order to proceed. Watch the bottom task bar for any flashing shields if the pop up doesn’t actually pop up.
If a flashing shield appears, click on it and then approve ALL the pop ups. If you do not click on the shields to approve, it will look like it stalled, but it is waiting on you!
Once the installation is complete, you can open the Silhouette Software.
If by chance you have a new Windows Computer and it is running in S mode, it will not let any program that is outside of the Microsoft Store install on the computer. You will need to take it out of S mode in order to install any programs, including the Silhouette software. For more information on how to take it out of Windows S mode click HERE.
2. Activate Silhouette Studio Upgrade
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Silhouette software upgrades include Designer Edition, Designer Edition Plus, and Business Edition. These upgrades unlock features that are in the software. To see what each upgrade unlocks, click the Feature Comparisons to find out more information. Find this HERE
This will bring up a chart you can scroll down through to see what features are with each upgrade.
If you are using a software version of v4.4.554 or higher, you do not need to enter your upgrade codes in the software. Click on Help – Apply Upgrade Edition and enter your log in information. Do NOT enter your upgrade codes. Once you log in with your Silhouette account info, your upgrade should be active on any computer you log in to.
This is a new feature and is only available in software versions of v4.4.554 or higher. The upgrade can only be active on 3 computers at a time. If you log into a 4th computer, it will deactivate on the oldest computer that has not been active.
For older software, software upgrades do not automatically activate when you download the Silhouette software to a new computer. If you have ever entered an upgrade code, you will need enter the upgrade codes in the order that you purchased them for it to activate on the new computer. So if you purchased the Designer Edition and then the Business Edition later, you would need to enter the code for Designer first and then Business next. If you try to enter Business Edition first, you will get an error and it will not activate.
If you are a brand new user, there is a new system that is in process and you can activate the upgrade on the Silhouette America website to be used on any computer you log into. This is still very new and only available for those that are brand new and have never entered an upgrade code as of 10/15/21.
If you do not remember what the codes were, you can easily access them under your Silhouette account information in the Silhouette Design Store. Open the Silhouette Design Store, make sure you are signed in, move the mouse over the person icon in the top right corner, and then choose Account Settings.
Then click on the License Keys section.
3. Log in to the Silhouette Library
Once the software is open, click in the top right corner on the Library tab.
Enter your Silhouette Account information and all of the files that are in the Silhouette Cloud should Sync up. It will depend on how many files you have in your Silhouette library on how long it will take to fully sync. Another hurry up and wait moment.
As a point of reference, I have high speed internet and 12,000+ files. This took approximately 3 hours to sync my library completely. Keep in mind that each of those files has to sync fully to the new computer. That is a LOT of data, but just depends on how many files you have in the library.
Plug in Silhouette machines to computer & turn on
If you have an older model Silhouette machine of a Cameo 3 or older, the free files download to the library once the machine is recognized. Plug in the Silhouette machine, turn it on, and click on the Send tab. Once it has recognized the machine, then the files will download to the library. You will need to do this for ALL machines that you have had plugged into your software to get those free files to download.
If you have multiple machines, click on the little machine icon in the bottom right corner of the Send tab to choose the machine you want active.
This will also unlock any panels that are associated with a particular machine such as the Emboss Panel for the Curio or the Stipple Panel for the Cameo 4, Cameo 3, Portrait 2, and Curio machines.
Exporting files on old computer
Note: this is only needed if files cannot be recovered in another way
If there are files that did not show up when you logged in and the library synced, the first reason would be they are the free with machine and I would suggest looking at the above information again. If you have done that, then it could be because those files were only stored on the Local User section of the old computer. This will be dependent on the Silhouette software version you were using before. If you were using a version prior to v4.1, you will find more tips on exporting the library in this post – Library Tips (v4.1).
If you have a library backup file, it can then be imported into the Silhouette library by clicking on your name in the top left of the Library and choose Library Import, then select the location of the file backup.
Screenshot from v4.4.892
But this only needs to be done if files are missing and you cannot get them to sync up any other way. If you do it and it’s not needed, you can end up with many duplicate files, which you’ll need to remove manually.
4.Install fonts on the new computer
Keep in mind that when you set up a new computer, you are starting from scratch. That means you will need to install any program or file that you were using on the old computer, if you want it on the new computer. This includes fonts. The new computer comes loaded with the default fonts only and these can vary by computer.
While I have heard of others being able to copy and paste the entire font file from their computer programs folders on the old computer and then pasting it into the new computer fonts folder, I have had mixed results with this. I had to right click on the font and choose “Install for All Users”.
Luckily, I had saved all my font files that I’ve collected onto a folder in my external hard drive, so I could access them direct from the external drive. While I still had to install over 500 fonts, I did get to also pick and choose which ones I really “needed” on the new computer.
I have had several new computers in the last few years and on one I had to install each font and on the other, some worked by copy and paste.
BIG TIP TO NOTE: If you created designs using certain fonts, when you open the design file, if that font is not installed on the computer you are using to open the file, the font will revert to the default font style on that computer.
5. Export User Designs from Silhouette Library
If you have downloaded the current version or a version higher than v4.4.552, there is also a new feature that allows you to export all User Designs from the library as individual files.
Click on your name in the top left corner of the library tab and choose Export User Created Designs.
For more details on this specific features, check out this post HERE
While I do NOT recommend storing your personal files in the Silhouette library, there are times that it is handy when you are accessing files on multiple computers or using Pattern Fills in the Silhouette software.
One big thing to note
when exporting these User Designs is that it will export the entire library folder structure. However, any designs from the Silhouette Design Store, the folders will be empty. Only the user created designs will be exported. This is due to the proprietary nature of the .studio files and to protect the designers of those files from theft.
I would HIGHLY recommend using this export feature when you update to the software of v4.4.552 or higher because it is a really nice feature. However, as a general note, I do not recommend that all users update to this version or higher. There are many factors that I consider before advising a user on whether they should update. It really comes down to the user’s choice, however, before I make a recommendation I do ask for more information. If you would like to know what I’d recommend for your situation, feel free to post on the Silhouette Secrets+ with EllyMae Facebook group and we can take a look at the factors.
Keep in mind that the Silhouette library is not designed as an all inclusive storage area but as a syncing device. This is one reason the Silhouette cloud storage is limited in size. All users get 1 GB of storage space, but if you are a Silhouette Club Member or a Silhouette Design Store Subscriber, you get 5 GB of storage.
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I hope this helps you start enjoying that new computer and your Silhouette software a little bit quicker! The biggest tip I can say is to be patient! I am not the most patient person when it comes to setting up a new computer, but if I tell myself that in the beginning sometimes it helps.
We love seeing what you are creating with your Silhouette machines or software. Feel free to post photos or questions on my Facebook group at Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.
Save this for future reference by pinning the image below.
Enjoy !
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee. Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Or if you are looking for more in-depth, step-by-step classes, check out all of my online Silhouette classes on my Teachable site HERE.
**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.
You found some really neat fonts; now how do you get those to show up in the Silhouette Software? In this tutorial, I’ll share how to install fonts on the computer so they will show up in software programs and are available when you want to use them.
The fonts used in the Silhouette software are found in the Text Style Panel are pulled in from the computer programs Fonts folder.
How to Download Fonts
Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post and as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Let’s start with fonts from the Silhouette Design Store.
**on 5/22/24 the Silhouette websites did a massive migration to a new system and the new website has a new look. Access the downloads in your Account, download direct, install the font as instructed below.
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 “Download” 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.
The file will begin the download process.
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
How to Install Fonts on a Windows Computer
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 computers have 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.
For Windows 11 users, if you do not see “Install for all users”, choose “Show More Options” in the right click menu and select “Install for all users”. This is a VERY important step in the process. If this option is not used, then the fonts may not show up in some software programs. It is a change that Microsoft did, not Silhouette. (see below for screenshots)
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 6/23/22Windows 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.
How to Install 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 wherever 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.
Enjoy !
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click HERE & buy a coffee.
Every little bit helps with the cost of running the site.
Silhouette Classes
Never stop learning! Let me help you take the anxiety out of learning with Silhouette and get to creating faster! My Silhouette classes are heavily focused on software, so you can take the skills & techniques taught and apply them to many future projects!
**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.
THANK YOU for your support! How can you help? Click the link to buy a coffee. Every little bit helps in the cost of running the site.
Mermaid Font by Rivka Wilkins – Design #303522
