How to Install Fonts on PowerPoint for Mac

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Font software gives you access to nearly unlimited typeface choices.
Image Credit: fonts image by Andrzej Solnica from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>

When you're getting ready to prepare a PowerPoint presentation to a client or in-house audience, you may need to install new font software to add special characters from a typeface of digital symbols, or to match a corporate typeface used by your audience. Although the Macintosh version of PowerPoint can use the large typeface library that installs automatically with Microsoft Office, you can add new fonts for use in PowerPoint, throughout your operating system and in all your applications.

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Step 1

Locate the font files you want to install, either on your local hard drive or in another location, networked or removable. If you downloaded the files as a purchase from a font merchant, unarchive them from the ZIP file that contains them.

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Step 2

Click on the "Launchpad" icon in the Dock to reveal all your applications. Locate the Font Book icon and click on it to launch the program.

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Step 3

Click on the "+" button under the Font column to navigate to the location of the font files you want to add to your active typeface collection. Highlight the name of the font file and click on the "OK" button to install the typeface. Note that Font Book copies the files you select from their original location into the Library folder's Fonts folder, leaving the original files untouched where you stored them. This procedure allows you to install an active copy of a font file from a removable or network drive, and use the typeface even after you eject and remove the original source of its files.

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Step 4

Twirl open the disclosure triangle to the left of the name of a typeface family to view its members, such as regular and bold weights, and italic versions of each. If the typeface you activated is a symbol typeface, it may include only one style.

Step 5

Click on the "Size" drop-down menu at the top right corner of the Font Book interface to change the size of the typeface preview. The default "Fit" setting displays the typeface sample at a size that fits into the dimensions of the preview area. If you choose "Fit," the actual size of the display appears after the name of the typeface below the preview area. You also can drag the slider at the right side of the Font Book interface to enlarge or reduce the display size interactively.

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Step 6

Press "Cmd-I" to see information about the typeface, including its name, the languages it supports, the version of the software represented by the files on your system, where Font Book placed the installed versions of the files, and information about the typeface designer. The information screen also tells you whether the typeface software uses copy protection, whether you can embed it in a PDF document for viewing by others and if it duplicates an existing installed font.

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Step 7

Click on the "Repertoire" icon above the Collection list to examine all the characters in the typeface instead of the standard preview sample. Scroll through the display of glyphs to review the entire character set.

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