How to Install a Font on Mac, Windows and Canva

You have a .ttf or .otf file, from FontQuill or anywhere else. Here is how to get it into the apps you use. TTF and OTF both work everywhere below; if you have a .zip, unzip it first. No font yet? Make your own font in 1–3 minutes; the preview is free.

Windows

• Double-click the TTF or OTF file.
• Click Install (or "Install for all users" to make it available to every account).
• Restart any app that was open, such as Word or Photoshop, so it sees the new font.

Mac

• Double-click the font file to open Font Book.
• Click Install.
• Restart open apps; the font then appears in every font menu.

Canva

Uploading your own fonts needs Canva Pro, Teams or Education. Open Brand Kit (or Brand), go to Brand fonts, click Upload a font and choose the TTF or OTF. It then appears in the font list of every design. Canva asks you to confirm you have the right to use the font; fonts you make yourself are yours to use.

Cricut Design Space

Install the font on your computer first (Windows or Mac steps above), then close and reopen Design Space. Add text and choose your font under System fonts. To make a font for vinyl and cutting, use the Cricut font maker.

iPhone and iPad

iOS installs fonts through apps. Goodnotes and Procreate can import a TTF directly from the Files app. To use a font in every app, install it with a font manager app from the App Store, then approve the profile in Settings.

Websites

Upload the WOFF2 file to your site and load it with @font-face, then use the family name in your CSS. WOFF2 is supported by every current browser; packages from FontQuill include a ready-made font.css in the web folder.

Google Docs

Google Docs only offers its own font library and cannot load font files. Use Word, Pages or Canva when you need your own font in a document.

TTF, OTF or WOFF2: which file to install

Install the TTF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and iPad: it works in every app. OTF is the same font in a format some designers prefer in Adobe apps; install one or the other, not both, or the font menu shows the name twice. WOFF2 and WOFF are only for websites and cannot be installed on a computer.

Microsoft Word and PowerPoint

After installing the font, restart Word or PowerPoint and pick it from the font list. If you send the file to someone who does not have the font, Word swaps it for a default font. To keep your font in the document, open File → Options → Save and tick "Embed fonts in the file" before you save. Export a PDF when the file only needs to be read or printed.

Photoshop, Illustrator and Affinity

Desktop design apps read the fonts installed on your system, so install the TTF first and restart the app. Your font then appears in the Character panel under its own name. If it does not show, search the font list for the exact name you gave the font when you made it.

Android

Android has no system-wide font installer, but many apps accept a font file directly. In apps such as Canva, Procreate Dreams or a notes app, look for "Import font" or "Add font" and choose the TTF from your Downloads folder. Some phone brands offer theme apps that can apply a font to the whole phone.

Font not showing up? Check these

• Restart the app after installing: most apps only read fonts when they start.
• Search for the exact font name, not the file name.
• Install only one copy: TTF or OTF, not both.
• On Windows, choose "Install for all users" if the font does not appear in some apps.
• In Canva, check that you are uploading to the Brand Kit of the team you are designing in.

How to remove a font

On Windows, open Settings → Personalization → Fonts, click the font and choose Uninstall. On Mac, open Font Book, select the font and press Delete. Restart open apps afterwards. Removing a font does not change documents saved as PDF.