I'm using a lot of custom fonts for design purposes and I'd like to backup those fonts. If I go to the Fonts folder in Windows Explorer, it seems to load some sort of special font management window.
Is backing up as simple as copying the fonts to another (backup) folder through drag and drop? Will my fonts just install into a fresh Windows install by copying them back to the Fonts folder?
I'm about to perform a re-install and I'd hate to find out it's not as simple as that the hard way!
Furthermore, is there a way to only backup the fonts I installed myself? (I.e., not the fonts that are installed on Windows by default.)
Best Answer
All your fonts should be stored in the C:/WINDOWS/FONTS/ directory (and all its sub-directories). I suggest you back up all of that, and then preview your backup copy to be sure that all your fonts were actually copied.
Do note that it's possible for fonts to be stored elsewhere, but this is extremely rare. If you do find that something is missing from that FONTS directory, then please post and update back here.
Copying the fonts back into the C:/WINDOWS/FONTS/ folder doesn't always work properly. But, what you can do is select a number of fonts, right-click on them, and then choose the appropriate "Install font" option to get them installed. You should also be presented with an option to copy the files to the FONTS folder (I recommend you do this so that your FONTS directory will contain copies of all your fonts).