Windows – How to change the default fonts in Windows 10

fontswindows 10

I have read the entries for other OS versions.

  • Changing the MS Shell Dlg (2) entries in FontSubstitues registry key
    doesn't seem to work (in Windows 10), or it works in two minor
    places.
  • I don't have access to a Windows 95/98/etc. machine, the
    "earliest" I have is Windows 8.1, so I can't use the Plus directory
    trick either (directory doesn't exist).
  • For the WindowMetrics registry entry, I seem to have all the *Font keys to be set to the font I want, but that doesn't seem to be doing the trick (on Windows 10).
  • For Windows 8/8.1, there was a program called Windows 8 Font Changer, which worked like a charm, but doesn't seem to on Windows 10 (though it was probably that program run that changed the fonts in the WindowMetrics).

Thanks.

Update: One more method that came out that is perhaps still not the solution: Winaero Tweaker (winaero.com), as it has some issues, the biggest two of which seem to be:

  • If you have changed the size of text etc. from: "Settings –> Display –> Advanced display settings –> Advanced sizing of text and other items –> set a custom scaling level (not recommended)", the changes do not stick upon a logoff-login or restart. You need to have changed it, if at all, only through "Settings –> Display –> Change the size of text, etc." (which goes up to only a certain percentage, depending on the maximum resolution of your device – 125% on a tablet of mine, which I was able to set to 175% or even 200% with the other, older method that is now apparently listed as not recommended).

  • Even though it lists a number of items to change the font and size of, not everything gets changed. A typical example of this is the right click menu on the desktop, which still shows the View, Sort By, etc. items in the default font, however much it has a clear 'Change menu font' item.

Best Answer

You can change Windows 10 icon fonts with the following procedure:

  1. Press Win + R.

  2. Type regedit.exe and press Enter.

  3. Go to the following path:

     HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes

    You can find Segoe UI = Tahoma or similar on the right. Before changing the font value, note the default value somewhere.

  4. Find and double-click on Segoe UI to change its value. (in my case, it's Tahoma.)

  5. Enter the font name in Segoe UI's value data and press Enter.

  6. Restart to apply the changes.

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