Windows 7 – Where Are the Physical Font Files Stored?

windowswindows 7

When we go Control Panel >> Appearance and Personalization >> Fonts, the window shows a list of fonts currently installed on the system. We can copy those font files out (Ctrl-C) to a new location,

But where are the original physical font files stored?

Based on this thread, I'd thought that the files are stored in C:\Windows\Font, but it seems to be a virtual folder, Specifically when I download TypeLight (runned the program as administrator) and tried to open the font files in C:\Windows\Font, none are listed:

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Best Answer

They are stored in the Windows SxS cache, where hard links are created from. Here is an example (64b):

C:\Windows\WinSxS\amd64_microsoft-windows-f..truetype-arialblack_31bf3856ad364e35_6.2.8250.0_none_cd833951c51cc8e6

Searching C:\Windows\WinSxS for truetype- will give all these folders, searching for *.ttf or *.otf will give all the font files that are stored in that folder. The reason your application doesn't see these files is because it doesn't support the aggregating approach the Control Panel uses. At best you can attempt to type the file name and get around...

For an overview, use dir %SYSTEMROOT%\Fonts.

The Link Shell Extension allows you to enumerate the hard links in the Link Properties tab:

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