Word – Why can I see a font even if it is not installed

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I do not have Seravek font installed on my system. My client sent a Microsoft Word document with contents using this font. When I select the text, it shows the correct font name i.e. Seravek.

However, I cannot find a corresponding font file (seravek.ttf) anywhere. I've looked at C:\Windows\Fonts and also searched in C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\

Can anyone help me to understand: If the font is not installed on my system, how can I still see that font?

Best Answer

If somebody sends you a Word document using a font that isn't installed on your computer, and they don't embed the font in the document, then Word will replace the font you don't have (Seravek in your case) with a default you do have (possibly Calibri, Arial or Times New Roman depending on your setup).

Confusingly, when you select the text and look at what font is being displayed, Word still says 'Seravek' (the name of the font you don't have).

Your options are:

  1. Try and install the font yourself. Seravek requires a license.

  2. Ask the person sending the document to embed the font in Word (as Thomas Weinbrenner suggests)

  3. Ask the person to save the file as a static PDF which will embed the fonts automatically, but you won't be able to edit it in that format.