If you’re tired of using the default system font on Windows 11/10, you can change it to your desired font with a simple registry tinkering. This will change the default system fonts of the desktop icons like Recycle bin, including title bar, message box, and others.
In the older version (Windows 7 or lower version) changing the default system font was not a big deal. It was quite easy and straightforward through personalization settings in the Control Panel. But for some reason, these settings were removed and users remained stuck with the default system font. You had to do just this:
- Right-click the mouse on a blank area of the screen and choose Customize.
- Click Color and appearance of windows.
- Then, click Open classic appearance properties for additional color options.
- Next click the Advanced button.
- Pull down the list item and choose the element you want to change the font, icon, for example.
- Then pull down the Font list and choose the font to use. Then define its size and horns (bold or italic).
- Then repeat the operation for the other elements to customize. Finally, click on the OK button and then click Apply. The change is immediate and you don’t have to restart your computer.
In this article, we will show how to change the default system font on Windows 11/10, including the way to restore the default system font using the Registry Editor. Before you proceed, one thing you must know is that without having proper skills, editing a registry is dangerous. It can damage your system permanently which might be irreversible. So, if you have a little knowledge of what you’re doing then you can skip it and ask a skilled person to complete the adjustment.
Change default System Font in Windows 11/10
Before you go ahead and use the steps, do remember to create a system restore point first.
To get started, open Notepad first. You can open it using the Run command. Simply press Windows+R keys to launch the Run dialog box, type Notepad in the text field, then hit Enter to open the Notepad app.
In the Notepad app, copy and paste the following text code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts] "Segoe UI (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"="" "Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"="" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes] "Segoe UI"="NEW_FONT"
Now, open the Settings app and click on the Personalization category.
In the left pane, select the Fonts tab. You will see a large collection of the font family on the right.
Select the font you want to use from the list and also note its Official name. For example – Book Antiqua.
Now replace “NEW_FONT” with the font name you have selected from the Settings page. Because I prefer the font name “Book Antiqua” to be used in the entire system so, you can see the above image, I have replaced the “NEW_FONT” with the Book Antiqua in the registry code.
After replacing the font name in the Notepad, click on the File menu and then select the “Save as” option. On the Save as page, switch “Save as type” to All Files.
Name the file, choose the preferred location of your file, and then click the Save button. The file name must have the .reg extension. For instance – I have named my file my_font. So, the name of my file with the .reg extension should be “my_font.reg”.
Now go to the location where the .reg file has been saved. Then right-click on it and select the Merge option from the context menu.
Click Yes and then hit the OK button to save the changes.
After performing the above steps, restart your computer and the new font will substitute in the entire system.
Read: How to change default font in Word, Excel, PowerPoint.
Restore default system font on Windows 11/10
If you want the previous configuration on your Windows device, you can revert the changes using the following instructions:
Open the Start menu, type Notepad, then select the top of the result to open the Notepad text editor.
In the Notepad app area, copy and paste the following text code:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts] "Segoe UI (TrueType)"="segoeui.ttf" "Segoe UI Black (TrueType)"="seguibl.ttf" "Segoe UI Black Italic (TrueType)"="seguibli.ttf" "Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf" "Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuiz.ttf" "Segoe UI Emoji (TrueType)"="seguiemj.ttf" "Segoe UI Historic (TrueType)"="seguihis.ttf" "Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuii.ttf" "Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"="segoeuil.ttf" "Segoe UI Light Italic (TrueType)"="seguili.ttf" "Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"="seguisb.ttf" "Segoe UI Semibold Italic (TrueType)"="seguisbi.ttf" "Segoe UI Semilight (TrueType)"="segoeuisl.ttf" "Segoe UI Semilight Italic (TrueType)"="seguisli.ttf" "Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"="seguisym.ttf" "Segoe MDL2 Assets (TrueType)"="segmdl2.ttf" "Segoe Print (TrueType)"="segoepr.ttf" "Segoe Print Bold (TrueType)"="segoeprb.ttf" "Segoe Script (TrueType)"="segoesc.ttf" "Segoe Script Bold (TrueType)"="segoescb.ttf" [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes] "Segoe UI"=-
Now click on the File menu and then select the “Save as” option. On the Save as page, use the drop-down menu to switch “Save as type” to All Files.
Thereafter you have to name the file, choose the preferred location to save the file, and then click the Save button. Save the file with the .reg extension. For example – I have named my file restore_my_font. So, the name of my file with the .reg extension should be “restore_my_font.reg”.
Now go to the location where you have saved the restore_my_font.reg file. Then do a right-click on it and select the Merge option from the context menu.
Click Yes then hit the OK button to save the changes.
Once you have done, restart your computer and it will revert your system configuration to the default font.
TIP: Advanced System Font Changer lets you change System Font in Windows.
What is the default font in Windows 11 or Windows 10?
Segoe UI is the default font in Windows 11 and Windows 10 families of operating systems. Segoe UI (User Interface) is a member of the Segoe family and it is used in most Microsoft products for user interface text, as well as for many of its online services.
