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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(131.20000000000002, 62%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EJV%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Hello,
We are experiencing inconsistent and seemingly random font availability issues in Microsoft Office for macOS (Word and PowerPoint).
Environment:
macOS (latest versions tested)
Microsoft 365 Apps for Mac (Word and PowerPoint)
Fonts installed correctly at system level (/Library/Fonts)
No duplicated fonts according to Font Book
Fonts are visible and usable in macOS and in Adobe Creative Cloud applications without any issue
Problem description:
On a Mac with a large number of installed fonts (approximately 875), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint fail to display all installed fonts in the font selector. In some cases:
Certain fonts do not appear at all
Sometimes one font family appears while a closely related one does not
PowerPoint may show the message:
“We couldn’t load all the fonts. Some fonts may be missing.”
The behavior appears non-deterministic: after reinstalling fonts, clearing caches, or restarting, different fonts may appear or disappear.
What we have already verified:
Fonts are installed in /Library/Fonts, not in user context
No font duplicates (Font Book → Resolve Duplicates)
Tested both static and variable fonts
Tested with and without font conflicts (e.g. related families like Red Hat Text / Red Hat Display)
Cleared font caches (atsutil)
Cleared Microsoft Office caches and preferences
Reinstalled fonts cleanly
Other applications (Adobe Creative Cloud) consistently show all fonts without issues
Observation:
The issue only affects Microsoft Office applications. macOS itself and Adobe applications handle the same font set correctly.
Question:
Is there any known limitation, performance threshold, or internal font indexing constraint in Microsoft Office for macOS when a large number of fonts are installed?
Are there recommended best practices or documented limits for font volumes in Office for Mac environments?
Any guidance or official clarification would be appreciated.
Thank you.
A family of Microsoft presentation graphics products that offer tools for creating presentations and adding graphic effects like multimedia objects and special effects with text.
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(128, 8%, 22%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EA%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Dear @José Vicente López Navarro,
Welcome to Microsoft Q&A Forum!
Based on your description, Office for Mac may not scale well when extremely large numbers of fonts are installed. Its font indexer may silently fail or skip fonts, causing exactly the random availability described. MacOS and Adobe apps use different font enumerators that handle large font sets more efficiently, which is why the issue may appear only in Office.
Also, I have tried my best to research and found an article that may be related to your issue "We were unable to load all your fonts. Some fonts may be missing.", you can take a look and consider trying the method to see if it can help, please see: Issues with fonts in Office for macOS
To set prioritized fonts, please kindly check the steps in that article as well.
Besides that, I also have an idea that you should uninstall and reinstall your Office apps such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, ... But you have to reinstall them by downloading Office version from the Microsoft's website, please do not download Office from your MacBook's App Store. (see steps and link below):
You can see this link for more details for it: Download, install, or reinstall Microsoft 365 or Office 2024 on a PC or Mac
Moreover, in my perspective view, I can see that you had approximately 875 fonts installed on your macOS so the issue may cause from the huge numbers of fonts. I understand that it is not comfortable and you may not be satisfied with this feature on macOS. Also, I have come across many users discussing this issue on our forum. Therefore, the best course of action at this time is to send feedback directly to Microsoft.
You can do this by going to the Microsoft Feedback Portal. Sharing your experience helps Microsoft prioritize feature improvements in this scenario. Once you submit your feedback there, other users and I can locate your post and vote for it, which increases your visibility and priority to the product team. And I appreciate you raising this issue. Your action can help others in our community who face the same concern.
I hope this information can give you some insights and please feel free to update to me in comment section. Wish you a pleasant day!
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AI answer
In Microsoft Office for macOS, there are known limitations regarding the handling of third-party fonts. Specifically, Microsoft Office applications do not fully support custom fonts, which can lead to issues such as fonts not appearing in the font selector or inconsistent availability across different applications. Here are some key points to consider:
If the problem persists despite these measures, reaching out to Microsoft support for further assistance may be necessary, as they can provide more tailored guidance based on your specific environment and setup.
References: