PowerPoint does not recognize a newly installed font on Mac

Question

PowerPoint does not recognize a newly installed font on Mac

Serra Baran 0

Hi,

I’m having an issue with a font I recently installed on my Mac. The font appears correctly in Font Book and works in some other applications, but it either does not appear in PowerPoint or PowerPoint falls back to another font when I open the presentation.

I downloaded the font files from this page: https://pixelbag.net/lemon-milk-font-free-download/

The package contains OTF files, and Font Book does not report any obvious validation errors.

Could this be related to the font’s internal family name, PostScript name, or the way PowerPoint reads font metadata? Is there a recommended way to check whether a font file is fully compatible with PowerPoint for macOS?

I’ve already tried restarting PowerPoint and reinstalling the font, but the issue remains.

Thanks.

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2 answers

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Answer 1

John Korchok 235.3K Volunteer Moderator

PowerPoint's font handling is poor compared to the other Office apps, and the problem seems worse in the macOS version. In general, TTF fonts work better than OTF format, and fonts from major foundries work better than free fonts.

If you don't have the budget for a paid font, try using the fonts that come with Microsoft Office. They're free, they work correctly, and they're probably already installed on other computers. Here's a PDF showing the most useful of these. Choose a font checked in every column for maximum compatibility: Useful Office Fonts

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Answer 2

Xavier-D 11,765 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hello Serra Baran

Yes, this can be related to the font’s internal metadata.

PowerPoint may identify a font by its PostScript name, which can differ from the family name shown in Font Book. Inconsistent naming between platforms can also cause PowerPoint to substitute another font when opening a presentation.

Since you have already restarted PowerPoint and reinstalled the font, try the following:

Open Font Book, select the font, and choose the Information button.
Check the PostScript Name, Version, and font type for every style in the family.
Look for duplicate or disabled copies. If duplicates exist, use Resolve Duplicates and keep the latest version active.
Run Validate Font from Font Book. Even if no obvious error appeared during installation, review any warnings for individual styles.
Confirm that the file is an OpenType font rather than the older PostScript Type 1 format.

You can also prioritize the font for Word and PowerPoint. Quit all Office applications, open Terminal, and enter the following command, replacing the example with the exact, case-sensitive PostScript names displayed in Font Book:

defaults write com.microsoft.office PrioritizedFonts -array "ExactPostScriptName-Regular" "ExactPostScriptName-Bold"

Open PowerPoint, close it after it finishes loading, and then open it once more. Each style has its own PostScript name, so you may need to add every required weight separately.

If the font starts working in a new blank presentation but is still substituted in the existing file, the presentation may contain a different saved font name or an embedded version of the font. Third-party fonts can also have incomplete font data, naming conflicts, or embedding restrictions.

For reference, you can refer to this Microsoft’s official guidance:

font issues in Office for macOS

installing custom fonts for Office.

Feel free reply back to this post if you need further assistance, I'll be happy to help.

Xavier-D 11,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-07-30T23:38:00.0033333+00:00

Hi Serra Baran

I’m following up to check on the status of this issue.

Have you had an opportunity to review the answer shared earlier?

Any update you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
Serra Baran 0 Reputation points

2026-08-03T14:47:49.1+00:00

Hi Xavier, Thank you for following up.

The PrioritizedFonts command worked, and the font now appears correctly in PowerPoint.

However, managing the list manually is quite cumbersome, especially when a font family contains many weights and each PostScript name has to be added separately.

Is there a simpler way to prioritize an entire font family at once, or a graphical interface where the PrioritizedFonts list can be viewed, edited, and updated?

Also, when adding a new font, do I need to rewrite the complete array each time, or is there a command that appends a new PostScript name without replacing the existing entries?

Thanks again for your help.
Xavier-D 11,765 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-08-04T01:33:50.0433333+00:00

Hi Serra Baran

I’m glad the workaround resolved the issue.

Unfortunately, the setting does not support a family-level wildcard. Each font style has a separate PostScript name, so all required weights must be added individually. Microsoft’s documented method uses Terminal, supports up to 50 PostScript names, and does not provide a graphical interface for managing this list.

You can view the current list with:

defaults read com.microsoft.office PrioritizedFonts

To append one font without replacing the existing entries, use:

defaults write com.microsoft.office PrioritizedFonts -array-add "ExactPostScriptName"

Repeat the command for each additional weight. The original -array command rewrites the complete list, while -array-add appends an entry.

After making changes, quit all Office applications, open PowerPoint once, close it, and then reopen it. PostScript names are case-sensitive and must exactly match those displayed in Font Book.

To remove the entire prioritized-font list and return to the default behavior:

defaults delete com.microsoft.office PrioritizedFonts