How to Change the Default System Font on Windows 10/11

Windows 10 and 11 ship with Segoe UI as the system-wide default font — the typeface used in title bars, menus, dialog boxes, and most UI text. There’s no settings toggle to change it. Instead, you create a small registry file that maps Segoe UI to your preferred font, run it, and restart. This guide covers all four tasks: browsing the installed font list, changing the system font via a .reg file, restoring Segoe UI as the default, changing font size (no registry required), and installing new fonts from the Microsoft Store. While in Personalization settings, you can also show the This PC icon on your desktop and adjust other visual options at the same time.

Browse the Available Fonts

Before picking a new font, note the exact name of the font you want — the registry file entry must match the name precisely. There are two ways to view all installed fonts.

Via Control Panel

Search for Control Panel in the Windows search bar and open it:

Windows search bar showing Control Panel in the search results

Select Appearance and Personalization:

Windows Control Panel showing the Appearance and Personalization section

Click the Fonts icon in the Appearance and Personalization screen:

Appearance and Personalization settings showing the Fonts icon

The Fonts folder shows every installed font. Note the exact name of the one you want to use — for example, Tahoma.

Control Panel Fonts folder showing the list of installed fonts with Tahoma visible

Via Settings App

Open the Settings app from the Start menu gear icon:

Windows 11 Start Menu showing the Settings gear icon in the pinned apps

Go to Personalization and scroll down to the Fonts section, then click it:

Windows 11 Settings showing the Personalization section with the Fonts option

The Available fonts section lists all pre-installed fonts. Note the exact name to use in the registry file below.

Windows 11 Settings Fonts page showing all pre-installed available fonts

Change the System Font via Registry Editor

Windows does not let you change the system font through the GUI. The only way is to create a .reg file that sets your chosen font as a substitute for Segoe UI, then merge it into the registry and restart. Open Notepad to create the file — if you prefer working in a dark editor, you can enable dark mode in Notepad before starting.

Step 1: Search for Notepad in the Windows search bar and open it.

Windows search bar showing Notepad as the top search result

Step 2: Paste the code below into Notepad. Replace font_name on the last line with your chosen font’s exact name.

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"="font_name"

For example, to use Tahoma, the last line becomes "Segoe UI"="Tahoma":

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"="Tahoma"

Notepad showing the Windows Registry Editor script with Segoe UI substituted by Tahoma

Step 3: Go to File > Save As. Type a filename ending in .reg (e.g., FontUpdate.reg):

Notepad Save As dialog showing FontUpdate.reg typed as the filename

Change the Save as type dropdown to All Files, then click Save:

Notepad Save As dialog with the file type changed to All Files to save as a .reg file

Step 4: Navigate to the saved FontUpdate.reg file and double-click it:

File Explorer showing the saved FontUpdate.reg file ready to be opened

Step 5: The Registry Editor shows a warning before merging any .reg file. Click Yes to confirm:

Registry Editor warning dialog asking if you want to add the .reg file contents to the registry

A success dialog confirms the keys were added. Click OK, then restart Windows to apply the new font.

Registry Editor success message confirming the font keys have been added to the registry

Restore the Default Segoe UI Font

To revert to Segoe UI, create a second .reg file that maps the font registry entries back to their original .ttf files and removes the font substitution.

Step 1: Open Notepad and paste the restore script below:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
"Segoe UI (TrueType)"="segoeui.ttf"
"Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf"
"Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuiz.ttf"
"Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"="segoeuii.ttf"
"Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"="segoeuil.ttf"
"Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"="seguisb.ttf"
"Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"="seguisym.ttf"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]
"Segoe UI"=-

Notepad showing the restore registry script that maps Segoe UI back to its original .ttf font files

Step 2: Save the file with a .reg extension and All Files as the type, then click Save:

Notepad Save As dialog saving the restore registry script as a .reg file with All Files type

Step 3: Navigate to the saved restore .reg file and double-click it:

File Explorer showing the saved restore .reg file ready to be double-clicked

Step 4: Click Yes on the Registry Editor warning prompt:

Registry Editor warning dialog asking for confirmation to import the restore registry file

Click OK on the success dialog, then restart Windows to restore Segoe UI.

Registry Editor success confirmation showing the Segoe UI restore keys have been added

Change the Font Size in Windows 10/11

If you only want text to be larger or smaller — without changing the font itself — use the Accessibility settings. No registry file or restart required.

Step 1: Open the Settings app from the Start menu:

Windows 11 Start Menu showing the Settings icon in the pinned apps section

Step 2: Click the Accessibility tab in the left sidebar:

Windows 11 Settings showing the Accessibility section selected in the left sidebar

Step 3: Click Text size at the top of the Accessibility screen:

Windows 11 Accessibility settings with the Text size option at the top

Step 4: Drag the slider left or right to adjust the text size percentage. The preview area updates in real time:

Windows 11 Text size settings showing the slider being dragged to change the font size percentage

Step 5: Click Apply to save the new text size:

Windows 11 Text size settings with the Apply button to save the new font size

Download New Fonts from the Microsoft Store

If you don’t find a suitable font in the built-in list, Windows 11 lets you install additional fonts — both free and paid — directly from the Microsoft Store. To open it, press the Windows key and search for “Microsoft Store,” or see all the ways to open the Microsoft Store on Windows 11.

Open Settings and go to Personalization:

Windows 11 Settings showing Personalization selected in the left sidebar

Scroll down and click Fonts:

Windows 11 Personalization settings with the Fonts section visible in the list

At the top of the Fonts screen, click Get more fonts in Microsoft Store:

Windows 11 Fonts settings screen showing the Get more fonts in Microsoft Store link at the top

The Microsoft Store opens to the font collection. Browse and select the style you want:

Microsoft Store font collection showing free and paid font options available for Windows 11

Select the font — for example, Ink Draft — and click Get:

Microsoft Store showing the Ink Draft font page with the Get button highlighted

The font downloads in the background:

Microsoft Store showing the Ink Draft font downloading with a progress bar

Click Open once the download is complete:

Microsoft Store showing the Ink Draft font installed with the Open button available

Windows takes you back to the Fonts settings screen, where the new font now appears in the available fonts list and is ready to use in the registry file above:

Windows 11 Fonts settings page showing the newly installed Ink Draft font added to the available fonts list