Using custom fonts without administrator rights?

Question

I know you can put custom fonts in say C:\Windows\Fonts and applications will be able to find and use them. However this is only possible when you have administrator access to the machine, which is rarely the case in shared environments.

Is there a general way to use custom fonts from some other location suitable for non-admin users? If not, is there any manner specific for Adobe Fireworks (CS3) and Office 2007?

I'm interested mainly in XP and Vista, but a solution that works for other Windows versions would be great.

Answer 1

Using custom fonts without administrator privileges is possible with the PortableApps.com platform (introduced in version 10.0).

To use custom fonts:

1. Download and extract the PortableApps.com platform

   

   

2. Copy the font files to the <PortableApps>\PortableApps\PortableApps.com\Data\Fonts directory. Create this folder if it does not already exist.

   

3. Close and restart the PortableApps.com platform.

   

   

The fonts should now be usable in other applications while the PortableApps.com platform is running.

Answer 2

From Windows 10 17704 onward you'll have the ability to install fonts without admin rights

Font installation for non-admin users

Have you ever wanted to use your own fonts from your account on a shared school or work PC, but couldn’t because you didn’t have the administrator privileges required to install the fonts? Well, we’ve heard your frustration about this and have made some changes.

In the past, fonts in Windows have always been installed for all users. Because that is a system-wide change, it always required admin privilege. The need for an admin was reflected in the user interface. For example, if you browse in File Explorer to a folder containing a font file and right-clicked on the file to bring up the context menu, then the “Install” option would appear with the security badge, which means that it requires an admin.

Answer 3

There is a workaround I've used on XP; I can't say if it works on other Windows versions.

If you double click on any font file, wherever it's saved, you'll get a preview window. Until you close this window, the font will be available for use in other apps, although a few may need restarting.

I believe this works because the preview automatically and temporarily installs the font in order to render it, and this temporary installation doesn't involve adding the font to the Fonts folder, therefore doesn't require admin rights.

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Edit: Just tested copying a font file's shortcut into the Fonts folder, and that seems to work for me as well, but I'm sure I've tried it without success previously.

Answer 4

Adding and removing system fonts is an Administrator task, and will be denied to users who don't have the admin permissions (Power User is actually probably enough), as they could really mess up Windows by deleting or replacing standard system fonts. :)

You could give the users write access to their \Windows\Fonts folder, and that will let them install fonts.

Answer 5

NexusFont is a freeware font manager which can be used to manage installed fonts (with admin priviliges), or make certain fonts available at runtime (without admin privs). For this latter feature just run NexusFont and add font group(s) you like. The font files can reside in any folder. As long as NF is running, applications can use the fonts. NF can be used portably.

On windows 7 there are some quirks which take a bit of experimenting to get the hang of. The biggest one being that if you install using symbolic links don't disable by deleting the files as it deletes the files and not just the symlinks. In this case disable (uninstall) the fonts but use the "leave the files where they are" option.

Answer 6

WinFonts4All also works on a user-level (Tested: Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10).

It monitors all fonts in %userprofile%\Fonts and registers them for the current user-session. It even has a GUI :)

See it in action: https://ygg.li/winfonts

Answer 7

Yes, you can load font without admin privileges. Take a look at the AddFontResource function.

You can also use Font Xplorer (freeware) to load fonts from a local folder. I tested it on Win7 (probably works in Win8 too).

Answer 8

Just uncheck the copy fonts to Fonts Folder check box and install the font.

The installed fonts will be available only for that session. Every time you login you have to repeat this task