Embedding a Font in a PowerPoint Presentation: MS PowerPoint

To ensure that the formatting of your slides remains static when a presentation is opened by someone else, you should stay with the default fonts that ship with Windows. It is not guaranteed, but usually it is safe to use Arial or Times New Roman fonts.

Having said that, your presentation stands out from the mundane when you use different fonts. Using one or two different fonts within your presentation makes it more interesting.

The only drawback to that is that if your audience doesn't have the fonts that you used installed their system, then PowerPoint will select a font substitution and it will change the appearance of your text, spacing and especially bullet lists!

One solution to this vexing problem is to embed your fonts into your presentation along with your slides. This isn't always a guaranteed method if your audience is using the Mac version of PowerPoint. PostScript fonts cannot be embedded.

Follow the steps below to embed a font in your PowerPoint presentation:

1. After you have designed and created your presentation, use the File | Save As command from the main menu.
    
2. Above the list of files and to the right you will find the Tools menu option. Click it and choose Save Options from the drop-down list.
    
3. At the bottom of the Save tab you will find a section called Font options for current document only."
    
4. Check the Embed TrueType fonts box.
    
5. Choose the embed option that embeds only the font information for the characters in your presentation, which saves file space.
    
6. Or embed the complete font, which is what you will need if you are sending the presentation to a colleague who will be making changes.
    
7. Click on OK.
    
8. Choose the filename and click on OK to save the file.

When you go to save the file again, the embed option will have been set. To verify, simply use the Tools | Options command and choose the Save tab. You will see the same dialog box that you saw in step 3.

Bear in mind that embedding a font will increase the size. It all rests on which font you have selected. However, if you are distributing your presentation on a CD or DVD, this most likely is not a problem.

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