Adobe InDesign can be used to create a variety of printed products, including books, posters, flyers, and brochures. Installing a new font on your computer will make it available for use in InDesign and other applications. If you're using InDesign 2019 or newer, you can download free fonts from Adobe without leaving the program. Learn how to install new fonts on your Windows or macOS computer and make them available for use in InDesign.
Steps
Method 1 of 3: Activating Adobe Fonts in InDesign 2019
Step 1. Open InDesign on your computer
You can find the application icon in the Applications folder (Mac) or on the Start menu (Windows). InDesign 2019 lets you activate thousands of free licensed fonts right in the program.
Step 2. Click Find More in the Symbol panel
If the panel is grayed out, press ⌘ Cmd + T (Mac) or Ctrl + T (Windows) to open it. The Find More button is just below the font selection menu.
Step 3. Browse the list of fonts
All fonts from the list are free to download. Hover your mouse over a font name to view the font in real time.
Step 4. Click the "Activate" button next to the font
To the right of each font name is a cloud icon. If there is a cloud icon with an arrow pointing down next to a font, then the font has not been installed yet. Click on the icon to download it.
- When the font is ready for use in InDesign, the arrow on the cloud turns into a checkmark.
- The installed font will also be available in Illustrator 2019 and other Adobe applications.
Method 2 of 3: Downloading New Fonts on Mac
Step 1. Download the font to your computer
There are many free font sites on the Internet that you can download for personal use. Launch a browser, enter the appropriate query in your favorite search engine and see what fonts are available on similar sites. When you find a suitable font, click the Download button to save it to your computer. Popular sites for downloading fonts are Fonts-online, Textgenerator, and Fontstorage.
- InDesign supports the following font types: OpenType, TrueType, Type 1, Multiple Master, and Composite. If you are prompted to select a format before downloading a font, select the one you want.
- If your InDesign project is a commercial (advertising, paid publishing, income generating site, social media promotion), then you will most likely need to purchase a license from the font creator.
Step 2. Close InDesign
Before installing the font, save your work in InDesign and close the program if it is still open.
Step 3. Open Finder
on a Mac (two-color smiling face icon in the Dock).
Step 4. Go to the folder with the downloaded font
Downloaded files are saved in the Downloads folder by default. If the downloaded file is zipped or compressed (in.zip format), double-click it to unzip it.
Downloaded fonts are usually in.otf or.ttf format
Step 5. Double click on the font file to open the preview dialog box
Step 6. Click on the blue Install Font button in the lower right corner of the dialog box to install the font on your Mac
Step 7. Open InDesign
You will find it in the Applications folder. The installed font will appear on the "Fonts" tab, which is located on the "Character" panel.
InDesign allows you to view all available fonts on your device
Method 3 of 3: Downloading New Fonts on Windows
Step 1. Download the font to your computer
There are many free font sites on the internet that you can download for personal use. Launch your browser, enter the appropriate query in your favorite search engine and see what fonts are available on similar sites. When you find a suitable font, click the Download button to save it to your computer.
- InDesign supports the following font types: OpenType, TrueType, Type 1, Multiple Master, and Composite. If you are prompted to select a format before downloading a font, select the one you want.
- If your InDesign project is a commercial (advertising, paid publishing, income generating site, social media promotion), then you will most likely need to purchase a license from the font creator.
- Popular sites for downloading fonts are Fonts-online, Textgenerator, and Fontstorage.
Step 2. Close InDesign
Before installing the font, save your work in InDesign and close the program if it is still open.
Step 3. Right Click on the Start Menu
and select Explorer to open your computer's file browser.
Step 4. Go to the folder with the downloaded font
Downloaded files are saved in the Downloads folder by default. If the downloaded file is zipped or compressed (in.zip format), right-click on it, select Extract All, and then click Extract. This will unpack the font folder or the font files themselves.
Downloaded fonts are usually in.otf or.ttf format
Step 5. Right click on the font file and select Install to install the font
Step 6. Open InDesign
You will find it in the Start Menu. The installed font will appear on the "Fonts" tab, which is located on the "Character" panel.
Advice
- Fonts are divided into several categories. The most common ones are Serif (serif) and Sans-Serif (sans serif). Popular Serif fonts include Times New Roman and Garamond. Popular Sans-Serif fonts include Arial and Helvetica. Fonts can also be decorative and look more unique than standard Serif or Sans-Serif fonts. Papyrus and Playbill, for example, are decorative fonts.
- When downloading files from the Internet, there is a chance that you put your computer at risk of infection by viruses or malware. Before downloading fonts to your computer, protect it by updating the antivirus virus databases.
- Download fonts only from trusted sources.