Font Fluency!
PowerPoint Training: The Latest in Font Styles Between the PC and Mac Versions
Written by PowerPoint training expert, Kelly Vandever
Have you ever been in a presentation where the presenter seems surprised by their own slides?
Sometimes, it’s not their fault. In the past, there could be translation issues between the PC and the Mac versions of PowerPoint, stemming largely from the fact that there are certain fonts that are “standard” in the PC version that aren’t available in the Mac version and vice versa.
In recent years, however, Microsoft made it so that fonts that are saved as embedded fonts in a Windows version of PPT can now come over and be viewed correctly in the Mac version of PowerPoint! (Well at least if they are TrueType fonts that is.) Additionally, the embedded font also retains its style when viewed using PowerPoint Online.
To embed fonts in the PC version of PowerPoint, go to File / Options / Save and check the box toward the bottom of the page that says Embed fonts in the file. One option I recommend is to Embed all characters just in case you decide to change any of the text later.
Unfortunately, the reciprocity does not go the other way around. There is still no way to embed fonts in a Mac version of PPT and have them persistent in the PC version of PPT. Maybe Microsoft will hear the prayers of font geeks everywhere and change that in the future. But until then, the embedded fonts from the PC are a real treat!
Cloud Fonts
In both the Mac and PC versions of PowerPoint, you’ll find fonts in the drop-down menu with a small cloud icon with a down arrow next to them. These are fonts that you can download from Microsoft, assuming you’re online.
According to the Microsoft Website, “Once downloaded, the font is available for use in all Office apps. Documents that you create using cloud fonts will render the same when opened in the Office apps…without you having to embed them. This means that you can share content created in the latest versions of these apps without having to worry about font availability.”
The fonts available to download in the PC version may or may not be available in the Mac version and vice versa. So to be on the safe side, try using the fonts that are common to both platforms.
For more tips, tricks, and PowerPoint Training, check out Kelly Vandever in action in our What’s New in PowerPoint 2019 course.
