Change Default System Font in Windows 10  

1) Did you not perform a system font change to Arial Bold before you used AFSC?

No. I didn't change anything before I used AFSC. I think I must have had it on the OS default, which as you know is very small.

After I opened ASFC, the first thing I did was to make a backup of the current font settings with it.

Screenshots of what they are can't hurt, for reference purposes, and since you're in the learning process.

Then, I just left it on Segoe UI, the one MS likes, due to my previous, unpleasant experience using other fonts (dots where colons should be in the clock, bottom right) - I don't think you gain anything with Arial.

Then, I just made the font sizes larger, or Bold. This took some experimentation.

2) I noticed you used AFSC v1.1.2.33. I was just able to download AFSC v1.1.3.34, which I presume will work just as well, even though it's been changed a bit. Am I correct?

They're constantly improving. I would trust it.

If you mess things up, restore to your backup, or take a look at the screenshots of what mine are, and you should be fine.

The only things I've noticed recently are (2 screenshots) . . . Imgur: The magic of the Internet
1.) Look at the Ok and Cancel buttons in Thunderbird, on the right, cut off a little on the bottom
2.) Column headers for C: seem a little big

But, other than that, fine, so, I stick with it, at this time

tsbzzz said:

Hi,
w10 anniversary is a true mess for fonts !
Windows 10 keeps "breaking" things badly and it's quite impossible to keep things steady either in Segoe UI or in Arial and even Tahoma (often preferred to Segoe by many people).
So don't expect too much from the changes indicated above.
Wandering through the registry, around Fonts and Font Substitute keys I noticed several folders containing fonts settings.
Most interestingly, I also noticed, "Tahoma" written like this : "Tahoma, TTF, 10"
So I changed the Substitute for MS shell dlg + Ms Shell dlg 2 to Tahoma, TTF, 10.
I did this because W10 seems to fall back regularly for some items (ribbon, and some menus) to those 2 "shitty" fonts that no one can read because too small. And so do software which use "MS" system fonts ..
So far, it looks like, "my" changes are staying and fonts for some "shell" fall back use now Tahoma in 10 pts instead of 8.

This is given for info. And the interesting thing is really substitution with "xxx, TTF, 10", or 8 or 12, 14 ...
If you don't know what you do, don't try anything and don't complain to me. You better ask Microsoft to make a system working and designed for laptops and desktops rather than tablets and smart phones and kids !
;-)

I just tried this in Windows version 1903 and it seems to have worked. My registry had "MS shell dlg" "Microsoft Sans Serif" and "MS shell dlg2" "Tahoma". I edited and made them "Microsoft Sans Serif, TTF, 10" and the same with Tahoma. Seems to have worked and everything system is much easier to read.
Thanks a lot!

Here you are, my setup of noncleartyped nonsmoothed fonts reg-file. Attached archive contains four files:
1. "windows 10 Tahoma fonts fullhd 100 percents scalling.reg" - disables cleartype and changes fonts to good old WindowsXP SP2 style Tahoma 10pt and MS Sans Serif. Also fix some icons layout on the desktop. Best for 1080p monitors without UI scaling enabled.
2. "windows 10 Tahoma fonts.reg" - almost the same as file number one, but with Tahoma 8pt and without layout changes.
3. "adobe reader DC nosegoe fonts fix.reg" - you need to apply this fix if you want working settings in Adobe Reader DC.
4. "windows 10 revert to default fonts.reg" - apply this if you wish to revert fonts, layout and cleartype back to default.

windows 10 nocleartype fonts.zip

Brink said:

Hello RetiredEngineer, :)
I just tested "Segoe UI"="Segoe UI Semibold" on my system, and it worked. However, it is a subtle change that may be hard to notice. Just to confirm, did you restart the computer to apply after merging the .reg file?
You might try "Segoe UI"="Segoe UI Bold" for a more noticeable difference.

f14tomcat said:

@Brink
Shawn, I discovered one minor tweak to using this for Segoe UI Semibold. If you leave the ttf (TrueType Font) entry alone, it makes a noticeable difference, particularly in Task Manager. I just commented the line in the .reg.

Code:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]

"Segoe UI"="Segoe UI Bold"
; "Segoe UI"="ENTER FONT NAME HERE"

I need some clarity. I want all fonts changed to Segoe Bold, 11 pt. I'm not sure I know what you mean by " If you leave the ttf (TrueType Font) entry alone"

Advanced System Font Changer has options to change most fonts and font sizes. The one thing Advanced System Font Changer doesn't seem to do is offer to change the "System" font.

I've used Winaero Tweaker to do what looks like pretty much what Advanced System Font Changer does, and Winaero Tweaker also has an option to change the System font, but not to Segoe Bold, and there is no option to change font size, as with the other font change options.

So, using using Shawn's reg file, will that change the "System" font? If so, what would be the exact form for Segoe Bold, 11 pt. Something maybe like this

Code:

"Segoe UI"="Segoe UI Bold, 11"

Brink said:

Hello @kitpzyxmsir,

The method in the tutorial will change the system font, but not its size. You would use "Segoe UI"="Segoe UI Bold" as the last line for the Segoe Bold font.

You can use the method in the tutorial below to change text size instead.

Change Text Size in Windows 10

I already have my scaling set to 156, which for everything else is ideal for my setup, but the system font remains too small.

I actually crafted a reg tweak some time ago which does exactly what I want by changing the System font to Segoe Bold, 11 pt.

But I'm looking for another method because for some time now I've had this particular buggy behavior in Windows 10 that has repeatedly occurred over fresh installs, and I'm suspicious that the reg change may have caused it, because I can't point to anything else.

Would it be ok if I posted that reg file?

Windows 10 1903

Brink said:

Changing the text size is independent of the DPI scaling level.

I have no option to change text size in my settings


In fact, there are 2 reg files.

Basically, my experiment to was replace the value data of Segoe UI Black, with the value data from Segoe UI Bold in

Code:

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
"Segoe UI Black (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf"

I then went to Winaero Tweaker > Advanced Appearance Settings > System Font > Use the following font > and select "Segoe UI Black (which has now actually become Segoe Bold).

I then backed up those registry alterations. So now when I'm building a fresh OS, all I have to do is run the 2 reg files, and Winaero is no longer needed to change the system font. However, I still use it to change all the other fonts.

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Fonts]
"Arial (TrueType)"="arial.ttf"
"Arial Black (TrueType)"="ariblk.ttf"
"Arial Bold (TrueType)"="arialbd.ttf"
"Arial Bold Italic (TrueType)"="arialbi.ttf"
"Arial Italic (TrueType)"="ariali.ttf"
"Bahnschrift (TrueType)"="bahnschrift.ttf"
"Calibri (TrueType)"="calibri.ttf"
"Calibri Bold (TrueType)"="calibrib.ttf"
"Calibri Bold Italic (TrueType)"="calibriz.ttf"
"Calibri Italic (TrueType)"="calibrii.ttf"
"Calibri Light (TrueType)"="calibril.ttf"
"Calibri Light Italic (TrueType)"="calibrili.ttf"
"Cambria & Cambria Math (TrueType)"="cambria.ttc"
"Cambria Bold (TrueType)"="cambriab.ttf"
"Cambria Bold Italic (TrueType)"="cambriaz.ttf"
"Cambria Italic (TrueType)"="cambriai.ttf"
"Candara (TrueType)"="candara.ttf"
"Candara Bold (TrueType)"="candarab.ttf"
"Candara Bold Italic (TrueType)"="candaraz.ttf"
"Candara Italic (TrueType)"="candarai.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS (TrueType)"="comic.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS Bold (TrueType)"="comicbd.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS Bold Italic (TrueType)"="comicz.ttf"
"Comic Sans MS Italic (TrueType)"="comici.ttf"
"Consolas (TrueType)"="consola.ttf"
"Consolas Bold (TrueType)"="consolab.ttf"
"Consolas Bold Italic (TrueType)"="consolaz.ttf"
"Consolas Italic (TrueType)"="consolai.ttf"
"Constantia (TrueType)"="constan.ttf"
"Constantia Bold (TrueType)"="constanb.ttf"
"Constantia Bold Italic (TrueType)"="constanz.ttf"
"Constantia Italic (TrueType)"="constani.ttf"
"Corbel (TrueType)"="corbel.ttf"
"Corbel Bold (TrueType)"="corbelb.ttf"
"Corbel Bold Italic (TrueType)"="corbelz.ttf"
"Corbel Italic (TrueType)"="corbeli.ttf"
"Courier New (TrueType)"="cour.ttf"
"Courier New Bold (TrueType)"="courbd.ttf"
"Courier New Bold Italic (TrueType)"="courbi.ttf"
"Courier New Italic (TrueType)"="couri.ttf"
"Ebrima (TrueType)"="ebrima.ttf"
"Ebrima Bold (TrueType)"="ebrimabd.ttf"
"Franklin Gothic Medium (TrueType)"="framd.ttf"
"Franklin Gothic Medium Italic (TrueType)"="framdit.ttf"
"Gabriola (TrueType)"="Gabriola.ttf"
"Gadugi (TrueType)"="gadugi.ttf"
"Gadugi Bold (TrueType)"="gadugib.ttf"
"Georgia (TrueType)"="georgia.ttf"
"Georgia Bold (TrueType)"="georgiab.ttf"
"Georgia Bold Italic (TrueType)"="georgiaz.ttf"
"Georgia Italic (TrueType)"="georgiai.ttf"
"Impact (TrueType)"="impact.ttf"
"Ink Free (TrueType)"="Inkfree.ttf"
"Javanese Text (TrueType)"="javatext.ttf"
"Leelawadee UI (TrueType)"="leelawui.ttf"
"Leelawadee UI Bold (TrueType)"="leelauib.ttf"
"Leelawadee UI Semilight (TrueType)"="leeluisl.ttf"
"Lucida Console (TrueType)"="lucon.TTF"
"Lucida Sans Unicode (TrueType)"="l_10646.ttf"
"Malgun Gothic (TrueType)"="malgun.ttf"
"Malgun Gothic Bold (TrueType)"="malgunbd.ttf"
"Malgun Gothic SemiLight (TrueType)"="malgunsl.ttf"
"Microsoft Himalaya (TrueType)"="himalaya.ttf"
"Microsoft JhengHei & Microsoft JhengHei UI (TrueType)"="msjh.ttc"
"Microsoft JhengHei Bold & Microsoft JhengHei UI Bold (TrueType)"="msjhbd.ttc"
"Microsoft JhengHei Light & Microsoft JhengHei UI Light (TrueType)"="msjhl.ttc"
"Microsoft New Tai Lue (TrueType)"="ntailu.ttf"
"Microsoft New Tai Lue Bold (TrueType)"="ntailub.ttf"
"Microsoft PhagsPa (TrueType)"="phagspa.ttf"
"Microsoft PhagsPa Bold (TrueType)"="phagspab.ttf"
"Microsoft Sans Serif (TrueType)"="micross.ttf"
"Microsoft Tai Le (TrueType)"="taile.ttf"
"Microsoft Tai Le Bold (TrueType)"="taileb.ttf"
"Microsoft YaHei & Microsoft YaHei UI (TrueType)"="msyh.ttc"
"Microsoft YaHei Bold & Microsoft YaHei UI Bold (TrueType)"="msyhbd.ttc"
"Microsoft YaHei Light & Microsoft YaHei UI Light (TrueType)"="msyhl.ttc"
"Microsoft Yi Baiti (TrueType)"="msyi.ttf"
"MingLiU-ExtB & PMingLiU-ExtB & MingLiU_HKSCS-ExtB (TrueType)"="mingliub.ttc"
"Modern (All res)"="modern.fon"
"Mongolian Baiti (TrueType)"="monbaiti.ttf"
"MS Gothic & MS UI Gothic & MS PGothic (TrueType)"="msgothic.ttc"
"MV Boli (TrueType)"="mvboli.ttf"
"Myanmar Text (TrueType)"="mmrtext.ttf"
"Myanmar Text Bold (TrueType)"="mmrtextb.ttf"
"Nirmala UI (TrueType)"="Nirmala.ttf"
"Nirmala UI Bold (TrueType)"="NirmalaB.ttf"
"Nirmala UI Semilight (TrueType)"="NirmalaS.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype (TrueType)"="pala.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Bold (TrueType)"="palab.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Bold Italic (TrueType)"="palabi.ttf"
"Palatino Linotype Italic (TrueType)"="palai.ttf"
"Roman (All res)"="roman.fon"
"Script (All res)"="script.fon"
"Segoe MDL2 Assets (TrueType)"="segmdl2.ttf"
"Segoe Print (TrueType)"="segoepr.ttf"
"Segoe Print Bold (TrueType)"="segoeprb.ttf"
"Segoe Script (TrueType)"="segoesc.ttf"
"Segoe Script Bold (TrueType)"="segoescb.ttf"
"Segoe UI (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Black (TrueType)"="segoeuib.ttf"
"Segoe UI Black Italic (TrueType)"="seguibli.ttf"
"Segoe UI Bold (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Bold Italic (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Emoji (TrueType)"="seguiemj.ttf"
"Segoe UI Historic (TrueType)"="seguihis.ttf"
"Segoe UI Italic (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Light (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Light Italic (TrueType)"="seguili.ttf"
"Segoe UI Semibold (TrueType)"=""
"Segoe UI Semibold Italic (TrueType)"="seguisbi.ttf"
"Segoe UI Semilight (TrueType)"="segoeuisl.ttf"
"Segoe UI Semilight Italic (TrueType)"="seguisli.ttf"
"Segoe UI Symbol (TrueType)"=""
"SimSun & NSimSun (TrueType)"="simsun.ttc"
"SimSun-ExtB (TrueType)"="simsunb.ttf"
"Sitka Small & Sitka Text & Sitka Subheading & Sitka Heading & Sitka Display & Sitka Banner (TrueType)"="Sitka.ttc"
"Sitka Small Bold & Sitka Text Bold & Sitka Subheading Bold & Sitka Heading Bold & Sitka Display Bold & Sitka Banner Bold (TrueType)"="SitkaB.ttc"
"Sitka Small Bold Italic & Sitka Text Bold Italic & Sitka Subheading Bold Italic & Sitka Heading Bold Italic & Sitka Display Bold Italic & Sitka Banner Bold Italic (TrueType)"="SitkaZ.ttc"
"Sitka Small Italic & Sitka Text Italic & Sitka Subheading Italic & Sitka Heading Italic & Sitka Display Italic & Sitka Banner Italic (TrueType)"="SitkaI.ttc"
"Sylfaen (TrueType)"="sylfaen.ttf"
"Symbol (TrueType)"="symbol.ttf"
"Tahoma (TrueType)"="tahoma.ttf"
"Tahoma Bold (TrueType)"="tahomabd.ttf"
"Times New Roman (TrueType)"="times.ttf"
"Times New Roman Bold (TrueType)"="timesbd.ttf"
"Times New Roman Bold Italic (TrueType)"="timesbi.ttf"
"Times New Roman Italic (TrueType)"="timesi.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS (TrueType)"="trebuc.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Bold (TrueType)"="trebucbd.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Bold Italic (TrueType)"="trebucbi.ttf"
"Trebuchet MS Italic (TrueType)"="trebucit.ttf"
"Verdana (TrueType)"="verdana.ttf"
"Verdana Bold (TrueType)"="verdanab.ttf"
"Verdana Bold Italic (TrueType)"="verdanaz.ttf"
"Verdana Italic (TrueType)"="verdanai.ttf"
"Webdings (TrueType)"="webdings.ttf"
"Wingdings (TrueType)"="wingding.ttf"
"Yu Gothic Bold & Yu Gothic UI Semibold & Yu Gothic UI Bold (TrueType)"="YuGothB.ttc"
"Yu Gothic Light & Yu Gothic UI Light (TrueType)"="YuGothL.ttc"
"Yu Gothic Medium & Yu Gothic UI Regular (TrueType)"="YuGothM.ttc"
"Yu Gothic Regular & Yu Gothic UI Semilight (TrueType)"="YuGothR.ttc"
"Courier 10,12,15"="COURE.FON"
"Courier 10,12,15 (120)"="COURF.FON"
"MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24"="SERIFE.FON"
"MS Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (120)"="SERIFF.FON"
"MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24"="SSERIFE.FON"
"MS Sans Serif 8,10,12,14,18,24 (120)"="SSERIFF.FON"
"Small Fonts"="SMALLE.FON"
"Small Fonts (120)"="SMALLF.FON"
"Holo MDL2 Assets (TrueType)"="holomdl2.ttf"
"MT Extra (TrueType)"="C:\\Program Files (x86)\\Common Files\\Microsoft Shared\\EQUATION\\MTEXTRA.TTF"
"Bookshelf Symbol 7 (TrueType)"="BSSYM7.TTF"
"MS Reference Sans Serif (TrueType)"="REFSAN.TTF"
"MS Reference Specialty (TrueType)"="REFSPCL.TTF"
"Book Antiqua Bold (TrueType)"="ANTQUAB.TTF"
"Book Antiqua Bold Italic (TrueType)"="ANTQUABI.TTF"
"Book Antiqua Italic (TrueType)"="ANTQUAI.TTF"
"Book Antiqua (TrueType)"="BKANT.TTF"
"Garamond (TrueType)"="GARA.TTF"
"Garamond Bold (TrueType)"="GARABD.TTF"
"Garamond Italic (TrueType)"="GARAIT.TTF"
"Monotype Corsiva (TrueType)"="MTCORSVA.TTF"
"Century Gothic (TrueType)"="GOTHIC.TTF"
"Century Gothic Bold (TrueType)"="GOTHICB.TTF"
"Century Gothic Bold Italic (TrueType)"="GOTHICBI.TTF"
"Century Gothic Italic (TrueType)"="GOTHICI.TTF"
"Century (TrueType)"="CENTURY.TTF"
"Wingdings 2 (TrueType)"="WINGDNG2.TTF"
"Wingdings 3 (TrueType)"="WINGDNG3.TTF"
"Arial Unicode MS (TrueType)"="ARIALUNI.TTF"
"Bookman Old Style (TrueType)"="BOOKOS.TTF"
"Bookman Old Style Bold (TrueType)"="BOOKOSB.TTF"
"Bookman Old Style Bold Italic (TrueType)"="BOOKOSBI.TTF"
"Bookman Old Style Italic (TrueType)"="BOOKOSI.TTF"
"MS Mincho (TrueType)"="MSMINCHO.TTF"
"Arial Narrow (TrueType)"="ARIALN.TTF"
"Arial Narrow Bold (TrueType)"="ARIALNB.TTF"
"Arial Narrow Bold Italic (TrueType)"="ARIALNBI.TTF"
"Arial Narrow Italic (TrueType)"="ARIALNI.TTF"

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\FontSubstitutes]
"Arabic Transparent"="Arial"
"Arabic Transparent Bold"="Arial Bold"
"Arabic Transparent Bold,0"="Arial Bold,178"
"Arabic Transparent,0"="Arial,178"
"Arial Baltic,186"="Arial,186"
"Arial CE,238"="Arial,238"
"Arial CYR,204"="Arial,204"
"Arial Greek,161"="Arial,161"
"Arial TUR,162"="Arial,162"
"Courier New Baltic,186"="Courier New,186"
"Courier New CE,238"="Courier New,238"
"Courier New CYR,204"="Courier New,204"
"Courier New Greek,161"="Courier New,161"
"Courier New TUR,162"="Courier New,162"
"Helv"="MS Sans Serif"
"Helvetica"="Arial"
"MS Shell Dlg 2"="Tahoma"
"Tahoma Armenian"="Tahoma"
"Times"="Times New Roman"
"Times New Roman Baltic,186"="Times New Roman,186"
"Times New Roman CE,238"="Times New Roman,238"
"Times New Roman CYR,204"="Times New Roman,204"
"Times New Roman Greek,161"="Times New Roman,161"
"Times New Roman TUR,162"="Times New Roman,162"
"Tms Rmn"="MS Serif"
"MS Shell Dlg"="Microsoft Sans Serif"
"Segoe UI"="Segoe UI"

Brink said:

@kitpzyxmsir,

What build of Windows 10 do you have installed?

Windows 10 1903

Attachment 255145Attachment 255146

I have not seen the text size altering options in my settings, which are depicted in the link you provided, in the past several Windows 10 builds