How to Install an Arabic Font on Windows and Mac
After downloading an Arabic font you usually get a TTF or OTF file, sometimes inside a ZIP archive. These steps make the font available in all your apps.
Before installing: unzip
If the file is a ZIP, right-click it and choose Extract All on Windows, or double-click it on Mac. A font cannot be installed from inside the archive.
Install on Windows 10 and 11
1. Open the folder that contains the font file.
2. Right-click the file and choose Install. To install it for every user on the computer, choose Install for all users.
3. Reopen the app where you want to use the font.
Alternative: open Settings → Personalization → Fonts and drag the font file onto the drop area.
Install on Mac
1. Double-click the font file to open it in Font Book.
2. Click Install.
3. Font Book may warn about problems in the file; review them before continuing.
The font does not show up?
- **Restart the app:** Word, Photoshop and most apps read the font list only when they open.
- **Search by its English name:** the font may appear under its internal name, which can differ from the file name.
- **Word and Arabic text:** open the **Font** dialog (Ctrl+D) and pick the font under **Complex scripts**, because Word uses a separate font for Arabic.
- **Letters broken in Photoshop:** that is an app setting, not the font. See [Arabic letters broken in Photoshop](/en/blog/arabic-letters-broken-in-photoshop).
- **Damaged file:** if the system refuses to install it, download the file again.
Uninstall a font
On Windows open Settings → Personalization → Fonts, choose the font and click Uninstall. On Mac open Font Book, select the font and press Delete.
A note on licences
Installing a font does not give you the right to use it commercially. Check the licence on the font's page on xfontat before using it in a logo or a product for sale.
References
- [Download and install custom fonts to use with Office — Microsoft](https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/download-and-install-custom-fonts-to-use-with-office-0ee09e74-edc1-480c-81c2-5cf9537c70ce)