Hi to all,
I am using windows 10 and I am trying to change the default fonts of the OS(I think is Segoe UI). I know that has been changed since windows 8, but I was able to change them so far by modifying the keys in "HKEY_CURRENT_USERControl PanelDesktopWindowMetrics" in registry(Segoe UI look terrible on my screen and I prefer Tahoma).
Since the last version of windows 10(10586) something changed regarding the fonts. Now the fonts of the right-click context menu in desktop and file explorer are somehow connected with the the fonts of the new black right-click context menu in taskbar and start menu button and the fonts of the control panel and I think the ribbon in file explorer. I came to that conclusion because when i deleted all the keys regarding Segoe UI in "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionFonts", all the fonts of the above "fallback" to Arial and when I deleted only Segoe UI regular they fallback to Segoe UI italic.
As a result modifying menufont key in WindowsMetrics doesn't change the fonts in context menus of desktop and of file explorer. Menufont key still has an effect in menus of third party software like my player(MPC-HC) or in some right-click menus of windows like in the volume and network icons in taskbar. The other keys in WindowsMetrics folder(iconfont, statusfont e.t.c.) still working.
Now my question is obvious, is it possible to change the fonts in the other menus? Is there a separate key in registry regarding those fonts or are they hard-coded in some dll? Why oh why they keep changing these things? Thank you.
Want to know the same thing as you.
M$ started with this in Internet Explorer 9 if i'm correct (could also been 8). All of a sudden i had fonts i didn't like. They seemed hardcoded into the browser itself.
Since i didn't found any way to changes these back to the Verdana Font i used and liked, i started using other browsers instead of Internet Explorer (first Opera, later FireFox, testing out all major browsers).
With Windows 7 and 8 they went a step further each time to make it more and more difficult to change these fonts.
With Windows 8 only a program like WinAeroTweaker or a registry hack worked (through WindowsMetrics) for all the fonts.
Since Windows 10 it does only work for 3th party stuff, all Windows related menu's etc... still have that dreaded Segoe UI font.
Didn't find a way around it yet either.
Wonder what will happen with Windows 11. Will they force their font on everything by then?
I just managed to work around the font thing with some hit and trial in the registry and it looks as if it works. After I updated my Windows 10 to build 10586, I had exactly the same problems spiron mentioned. I used a third party software (WindowsAeroTweaker) and it worked like a charm along with necessary registry modifications before the update. After updating to build 10586, I found that I could change the fonts on icons, title bars, etc etc using WindowsAeroTweaker and editing the FontSubstitutes directory in registry editor but I couldnt change the fonts on the right click menu (the one you get when you right click on the desktop background).
I was left a little frustrated and tried to play around with the registry keeping a backup just in case I went a little too far. After I had given almost all hope, I decided to just replace the Segoei UI fonts with my desired/custom font. I restarted my laptop and then the system chose an Arial font for the Windows. I again replaced the Arial fonts with the same font I wanted and restarted my computer again. After I rebooted and logged in, I was really surprised. The fonts I wanted showed up not only on the righ-click menu but on the date/time and taskbar as well. I will post the result here and the proof in the next post.
Note: I could not manage to sort out the fonts when opening Run command. It still uses an Arial Black font (I guess)
Here is the proof of the registry modifications I made.
# Important: Please keep a backup of your current registry or take a screenshot of the default font names you are replacing.
If someone finds a solution to edit the font names on run commands and dialog option on saving files, please share it.
