Fully Replace Windows XP Fonts with Windows Vista fonts
A while ago I described how to add Windows Vista fonts to Windows XP. The method was very straightforward because Microsoft was supplying the fonts with a free software downloads so that you could just add them to XP to use them on the operating system as well.
You may have noticed however that not all menus are changed to use a new font that you select. The reason behind this is that some font settings are hard coded into the Windows Registry.
If you want to make the transition complete you need to take care of those font settings as well. Here is what you need to do to make this happen. I advise you to create a backup of your Registry and create a new System Restore point as well to be on the safe side.
Tip: Check out this guide that explains how to create System Restore points in Windows.
If you have not already installed the Microsoft Powerpoint Viewer 2007 do that now. This program installs the Vista fonts on your Windows XP system.
The fonts stay on the system even if you uninstall the Powerpoint Viewer later. The application adds several new fonts to your system. Please refer to the first article on how to use those fonts on your system. I assume you have done that and picked a font that you would like to use.
Now download Movefile from Microsoft and put it in your Windows directory. We also need a script that changes the settings in the Registry to the new font that you want to use. You can download that script from the German PC Welt mag (PC World). Just click on the Zum Download link to download it to your computer.
It comes as a self extracting archive, extract it and open it in your text editor. Please note that this script is replacing the system fonts with Corbel, if you want another font replace Corbel with the name of that font. This script add the font Consolas which is another Windows Vista font to the command line. You can choose it in the Properties of the command line.
Make sure the two files of Movefile are in the Windows directory and that you have installed the Powerpoint 2007 Viewer. Execute the script, it will only take a second and ask you to restart your computer. The new font is clearly visible after the restart. This is best done on a LCD monitor because the fonts are cleartype fonts.
Arg! Why didn’t I set a system restore point? Can some kind-hearted soul help me reset this back to how it was?
Thomas I think it’s a matter of taste but I think if you have a LCD monitor you can see that they look better.
Booga yes the script sets the font size to large. You can also change the font size in the Display Properties.
Change the ‘LogPixels’ value in the script to 96 to get ‘normal’ size fonts.
That registry key to allow setting a different font for the command prompt is too awesome. I’ve been searching for a way to do it properly for years.
Are Vista fonts really better looking than Xp’s?
Anyway thanks for the tip!
Thomas