There may be instances in which the built-in fonts on Google Docs aren’t just working for you. If you battle with this dilemma on a daily basis, it’s time to add some flair to your fonts!
Google does have some decent fonts, but it’s pretty undeniable that the selection is quite minimal. Luckily, there’s an option to change the bland aesthetic of your content.
We must consider at this point that Google isn’t always friendly when it comes to newly added fonts, especially if it’s from a third-party tool. But this is not to say the trick is not doable.
How to Add New Custom Fonts to Google Docs Documents
Open Google Docs and hit the Blank option to open the word processor.
Find the Font drop-down feature, which says “Arial” by default,” by the toolbar. You should see More fonts — click on it to open a window that looks like this:
From here you can select a complete range of Google fonts to add to the Docs Font drop-down menu.
To open a drop-down menu of categories, click the Show button. You may then check for fonts in more specific categories. This is far more helpful than having to work through all of them in one huge group would make it more than a little confusing. Pick the font you want to apply to the text and press the OK button. Enter a text in the document and format the font to preview it in the word processor.
Add Fonts To Google Docs with Extensis Fonts
Google’s built-in additional fonts are very convenient, but they come with two problems: first, not every Google font makes it into the Google Fonts scheme, and second, you have to go to Google Fonts every time you try to use a new font.
Luckily, there is a solution to these problems. The Extensis Fonts add-on for Docs solves all of these issues by putting all your fonts in the easy-to-access menu and auto-updating once a new font hits the Google Fonts library.
It’s very easy to use Extensis Fonts. In an open Google Docs document, click ‘Add-ons’ in the upper left corner and enter ‘Extensis’ in the search bar, and hit return. Click on the +Free button and it will automatically install after asking you which Google account to install it on and asking for permission to install.
After you install Extensis Fonts, activating it is simple. To do so, just go to the Add-ons menu and select Extensis Fonts -> Start.
Extensis Fonts will be opened in the sidebar with a preview of all the fonts. This extension also gives you the ability to filter and pick quickly.
Adding Google Docs Fonts for Mobile Devices
If you’re working on a document on a handheld device, such as an iPhone or an Android handset, you won’t have the opportunity to access More fonts. Instead, all the fonts are already listed in the font picker, and you’ll have to click through them before you find the font you’re looking for.
Open a document where you want to modify fonts for editing. If you have an open document, press the Edit (pencil) icon in the bottom right corner.
Highlight the text that you intend to modify and press the Font button.
Pick the font you wish to use then press the blue arrow at the top left corner to approve the adjustment and return to the main document.
Set a Newly Added Font Default In Google Docs
If you’ve found the font you were looking for, you can set that font as the default so all your future documents use it.
Select some text in your Google Docs document.
Click the font picker to choose a built-in Google Docs font or use the Add-ons menu to select a font from Extensis Fonts.
Apply your selected font to your text.
Click the Format menu at the top, select Paragraph styles, click Normal Text, and choose Update ‘Normal text’ to match.
Make sure your text is still selected. Click the Format menu, select Paragraph styles, click Options, and choose Save as my default styles.
Google Docs will now use your chosen font as the default font for all your documents.
You can reset your font preferences by clicking Format > Paragraph styles > Options > Reset styles. You then need to save your reset style as the default like you did above.
Can You Upload Your Own Fonts in Google Docs?
There is no way to upload your own custom fonts to the application. This includes the fonts you created, as well as the fonts created by others. But don’t despair about it. There are already a lot of font choices to pick from and the font you like or anything very similar is very likely to be available.