How to Add Fonts to the Console in MS Windows

In the settings for the console in Windows, you have the option of changing the font. But the selection is fairly limited. There are usually only 2 fonts! But if there are dozens of fonts installed on the system, why are there only 2 for the console? Well, if this bothers you, there is a way to add to the list of available fonts for the command prompt on Windows.

There is a key in the registry that has the list of fonts for the console:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Console\TrueTypeFont

There are entries there already, and the value names consist of all zeros. So, you just need to add a new value with a unique, all-zeros name and set the value to the name of the font you want to use. Easy!

Caveats:

• This may not work with every font. 
•  It must be a monospace font, and even some of those will not always work.
• It may also be that it works some of the time. For example, on my machine, I added Courier New, but the console window will only used it when certain sizes are selected. Otherwise, it falls back to Consolas or the default raster font.