diff --git a/blog/2026-05-03-windows-fod-fonts.md b/blog/2026-05-03-windows-fod-fonts.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d3f17a --- /dev/null +++ b/blog/2026-05-03-windows-fod-fonts.md @@ -0,0 +1,316 @@ +--- +title: "Installing Windows supplementary fonts with Features on Demand" +description: "Fontist 3.0 can install over 100 Windows supplementary fonts — Japanese, Korean, Pan-European, and more — using Windows Features on Demand, automatically via PowerShell." +authors: + - Ronald Tse +date: 2026-05-03 +--- + +# Installing Windows supplementary fonts with Features on Demand + + + +Windows 10 and 11 ship with a large catalog of fonts, but many are not +installed by default. These supplementary fonts — covering Japanese, Korean, +Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, Thai, Pan-European, and many other scripts — are +available as Features on Demand (FOD) but require manual installation through +Settings or PowerShell. + +Fontist 3.0 now installs these fonts automatically. A single command is all it +takes: + +```sh +$ fontist install "Meiryo" +``` + +## The problem + +Windows does not install all available fonts by default to save disk space. +Fonts like Meiryo (Japanese), Batang (Korean), Arial Nova (Pan-European), and +Plantagenet Cherokee are available as optional Features on Demand but require +either navigating through Windows Settings or running PowerShell commands with +admin privileges. + +For CI pipelines running on Windows, this is especially inconvenient. +Documents that reference these fonts fail to render correctly when the fonts +are missing. + +## How it works + +When you install a Windows FOD font through Fontist, it: + +1. Checks whether the required Windows capability is already installed using + `Get-WindowsCapability` +2. If not present, installs it using `Add-WindowsCapability -Online` +3. Verifies the font files are now available in `C:\Windows\Fonts\` + +This uses the Formula v5 schema with a `source: windows_fod` resource type, +which tells Fontist to handle installation through the operating system rather +than downloading an archive. + +## Installing a font + +Install any Windows FOD font by name: + +```sh +$ fontist install "Meiryo" +``` + +```sh +$ fontist install "Arial Nova" +``` + +```sh +$ fontist install "Plantagenet Cherokee" +``` + +Use `--accept-all-licenses` for non-interactive installs: + +```sh +$ fontist install "Meiryo" --accept-all-licenses +``` + +## Using in CI + +On GitHub Actions Windows runners, FOD font installation works out of the box +since the runners have admin privileges: + +```yaml +- name: Install fonts + run: gem install fontist && fontist install "Meiryo" --accept-all-licenses + shell: pwsh +``` + +## Requirements + +- Windows 10 (version 1607) or later +- Administrator privileges (required by `Add-WindowsCapability`) +- Internet connectivity (Windows downloads the font capability on first install) + +To check which FOD font capabilities are available on your system, run: + +```powershell +Get-WindowsCapability -Online -Name "Language.Fonts.*" +``` + +## Available fonts + +Fontist supports 24 Windows FOD capability groups containing 100 font families. + +
+Click to expand the full list + +### Arabic Script Supplemental Fonts + +- Aldhabi +- Andalus +- Arabic Typesetting +- Microsoft Uighur +- Sakkal Majalla +- Simplified Arabic +- Simplified Arabic Fixed +- Traditional Arabic +- Urdu Typesetting + +### Bangla Script Supplemental Fonts + +- Shonar Bangla +- Vrinda + +### Canadian Aboriginal Syllabics Supplemental Fonts + +- Euphemia + +### Cherokee Supplemental Fonts + +- Plantagenet Cherokee + +### Chinese (Simplified) Supplemental Fonts + +- DengXian +- FangSong +- KaiTi +- SimHei + +### Chinese (Traditional) Supplemental Fonts + +- DFKai-SB +- MingLiU +- MingLiU_HKSCS +- PMingLiU + +### Devanagari Supplemental Fonts + +- Aparajita +- Kokila +- Mangal +- Sanskrit Text +- Utsaah + +### Ethiopic Supplemental Fonts + +- Nyala + +### Gujarati Supplemental Fonts + +- Shruti + +### Gurmukhi Supplemental Fonts + +- Raavi + +### Hebrew Supplemental Fonts + +- Aharoni Bold +- David +- FrankRuehl +- Gisha +- Levenim MT +- Miriam +- Miriam Fixed +- Narkisim +- Rod + +### Japanese Supplemental Fonts + +- BIZ UDGothic +- BIZ UDPGothic +- BIZ UDMincho Medium +- BIZ UDPMincho Medium +- Meiryo +- Meiryo UI +- MS Mincho +- MS PMincho +- UD Digi Kyokasho N-B +- UD Digi Kyokasho NK-B +- UD Digi Kyokasho NK-R +- UD Digi Kyokasho NP-B +- UD Digi Kyokasho NP-R +- UD Digi Kyokasho N-R +- Yu Mincho + +### Kannada Supplemental Fonts + +- Tunga + +### Khmer Supplemental Fonts + +- DaunPenh +- Khmer UI +- MoolBoran + +### Korean Supplemental Fonts + +- Batang +- BatangChe +- Dotum +- DotumChe +- Gulim +- GulimChe +- Gungsuh +- GungsuhChe + +### Lao Supplemental Fonts + +- DokChampa +- Lao UI + +### Malayalam Supplemental Fonts + +- Kartika + +### Odia Supplemental Fonts + +- Kalinga + +### Pan-European Supplemental Fonts + +- Arial Nova +- Arial Nova Cond +- Georgia Pro +- Georgia Pro Cond +- Gill Sans Nova +- Gill Sans Nova Cond +- Neue Haas Grotesk Text Pro +- Rockwell Nova +- Rockwell Nova Cond +- Verdana Pro +- Verdana Pro Cond + +### Sinhala Supplemental Fonts + +- Iskoola Pota + +### Syriac Supplemental Fonts + +- Estrangelo Edessa + +### Tamil Supplemental Fonts + +- Latha +- Vijaya + +### Telugu Supplemental Fonts + +- Gautami +- Vani + +### Thai Supplemental Fonts + +- Angsana New +- AngsanaUPC +- Browallia New +- BrowalliaUPC +- Cordia New +- CordiaUPC +- DilleniaUPC +- EucrosiaUPC +- FreesiaUPC +- IrisUPC +- JasmineUPC +- KodchiangUPC +- Leelawadee +- LilyUPC + +
+ +## What else is new in Fontist 3.0 + +Windows FOD support is part of the Fontist 3.0 release, which also includes +these improvements: + +**Formula v5 schema.** +Formulas now support multiple font formats (TTF, OTF, WOFF2), variable font +metadata, and import provenance. See our earlier post on Formula v5 for the full details. + +**Platform-aware font selection.** +Manifests now validate operating system compatibility before attempting to +install platform-specific fonts, preventing errors when a font is only +available on one platform. + +**Skip license prompts for already-installed fonts.** +If a font is already present on the current operating system, Fontist skips the +license confirmation step, reducing friction when re-running installations. + +**Lazy formulas initialization.** +The formulas repository is no longer cloned at startup. Fontist defers this +until the first operation that actually needs formulas, making initial startup +faster. + +**Index rebuild speedup.** +The index rebuild process has been optimized for large formula repositories, +reducing the time needed to refresh the font index. + +## Conclusion + +Windows FOD font support rounds out Fontist's platform coverage. Together with +macOS supplementary fonts, Google Fonts, SIL fonts, and Microsoft Office fonts, +Fontist now provides automated installation of openly-licensed fonts across all +major platforms. + +Install Fontist and try it: + +```sh +$ gem install fontist +$ fontist install "Meiryo" +```