Fonts in WordArt

In a previous WordTip I wrote concerning how to configure Word to embed TrueType fonts so they are available when you share documents with others. However, one nuance of Word was overlooked--WordArt. Because WordArt is really a drawing object, font embedding does not apply to it. This should not be surprising, because other Word tools also are not applicable to WordArt--tools such as spell-checking and grammar checking.

Since WordArt is a drawing object, this means that even with an embeddable font, and font embedding turned on, Word97 and later will substitute some other font in the WordArt if the font hasn't been pre-installed on the destination computer. Word will also erroneously report (in Tools | Options | Compatibility | Font Substitution) that "No font substitution is necessary. All fonts used in this document are available."

The only workaround for this potential problem is to make sure that at least one character of regular document text (in the body of your document; not in WordArt) uses the same font as the one employed in WordArt. Then, if you have configured Word to embed fonts, the necessary font will also be available for use in WordArt.