Microsoft's Font Maker is one of the coolest apps you've never heard of

Every now and then, Microsoft will have a fun little project that has a cool idea, only to end up being abandoned a short time later. During the Windows 10 era, the Microsoft Font Maker was one such idea, and it's an app I haven't heard anyone mention in years — and it's time for me to change that.

Font Maker may not be a particularly ground-breaking tool, but it was such a fun concept that allowed you to express yourself in a different way at a time when it felt like Microsoft actually cared about Windows tablets somewhat. It's kind of a shame it never evolved past its offering, as there are definitely ways it could be better, but the core idea is already great. Still, Font Maker isn't dead just yet, so let me tell you about it.

3 Make your own font

It really is all in the name

As the name suggests, Microsoft Font Maker is an app that lets you make your own font, but it's a very interesting concept. This is an app made for Windows tablets, and it has you write out every letter in the alphabet, numbers, and some symbols so it can create a font that represents your handwriting. You also have to write a few full sentences, which helps the app learn how you connect characters to each other when writing normally.

Looking at the Microsoft Store listing, the ratings are fairly low, and it feels like quite a few people didn't realize this is an app that requires Windows Ink, and thus, a dedicated pen. You can't just draw it out with your mouse or finger, and that makes sense when you think about it. It's about making a font that matches your handwriting, and there's no way that would be the case if you just used a mouse or a finger to write things out. It's also a showcase for Windows Ink, with all the precision and fluidity it's meant to offer, which is a bit different from what you can get just by using a touchscreen.

Once you've finished writing out all the required characters and text, you can preview it in a longer text and change settings like the default size and spacing to make it look a bit more readable. I was actually surprised at how it made my handwriting look somewhat acceptable considering it's almost illegible in real life a lot of the time. You can then export the font file, which you can use to install the font on your PC, and even share with others or send to other PCs of your own if you want to have it available everywhere. Once you install it, you can use the font in any app that lets you use your system fonts.

Naturally, this isn't some productivity feature that you want to use in documents or presentations, but the idea of having your own font is just fun. If you're making videos, having your own font is a cool way to have a more personal touch, and you're not held to the same standards of having a professional-looking font. Also, as a child making PowerPoint presentations, it probably beats using something like Comic Sans or the Papyrus font.

2 There are some limitations

A lot of characters aren't included

The most noticeable problem I see with Font Maker is the fact that a ton of characters aren't available to create with your personalized font. A lot of special characters, such as those with accents, or symbols that aren't often used in the United States don't seem to be available. For example, I can write out a dollar sign, but not the Euro sign, or the sterling pound sign.

I can understand wanting to keep things simple and straightforward, and it would certainly be overwhelming to include the hundreds of characters in the Character Map by default, but it would be nice to have an advanced mode or something where you can load up all the characters you want and write them out. Maybe have them grouped, as they are in the input panel on Windows 11, so you can add only the groups you think are more relevant, or just give the option to select individual symbols and characters. This would go a long way in making this project even better.

A complaint I see in some Microsoft Store reviews is that there's no way to undo a single character when setting up the font, but that's also not true. You just have to use the eraser feature on the pen itself, rather than some kind of app-specific feature.

1 Why was it abandoned?

Left in the Windows 10 era

Unfortunately, while Font Maker hasn't been removed from the Microsoft Store just yet, the project hasn't really moved in years. The app still uses a Windows 10 design language, and it's just as capable today as it was when it made its debut. I don't think this was going to be some revolutionary app that changes how you use your computer, but it's the kind of fun novelty I sort of miss seeing in Windows. It taught users about a new Windows feature and offered them something fun to play around with. It feels like the kind of thing you remember from your childhood when you used a PC for the first time.

I think the abandonment of Font Maker is a small sign of a much bigger problem, which is the lack of interest in Windows tablets. Not just from users, but Microsoft itself, as the company has never shown any desire to make these devices more appealing to use, as well as its partners. Microsoft saw the pushback it got with Windows 8 and decided to make touch-based devices a second-class citizen. At the beginning of Windows 10, there was still some interest in trying to make that work, but the company never bothered to offer a truly great experience that could rival the likes of an iPad or even an Android tablet. Of course Font Maker wasn't going to make the cut.

Windows tablets have gradually been abandoned, leaving only the Surface Pro, and users buying a premium device like that aren't the most likely to be interested in an app like Font Maker anyway. This is the kind of app that should be on cheaper devices so kids get to try it and have fun turning their handwriting into something they can use on their computer.

I wish fun would return to Windows

Frankly, not only should the app have been updated to be more capable, but it would have made a lot of sense for it to be installed by default with Windows 10 and 11, at least on devices with pen support. It would make it so that those more casual and younger users would find this app and fiddle around with it. I can see how that would create memories similar to how we all remember messing around with WordArt in Microsoft Office back in the day, but it couldn't really happen because Microsoft never tried to make it more popular.

That may sound rich coming from someone who has written at length about bloatware in Windows, but I think this would honestly serve a more interesting purpose than a lot of the actual bloatware we get in Windows these days. Would Font Maker be more of a waste of space than the Get Started app, or the News app, or Microsoft Solitaire Collection? I don't think so. If you're curious, you can check out Font Maker below.