| Missing Font | Windows Substitute | macOS Substitute | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Helvetica | Arial | Helvetica (present) | | Calibri | Segoe UI | Calibri (present) | | Garamond | Cambria | Times | | Myriad Pro | Segoe UI | Myriad Pro (present) | | Courier | Courier New | Courier |
In an ideal digital typographic environment, every document would render exactly as the author intended — same fonts, same glyphs, same metrics. Reality deviates sharply. Font substitution occurs when a computer system cannot access a specified font or a particular character within that font. The system then automatically replaces the missing font (or glyph) with another available one. This process is so deeply embedded in operating systems, web browsers, and office software that it is seldom noticed by most users — until it produces glaring errors, such as a “tofu” box (□) or unexpected font mismatches. Font substitution will occur continue