w:rFonts (Run Fonts)

Description

w:rFonts specifies the font family (typeface) for the run. It is defined in ECMA-376 Part 1 §17.3.2.26.

Because a single run can contain characters from multiple Unicode planes (Latin, East Asian, complex script), separate attributes target each category. The font theme attributes (w:asciiTheme, etc.) allow font selection that tracks the document theme, so fonts change automatically when the theme is switched.

Attributes

Examples

<!-- Standard: monospace font for code -->
<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts w:ascii="Courier New" w:hAnsi="Courier New"/>
</w:rPr>

new RunProperties(
  new RunFonts { Ascii = "Courier New", HighAnsi = "Courier New" });

<!-- Theme-based: follows document theme changes -->
<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts w:asciiTheme="majorAscii" w:hAnsiTheme="majorAscii"/>
</w:rPr>

new RunProperties(
  new RunFonts { AsciiTheme = ThemeLanguageValues.MajorAscii, HighAnsiTheme = ThemeLanguageValues.MajorAscii });
// Font changes automatically when document theme is changed

<!-- Multilingual: different fonts for Latin, East Asian, and RTL text -->
<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts w:ascii="Calibri" w:hAnsi="Calibri" w:eastAsia="MS Mincho" w:cs="Arial Unicode MS"/>
</w:rPr>

new RunProperties(
  new RunFonts
  {
    Ascii = "Calibri",           // Latin characters
    HighAnsi = "Calibri",
    EastAsia = "MS Mincho",       // Japanese, Chinese, Korean
    ComplexScript = "Arial Unicode MS"  // Arabic, Hebrew, etc.
  });

Font Categories

Theme Slot Options

Extended Font List (Common & Specialized)

Standard Sans-Serif (Recommended for Screen)

| Font | Use Case | Availability | |——|———-|—————| | Calibri | Default modern, professional | Universal | | Arial | Standard sans-serif, fallback | Universal | | Verdana | Screen optimized | Universal | | Tahoma | Clean, narrow | Universal | | Helvetica | Professional, print | Most systems | | Segoe UI | Modern, accessible | Windows/Office |

Standard Serif (Recommended for Print)

| Font | Use Case | Availability | |——|———-|—————| | Times New Roman | Classical, formal documents | Universal | | Georgia | Screen-readable serif | Universal | | Garamond | Elegant, print | Most systems | | Cambria | Math/science documents | Office suites |

Monospace (Code, Technical)

| Font | Use Case | Availability | |——|———-|—————| | Courier New | Typewriter style, code | Universal | | Consolas | Modern code font | Windows/Office | | Monaco | Apple default code font | Mac systems | | Courier | Classic monospace | Universal |

East Asian Fonts

| Font | Script | Use Case | |——|——–|———-| | SimSun | Chinese (Simplified) | Default Chinese | | MS Mincho | Japanese | Print-like Japanese | | Noto Sans CJK | Chinese/Japanese/Korean | Modern, comprehensive | | Microsoft YaHei | Chinese (Modern) | Contemporary Chinese | | Hiragino Sans | Japanese/Mac | Mac Japanese |

Complex Script (RTL, Devanagari, etc.)

| Font | Script | Use Case | |——|——–|———-| | Arial Unicode MS | All Unicode ranges | Universal support | | Segoe UI | Arabic, Hebrew, etc. | Modern, accessible | | Traditional Arabic | Arabic | Arabic-specific | | Simplified Arabic | Arabic | Arabic-specific | | Mangal | Devanagari (Hindi) | Hindi support | | David | Hebrew | Hebrew support |

Theme-Based Font Strategy

Using theme fonts provides automatic consistency:

<!-- Headings use theme's major font -->
<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts w:asciiTheme="majorAscii" w:hAnsiTheme="majorAscii" w:eastAsiaTheme="majorEastAsia"/>
</w:rPr>

<!-- Body uses theme's minor font -->
<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts w:asciiTheme="minorAscii" w:hAnsiTheme="minorAscii" w:eastAsiaTheme="minorEastAsia"/>
</w:rPr>

When document theme is switched, fonts update automatically to maintain brand alignment.

Multilingual Document Example

<w:rPr>
  <w:rFonts 
    w:ascii="Calibri"              <!-- English -->
    w:hAnsi="Calibri"              <!-- Extended Latin -->
    w:eastAsia="SimSun"            <!-- Chinese -->
    w:cs="Arial Unicode MS"/>      <!-- Arabic/Hebrew/Devanagari -->
</w:rPr>

This run displays correctly in English, Chinese, Arabic, Hebrew, or mixed text.

Font Fallback Strategy

When specified font is unavailable:

1. System attempts to load w:ascii (ASCII range)
2. Falls back to w:hAnsi (if different from ascii)
3. Falls back to generic sans-serif or system default
4. For East Asian: w:eastAsia or system CJK font
5. For RTL: w:cs or system RTL font

Best Practice: Always specify multiple fonts for graceful degradation:

<w:rFonts w:ascii="Segoe UI" w:hAnsi="Arial" />
<!-- If Segoe UI unavailable, use Arial; if both unavailable, use system default -->

Notes

• Theme Precedence: Theme attributes (w:*Theme) override hard-coded fonts (w:ascii, etc.).
• Multilingual Support: Use all four attributes for documents with mixed scripts.
• Font Fallback: If specified font is unavailable, system falls back to default or similar typeface.
• Theme Advantage: Theme-based fonts ensure consistent styling across brand-aligned documents.
• Character Coverage: Ensure chosen fonts cover required character ranges (Latin, CJK, RTL, etc.).
• Web Safety: For documents destined for web, use widely available fonts (Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, Georgia).
• Performance: Embedding fonts increases file size; use sparingly.
• Accessibility: Ensure font choice is readable at required sizes; avoid decorative fonts for body text.
• Print Consistency: Some fonts render differently in print; test before production.
• Mobile Rendering: Mobile devices may substitute fonts; test on target devices.
• Font Metrics: Different fonts have different metrics (x-height, descender depth); line spacing may vary.
• Complex Script: Always include w:cs for documents with Arabic, Hebrew, or other complex scripts.
• East Asian: Essential for documents with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean text.
• Inheritance: If not specified, font is inherited from applied paragraph style or document defaults.
• Compatibility: Theme fonts render consistently across all Office versions on Office-aware systems.