Sometimes fonts in our PowerPoint files seem to have a mind of their own. Even after you've tried replacing them multiple times, they just won’t disappear. These hidden or embedded fonts can cause annoying error messages when saving or sharing your presentation. But don’t worry, we have a trick that will solve this issue once and for all.

Step-by-Step Workaround to Replace Stubborn Fonts

Let’s say you have a presentation with two fonts: Arial and Poppins. You only want to keep Arial, but Poppins won’t go away despite your efforts to replace it. Here’s a detailed workaround to fix this.

Basic Font Replacement

Before we dive into the advanced workaround, try the basic font replacement method:

1. Replace Fonts:

   • Go to the Home tab.

   • Click on Replace in the Editing group.

   • Select Replace Fonts.

   • Replace Poppins with Arial.

If this doesn’t work, proceed with the XML method below.

Workaround Method: Using XML to Remove Stubborn Fonts

1. First of all, create a backup of your PowerPoint presentation (just in case something goes wrong).

2. Save the Presentation as an XML File:

   • Open your PowerPoint file.

   • Go to File > Save As.

   • Choose a location and set the file type to PowerPoint XML Presentation (*.xml).

   • Save the file.
     
     

3. Edit the XML File:

   • Close your PowerPoint file

   • Open the saved XML file in a text editor like Microsoft Notepad (right-click the XML file and open in Notepad).

   • Once opened (it looks a bit scary but don't worry), go to Replace under the Edit tab,

• Search for the font you want to remove, e.g. "Poppins", and type in the font you want it to be replaced with, e.g. "Arial".

• Click Replace All

• Repeat the same process for any other unwanted fonts.

  
  

4. Save the Edited XML File:

   • Save your changes in the text editor and close the editor.

     
     

5. Convert the XML back to PowerPoint:

   • Open PowerPoint.

   • Go to File > Open.

   • Select the edited XML file that you just modified.

   • Save the file as a PowerPoint Presentation (*.pptx).

Et voilà! With this simple (tricky-technical-workaround) those annoying hidden fonts should now have disappeared.

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Conclusion

By following this workaround, you can finally rid your PowerPoint presentations of those pesky embedded or hidden fonts. Whether you use the manual method or the XML trick, you’ll be able to save and share your presentations without any annoying error messages.