Microsoft discontinues Adobe Type 1 fonts support in Windows

Illustrative image of PostScript Type 1 font

After deprecating DirectAccess and NTLM in June of this year, Microsoft skipped July without any Windows feature deprecation announcements. However, in August, Microsoft added a new entry to the list of features that is no longer in development. This time, Adobe Type1 fonts are getting the axe.

Microsoft revealed that Adobe PostScript Type1 fonts are now deprecated, and a future Windows release would remove those fonts from the operating system. That is because a year and a half ago, Adobe ended support for PostScript Type 1, which means Adobe users can no longer utilize those fonts in Photoshop 23.0, Illustrator 27.3, InDesign 18.2 and newer.

Microsoft recommends removing Adobe PostScript Type1 fonts and their dependencies right now by heading to Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Also, developers are encouraged to test if their apps can work without Adobe Type1 fonts.

Here is the full announcement published on the official Microsoft Learn documentation website:

Adobe PostScript Type1 fonts are deprecated and support will be removed in a future release of Windows.

In January 2023, Adobe announced the end of support for PostScript Type1 fonts for their latest software offerings. Remove any dependencies on this font type by selecting a supported font type. To display currently installed fonts, go to Settings > Personalization > Fonts. Application developers and content owners should test their apps and data files with the Adobe Type1 fonts removed. For more information, contact the application vendor or Adobe.

You can read more about the end of support for Adobe PostScript Type 1 fonts on the official Adobe Support website.

For those unfamiliar, feature deprecation means developers are no longer working on a certain thing in the product. It might stick around for a little and then disappear in future releases. Recently deprecated features in Windows Client operating systems include Driver Verifier GUI, Windows Mixed Reality, Windows Subsystem for Android, Steps Recorder, MDAG for Office and Edge, and more.