Fix PowerPoint Live Displaying Montserrat Font Incorrectly in Teams
Question details
The user is experiencing formatting issues where the Montserrat font displays properly on a local Mac but renders incorrectly when shared via PowerPoint Live in Microsoft Teams.
- Product
- Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Teams
- Device & OS
- Mac
- Scenario
- Presenting a slide deck using the PowerPoint Live feature within a Microsoft Teams meeting.
- Observed behavior
- The Montserrat font renders incorrectly in Teams, despite being embedded in the presentation, likely due to the cloud service processing the file with a newer or conflicting font version.
Verify that your presentation's font embedding settings are properly configured and ensure you have administrative access to install or uninstall fonts on your Mac.
Downgrade to an Older Supported Version of the Montserrat Font
Using an earlier, stable version of the Montserrat font prevents rendering conflicts when Microsoft Teams reprocesses the presentation in the cloud.
Microsoft Teams and PowerPoint Live process presentations using cloud servers, which might rely on a different version of the Montserrat font (such as version 8.00) than what is installed on your Mac. Downgrading to a widely supported older version, like 7.20, often resolves this discrepancy.
Open the 'Font Book' application on your Mac, search for 'Montserrat', right-click the font family, and select 'Remove Montserrat Family'.
Contact the Montserrat font provider or browse trusted open-source font repositories (like the Google Fonts GitHub repository history) to download an older version, such as version 7.20.
Double-click the downloaded older font files (.ttf or .otf) and click 'Install Font' in the preview window to add them back to your Mac.
Open your presentation in PowerPoint, navigate to the Save settings to ensure 'Embed fonts in the file' is checked, and resave the document before presenting in Teams.
Export the Presentation as a PDF
If changing system fonts is not possible, converting the presentation to a PDF locks all fonts and formatting exactly as they appear locally.
Avoid Formatting Conflicts with WPS Presentation
If you are tired of fonts displaying incorrectly when sharing or moving presentations between devices, switch to WPS Office. It provides robust, offline-capable presentation tools that preserve your formatting flawlessly.
- 1. Download the software: Visit the official WPS Office website to download the free suite for your Mac.
- 2. Open your presentation: Launch WPS Presentation and seamlessly open your existing .pptx files.
- 3. Present with confidence: Deliver your slides using WPS Presentation's reliable rendering engine, ensuring your fonts stay exactly as you designed them.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do embedded fonts sometimes fail to display correctly in PowerPoint Live?
PowerPoint Live renders slides using cloud servers rather than your local machine. If the cloud environment uses a different underlying version of the font (such as Montserrat 8.00 vs. 7.20), structural discrepancies can cause the text to display incorrectly even if the font was embedded.
How do I ensure fonts are embedded in PowerPoint for Mac?
Go to 'PowerPoint' > 'Preferences' > 'Save'. Under the Font Embedding section, check the box for 'Embed fonts in the file'. Note that some custom fonts may have licensing restrictions that prevent them from being fully embedded.
Are there other open-source fonts that experience this issue in Microsoft Teams?
Yes, dynamically updated open-source fonts that frequently change their variable weight definitions or typography standards can sometimes experience similar rendering conflicts in PowerPoint Live due to server-side version mismatches.
What is the difference between sharing a screen and using PowerPoint Live?
Screen sharing simply broadcasts your local desktop view to the audience, preserving all local formatting. PowerPoint Live processes the file natively in Teams, allowing for lower bandwidth usage, clickable links, and independent slide navigation for viewers, but it relies on cloud-based rendering for fonts.
