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Fonts are not detected after Windows Update
- Font version: 1.066 release
- OS: Windows 10 20H2
I don’t know if this a font problem or a Windows problem, but here it goes.
I have noticed that for the past few months whenever there is a Windows Cumulative Update, some programs “forget” that Recursive fonts are installed.
The following screenshots were taken after installing KB4586853 (2020-11 Cumulative Update Preview for Windows 10 Version 20H2 for x64-based Systems).
This is the Fonts folder you open through Control Panel. I can’t see any Recursive fonts here.
However, you can see that the fonts are installed if you open the Fonts folder using \computername\c$\Windows\Fonts.
You can also find the fonts in the new Settings app.
I forgot to take screenshots of this, but the last time it happened, it took me a while to notice because the fonts still worked in programs like Firefox and VSCode and I only realized that there was some issue when I opened Notepad and Excel (which use the Windows font selection thing).
This is a screenshot of Notepad, which uses “Recursive Sans Linear Static”, however since it can’t find the font, it shows this.
This is a screenshot after I removed and reinstalled the fonts.
It seems that Windows resets something during Cumulative Updates which results in these programs not being able to find the fonts.
Wow, strange! Thanks for making a detailed issue for it.
It's hard to know what might be the cause. Do you happen to have other variable fonts installed, and/or do any other fonts do this? A couple of good fonts to test this with might be Inter (pretty simple) and Fraunces (a little more complex and therefore closer to Recursive).
I have Source Sans Variable installed. It seems to be working fine. This affects static fonts as well so it might not be a variable font thing. I have installed Fraunces to see if something happens the next time there is a cumulative update.
Okay, thanks for the added details. Keep me posted if you learn more.
Also, just so it’s in this issue: have you filed any comments/issues with Microsoft/Windows on this? My best guess is, the font is a bit complex, and somehow the OS is mishandling it because there aren’t a ton of similar fonts.
This gets weirder. There was another cumulative update which broke both Recursive and Fraunces. However, when I reinstalled Fraunces, that also fixed Recursive somehow.
Huh, very strange. I feel like this must be something weird in the way Windows handles fonts, possibly affected by these being variable fonts. If you get updates or find a reason to believe this is Recursive, please provide an update!