Three steps
- Close AutoCAD.
- Copy the .shx file into the Fonts folder of your version. The paths are below. Windows will ask for an administrator's approval.
- Open AutoCAD and the drawing again. AutoCAD looks for fonts only when it starts.
That is for .shx fonts. A TTF font does not go in AutoCAD's folder: right-click it and choose Install for all users, and it is installed in Windows itself.
The path for each version
No version needs fonts of its own: the same .shx file works in AutoCAD 2017, 2018 and 2027. Each version has its own Fonts folder, and only the year in the folder's name changes. If you installed AutoCAD on another drive, replace C: with yours.
AutoCAD 2027
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2027\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2027\Fonts
AutoCAD 2026
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2026\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2026\Fonts
AutoCAD 2025
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2025\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2025\Fonts
If the Hebrew flipped only after you moved to 2025, the font is not the cause. Autodesk acknowledges the fault: with Windows region settings on Hebrew, AutoCAD 2025 shows Hebrew letters and numbers reversed, and its fix is AutoCAD 2026. The details are in the guide to reversed Hebrew.
AutoCAD 2024
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2024\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2024\Fonts
AutoCAD 2023
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2023\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2023\Fonts
AutoCAD 2022
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2022\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2022\Fonts
AutoCAD 2021
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2021\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2021\Fonts
AutoCAD 2020
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2020\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2020\Fonts
AutoCAD 2019
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2019\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2019\Fonts
AutoCAD 2018
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2018\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2018\Fonts
AutoCAD 2017
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2017\Fonts
In AutoCAD LT:
C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD LT 2017\Fonts
AutoCAD for Mac
A Mac has no fixed Fonts folder. Put the .shx files in a folder of your own and add it to AutoCAD:
- Open any drawing.
- In the AutoCAD menu choose Application.
- Click Support file search path.
- Click the plus sign at the bottom of the window and pick the folder.
- Click OK and start AutoCAD again.
A TTF font is installed on a Mac by double-clicking the file.
Without administrator rights, or for several computers
You can keep the fonts in a folder of your own, including on the office's network drive, and point AutoCAD at it:
- Type
OPTIONS. - On the Files tab open Support File Search Path.
- Click Add, then Browse, and pick the folder.
- Click Apply and OK, and start AutoCAD again.
Every computer in the office then reads the same files, and nothing is left behind when you upgrade.
For a single drawing there is a shorter way: put the font file in the same folder as the drawing. AutoCAD reads fonts from there too.
You upgraded and the Hebrew broke
Fonts you once copied into the previous version's Fonts folder are still there. The new version looks in its own folder. Copy the .shx files from the old folder to the new one, or move them to a folder of your own as in the section above, and you won't have to repeat it at the next upgrade.
Installed, and the Hebrew is still broken
There are two usual reasons. The first is that it is not the same font: several different Hebrew fonts share one file name, and a file from a pack you downloaded may draw other letters than the drawing needs. The guide to Hebrew fonts explains where to get the right file.
The second is that a font repairs only your screen. What is stored inside the drawing is still not Hebrew.
| A font | A repair with Gibberish | |
|---|---|---|
| You need to find the right font file | Yes | No |
| Every computer that opens the drawing needs it | Yes | No |
| What the consultant and the client see | Gibberish, unless they have the font | Hebrew |
| Searching, copying and editing the labels | Don't work | Work |
| The next drawing | Hunt for a font again | Press the same button |
Check your drawing for free: you'll see which fonts its Hebrew was typed in, and how its labels look repaired. The plugin that repairs the drawing is coming soon, and the waiting list is how we'll let you know.
Quick questions
Where is AutoCAD's fonts folder?
On drive C, inside Program Files and then Autodesk, in your version's folder, for example AutoCAD 2026, and inside it Fonts. In AutoCAD LT the folder is named AutoCAD LT 2026. The full path for each version is above.
Do I have to install the font in Windows too?
Not an .shx font. AutoCAD reads it from its own folder. A TTF font, yes, and it is installed only in Windows.
I copied the font and AutoCAD doesn't see it.
Make sure you closed and reopened AutoCAD, and that you copied into the folder of the version you actually run. If two versions are installed, each has its own folder.
AutoCAD says SHX files are missing when I open a drawing.
That window appears when the drawing was written in a font you don't have, and the missing file's name is in it. That is the file to get and install, and the safest source is whoever sent the drawing.