The article walks readers through installing Microsoft’s TrueType font collection on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS, beginning with an apt update to fetch the latest package metadata. It explains how to pre‑seed the EULA acceptance using debconf so that ttf-mscorefonts-installer can run non‑interactive and then installs the fonts automatically with a single command. After installation it recommends forcing a full font cache rebuild with fc-cache, which ensures applications immediately see Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, and other familiar typefaces instead of missing glyphs. Finally, the guide offers quick checks to verify success, notes an alternative Snap or Flatpak route, and concludes that once the fonts are in place users can resume reading PDFs and Office documents without those dreaded question marks.

How to Install Microsoft Fonts on Pop!_OS 22.04 LTS and Fix Those Broken PDFs

If you’re pulling Office documents, PowerPoint slides or even a PDF from the office into Pop!_OS, it’s common to see garbled characters until you hand your system over to the Microsoft fonts package. Here’s how to get them installed in under ten minutes.

Why You Need Microsoft Fonts

Microsoft’s TrueType collection (Arial, Times New Roman, Courier New, etc.) is the default for Office and many PDFs. Without them, text can look like a crime scene of squares or question marks. I’ve seen this happen after a bad driver update that dropped all those fonts from a fresh Pop!_OS install.

Step 1 – Update Your Package List

sudo apt update

Running `apt update` pulls the latest metadata so your system knows what’s available in the repositories. Skipping it could leave you with an out‑of‑date copy of the installer, which is a recipe for broken fonts later.

Step 2 – Accept the EULA Automatically

The `ttf-mscorefonts-installer` package asks for your license acceptance during installation. To avoid being prompted every time (and to make scripts work), pre‑seed the answer:

sudo debconf-set-selections <<< "ttf-mscorefonts-installer msttcorefonts/accepted-ms-licence-note select true"

This tells Debian’s configuration system that you’re fine with Microsoft’s EULA. If you prefer a manual click, skip this line and just run the installer.

Step 3 – Install the Font Pack

sudo apt install -y ttf-mscorefonts-installer

`-y` auto‑answers “yes” to any prompts. The package downloads the fonts from Microsoft’s servers, extracts them into `/usr/share/fonts/truetype/msttcorefonts`, and refreshes font caches.

Step 4 – Refresh Font Cache

sudo fc-cache -f -v

`fc‑cache` rebuilds the system’s font database. The `-f` flag forces a rebuild even if timestamps look fresh, while `-v` lets you see what’s happening. If you skip this step, some applications may still report missing fonts until you log out and back in.

Step 5 – Verify Installation

Open your favorite document viewer or word processor and load a file that previously looked broken. You should now see clean Arial, Times New Roman, etc., instead of question marks.

If you’re still not seeing them, try:

fc-list | grep -i "arial"

That lists all fonts matching “Arial.” If nothing returns, something went wrong with the cache; run `sudo fc-cache -f -v` again.

A Quick Side‑Note on Alternatives

If you’re a fan of Snap or Flatpak, you can also install Microsoft fonts via the `fonts-ms-core` package in those ecosystems. The advantage? No need for `debconf`.

But the traditional apt method is faster and more reliable on Pop!_OS.

Final Thought

That’s it—no hidden steps, no extra hassle. Your documents should render correctly now, and you can get back to writing that report or editing that presentation without those annoying question marks.