Fonts & Mac OS X

2007 Update

by Craig Swanson,
CreativeTechs, Inc.
What font problems/questions do you have?
InDesign not auto-activating How set up a brand new Mac?
How to use Classic fonts and apps I hate the bullets and numbering in MS
Trouble collaborating with others' fonts Word I know you have nothing to do
Fonts stop working, can't be activated with that, but it pisses me off
Fonts not showing up--group setting Can you create custom bullets for
• Universe condensed big culprit Word?
Word dialog boxes & not using Word
GB of fonts in Font Book making
trouble
Font outline is missing-what does it
mean?
Font that works in Font Book, and some
that only work in Suitcase
TrueType, OpenType, PS - what??!!
Do I need font management software
Can I get rid of Asian fonts?
How to organize multiple copies of fonts
Sign Up: creativetechs.com/tips
Why does font management matter?

Messy Fonts = Frustration!

Corrupt Fonts =
Crashes
Old Fonts =
Application Errors
Incomplete Postscript =
Printing Problems
Duplicate Fonts =
Poor Auto-Activation
Conflicting Versions =
Reflowing Text
Helvetica Issues =
Garbled Safari/Email
Corrupt Font Caches =
Garbled Fonts
& Complaining App’s
Other Font Issues = Weird problems
 The Basics of Font Management
Font Management Tool

System Fonts Creative Fonts

small list huge collections!
Best Practices in 2007:

1 Simplify your System Fonts

2 Use a Font Management Tool

3 Organize your Creative Fonts

 Step 1
Simplify your
System Fonts
Default Fonts List:
- Mac OS X (10.4)
- InDesign CS2
- MS Office 2004

How Many Fonts?

- 163 Font Names
- 3660 pixels tall
- 4 feet tall at 72dpi
History: How did we handle fonts in Mac OS 9?

Your Font Collection

Managed by ATM Deluxe

System Folder: Fonts

Basic Fonts Only
Courier, Helvetica, Times, Symbol, Zapf Dingbats
Geneva, Charcoal, Monaco
Today: Where are Fonts in Mac OS X?

“Local” /Library/Fonts

“System” /System/Library/Fonts

“Classic” /System Folder/Fonts

“User” <user>/Library/Fonts

Adobe Creative Suite Fonts:

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts

Microsoft Fonts:
/Applications/Microsoft Office/Office/Fonts
Simplify: Mac OS X Core System Fonts.

Core System Fonts /System/Library/Fonts

Monaco.dfont HelveLTMM* Used by Preview
Geneva.dfont Helvetica LT MM*
LucidaGrande.dfont TimesLTMM*
AppleGothic.dfont Times LT MM*
Keyboard.dfont*
LastResort.dfont*
Helvetica.dfont**

* These fonts do not appear in font menus.

** We’ll be talking soon about our friend Helvetica.
List available at: creativetechs.com/tips
 The Basics of Font Management

Web Fonts?
System Fonts Creative Fonts
small list huge collections!
Simplify: Optional Web Fonts.

Optional Web Fonts /Library/Fonts

Comic Sans MS Arial
Georgia Arial Black
Times New Roman
Trebuchet MS
Verdana
Webdings

List available at: creativetechs.com/tips

Simplify: Clean Up After Installers.

Adobe Creative Suite (CS/CS2)

/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts
Fix: Remove everything but the folder named “Reqrd”

Microsoft Office (X/2004)

/Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Office/Fonts
Fix: Remove or rename Fonts folder (”MS Office Fonts”)

Others Installers?
Fix: Check /Library/Fonts for new additions after installs.
Simplify: After Simplifying the System Fonts.
before after

Continues for 4 Feet!

Simplify: Additional Resources

Ebook: Take Control Fonts in Mac OS X (Tiger)

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/fonts-macosx.html
Excellent $20 downloadable book!

MacWorld: Take Control of Fonts in Mac OS X

http://www.macworld.com/2006/07/secrets/tcofonts/
Free article based on the ebook.

Kurt Lang: Font Management in OS X Tiger and Panther

http://www.jklstudios.com/misc/osxfonts.html

Links available at: creativetechs.com/tips

 Step 2
Use a
Font Management Tool
Manage: Pick a Font Management Utility

Apple FontBook Font Agent Pro

Linotype FontExplorer Suitcase Fusion

Manage: Pick a Font Management Utility

FontBook FontAgent Suitcase FontExplorer

Interface ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓+
Stability ✓ ✓+ ✓* Spotty

Large Font Libraries ✓ ✓ ✓

Auto-Activation ✓ ✓+ Problems

Cleaning/Testing ✓+ Some Some

Features Network Sharing Great Features!

Cost: Free $100/$130 $100 Free

CT Recommends? No Yes Yes* No

*Clean font libraries only.

Manage: CreativeTechs Recommendation 2007

✓ Font Agent Pro 3.3

Stable performance.
Good font testing.
Fewest client support calls.

✓ Extensis Suitcase Fusion

If you already like the interface.
If you have a clean font collection.
Manage: Additional Reviews + Resources

Ars Technica: Font Manager Reviews

http://arstechnica.com/reviews/apps/fontmanagers.ars
Excellent review of the three top font managers.

CreativeTechs: Font Manager Shoot-Out

http://creativetechs.com/tips/fontmanagement
Our own review last year. Includes lots of video clips and demos.

Links available at: creativetechs.com/tips

 Step 3
Organize your
Creative Fonts
Organize: Where do you store your creative fonts?

The Old Way The New Way

You Organize Them Your Font Manager
Where You Want. Organizes Them.
Organize: How many of your fonts did you pay for?

less than half 17%

all my fonts 6%
52%
almost
none
over half 25%

recent survey at beadesigngroup.com

Organize: What Font Formats should designers use?
OpenType

Postscript:
Macintosh Printer/Screen
TrueType Font

Multiple
.dfont Masters

Windows
TrueType
Organize: Font Testing & Repairing Tools.

Font Agent Pro Font Doctor

Organize: The CreativeTechs Font Tune-Up Recipe.

■ Pass 1: Collect a “Font Mixing Bowl”

- Basic corruption tests, remove initial duplicates.
■ Pass 2: Update & Clean Adobe Postscript
- Update screen fonts, test corruption & orphans.
■ Pass 3: Clean remaining “Mixing Bowl”
- Clean and test remaining non-Adobe fonts.
■ Pass 4: Test & Remove Duplicates.
- Test fonts, prefer Adobe when removing dup’s.
■ Pass 5: Build Clean Font Folders.
- Organize fonts by type & vendor.
■ Pass 6: Isolate Known Font Issues.
- Helvetica’s/Times, Multiple Masters, etc.
■ Pass 7: Add in Adobe CS / Office Fonts. ACME Design Works
creativetechs.com
■ Pass 8: Massive Testing & Duplicate Hunt. 206-682-4315
■ Pass 9: Final Clean Up.

*Typically takes CreativeTechs 2-4 hours to complete.

 Craig’s Rant:
Helvetica is Dead!
(Long Live Helvetica)
HelveticaFilm.com
 The Basics of Font Management

Web Fonts?
System Fonts Creative Fonts
small list huge collections!

Which is
HELVETICA?
 The Basics of Font Management

Web Fonts?
System Fonts Creative Fonts
small list huge collections!

Which is
HELVETICA?
Helvetica: How we’ve fought with Mac OS X.

Option 1: Ignore the problem.

Solution: Ignore the Helvetica issue. Hope it goes away.
Problems: Corrupt font caches (gibberish in Mail & Safari)

Option 2: Replace Helvetica.dfont.

Solution: Remove dfont & replace w/ Postscript or OpenType.
Problems: Hard to maintain. Requires ongoing vigilance.

Option 3: Keep Helvetica.dfont.

Solution: Remove basic Helveticas from rest of collection.
Problems: Apple’s Helvetica.dfont has no italics!
Helvetica: CreativeTechs’ 2007 Recommendation.

Stop Creating with a font named “Helvetica”

The problem is the NAME, not the design.
What if “Helvetica” was left as a System-only Font?

Start Creating with “Helvetica Neue” or “Helvetica Std”

Use a different NAME and the problems go away.
Switching to one of Adobe’s OpenType versions.

Tip: Watch out for Apple’s HelveticaNeue.dfont!

Sign Up: creativetechs.com/tips
What font problems/questions do you have?
InDesign not auto-activating How set up a brand new Mac?
How to use Classic fonts and apps I hate the bullets and numbering in MS
Trouble collaborating with others' fonts Word I know you have nothing to do
Fonts stop working, can't be activated with that, but it pisses me off
Fonts not showing up--group setting Can you create custom bullets for
• Universe condensed big culprit Word?
Word dialog boxes & not using Word
GB of fonts in Font Book making
trouble
Font outline is missing-what does it
mean?
Font that works in Font Book, and some
that only work in Suitcase
TrueType, OpenType, PS - what??!!
Do I need font management software
Can I get rid of Asian fonts?
How to organize multiple copies of fonts