Font Manager
Gorr (41 pencils) | Sun, 2011-10-16 10:08Hey guys
I recently bought a Mac for the first time (yes... omg!). I've been trying to find a free font manager for it. I used to have suitcase fusion on my windows machine, but I can't be bothered paying for it on mac. The Macbook was already expensive so I'm trying to find a free alternative.
I tried using the font book application which comes with OS X, but it seems that one loads every font into the system, even if you choose "deactivate". Needless to say with a ton of fonts, that is not what I want. It slows the whole computer down.
Any suggestions? I'm working on Lion btw.
Commenting on this Forum topic is closed.
I'm not technician, but I suspect that if something is slowing you down under Lion, something is very wrong, and it has nothing to do with fonts. By the way, slow compared with what? What Mac did you buy, and with how much "juice"?
I don't like Font Book myself, so I'm not here to pimp it, but are you sure you've really studied how to use it?
Where are you storing your fonts -- not the system ones, which Lion has where it wants them and you must not move them from there -- but your proprietary ones? They should ONLY be in User/Library/Fonts, not System/Library/Fonts. You can, of course, keep a folder, with or without subfolders, of your fonts anywhere else on your hard drive. I keep all of mine copied in a folder called "Font Families" outside the Fonts folder but in User/Library.
Do you have any fonts that aren't compatible with Mac OS possibly clogging things up? Freebies that are full of bugs? Free fonts can cause a lot more trouble than they're worth ;)
Mara
I spent quite a bit of time exploring the font 'issue' for my MBP, because I was having a lot of issues with font book and Quark. As far as I could tell, none of the free font managers for mac are considered especially comprehensive. I did the free trial of Font Xplorer and was really digging it... just as my trial expired. I haven't shelled out the cash yet to buy a license, but I plan to (unless someone else answers your post with a better solution!).
If you come across something free, please share!
From success to failure is one step. From failure to success is a long road.
I still have Font Xplorer around somewhere. I remember using it for a while and I liked it. Now let's see...where....
Edited to add: Oh. It bit the dust when I installed Lion.
Mara
ive never had any issues with fontbook loading any deactivated fonts.
i used to be an old "suitcase" guy. but since osX came round with its fontbook. ive used it without issues.
ive been in the biz for about 20 years and have found that most font problems come down to the presence of cheap, knock-off fonts.
+1 on cheap, knock-off fonts.
Mara
Suitcase here. Fontbook is fine, however I have run into problems when the number of fonts gets up in the stratosphere. Since I do publications every month, it's not unusual to have hundreds of fonts loaded at once. Suitcase just seems to do a better job with large numbers.
I was a Suitcase guy for many years (and ATM pro before that - shows how old I am!).
However, since switching to Fontexplorer I've never looked back. The free version (v1.2.3) is rock solid and has all the features I need. Get it here (http://fex.linotype.com/FontExplorerX123.dmg)
C