Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 3/9/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi Kevin,

I have Postscript, Opentype and Truetype fonts on my system
-Windows PC SP2. I am using A. Illustrator CS3. I cannot see the postscript fonts inside Illustrator but they are in system and I can access them alongwith Truetype & Opentype in other programs like Freehand.

Any idea how to get these PS fonts working in Illustrator C S3?
Some PS fonts that I have, are only available in PS and I have received a file from a client that uses some of those PS fonts.

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Bashir

ANSWER: Hi Bashir,

You should be using a font management program, such as suitcase, font explorer or font agent. This will fix your issue. What is happening is your fonts are located throughout your system and not in one location where all applications can find them. Using a FM app will take care of this and keep your system clean.

Kevin




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for such a quick response.

All the fonts ARE in one location i.e. FONTS folder.

Will that info help?

Bashir

Answer
Hi Bashir,

No, the fact that they are in one location does not change things. Illustrator and other programs may not recognize some fonts if they are not compatible or if you have a large amount of fonts in this folder.

Placing all your fonts in one location ie. the fonts folder in the system takes up a HUGE chunk of memory and may not load all of the fonts in your apps at the same time. There are two options you can do, either invest in a FM app. which can run about $75 US, or manage manually, by adding and removing fonts from the system fonts folder as needed to keep the total down to a manageable size.

I get these kinds of questions a lot (several times a month) and each time, installing a FM application has repaired any font-related issues with systems.

Thanks

Kevin