Expert: Kevin Stohlmeyer - 4/2/2010

Question
QUESTION: I am the old user of Adobe Illustrator CS3 and using Window HP 2003. I am wondering why some fonts can be done in CorelDRAW 12, but these can't be done at all in Adobe Illustrator. Let me know what the problem is. What should I do to make the above fonts be done as I want? I'll attach one font that can't be done in Adobe Illustrator 3? What kind of fonts must I use, for example, True Type font or Opentype font? What is the difference between both? What is the best type for running fonts in Adobe Illustrator CS3? I am looking forward to your answers and all experienced explanations?

Yours Sincerely,

WIN,

ANSWER: Hi Win,

The simple answer is not all fonts are compatible with Illustrator. Just because a font loads in another program does not automatically mean that it will run in Illustrator. There is no list of incompatible fonts available, its mostly trial and error, but sticking with Open Type will help.

I use OpenType fonts whenever possible over True Type as they are more compatible with most applications and they give you a lot more options than basic True Type fonts. True Type has a limited number of characters available while Open Type is almost limitless due to the new format.


Thanks

Kevin

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

QUESTION: Dear Kevin,

Thanks for your important explanation. I understood most of yours, but any not. I mean how I can know it's OpenType fonts or True Type. Can I convert True Type to OpenType? Which program or method? I thought the OpenType fonts will be able to be used in Adobe Illustrator. Is it true?

Thanks so much,

Yours sincerely,

WIN

Answer
Hi Win,

In your character list, an icon appears before the text the "O" means open type and "TT" means true type (the "A" are Adobe Fonts). Normally open type fonts have "pro" or "std" (standard) as a suffix to the name.

There is no way for you to convert True Type to Open Type. You would have to purchase an open type copy of a TT font (if available). They are two completely different formats and non-transferrable.

Open type fonts are able to be used in any application, not just Illustrator.

Thanks

Kevin