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On the Mac, we use Suitcase to manage fonts and that is the environment I've been used to since the early 90s.
On Windows, I was familiar with and have used ATM. But, it looks like Adobe has discontinued the ATM product.
What are you using for Font Management on Windows XP?
No links please. Program names are fine
Kaled.
I'm not wild about it, but it has a relatively intuitive interface, installs and uninstalls TrueType, Type 1 and OpenType, and was $25. The company is apparently one guy... the developer... and he was right there with support, which is fortunate, because the help file leaves a lot to be desired (what else is new? ;) ).
Also, on some systems the help screen doesn't open on top (a known bug) so it's tricky to find... but the program did what I needed. It's got a money back guarantee.
I posted an inquiry at the time, and someone recommended Suitcase by Extensis, which was a bit more money than I wanted to spend. It is probably a more refined program. I'm not sure about the interface. Free trial. Incredibly uniformative website.
I never used any of them much though, aside from a few non standard fonts I use for making graphics, 98% of what I use are "web safe" fonts anyway.
And the vast majority of the free fonts are not OpenType spec - in fact I cannot recall ever seeing any freebies. Not that it is a big deal usually, but a lot of the free fonts have some bad kerning etc, so I try to stick with more or less standard fonts.
You might be able to pick it up second-hand somewhere.
Im guarding my copy of ATM :-)
I have one too, so I shall keep it close at heart. ;)
Precisely what functions do you require that are not built into Windows?
Font management. Does Windows XP have a font management utility? Can I create suitcases and open up a specific one and have it install immediately for use? Can I then close that suitcase and they uninstall?
The best thing I could find was a utility called Printer's Apprentice, from Lose Your Mind Development.
Got it right after I posted this topic. It has solved a lot of the issues I've been having and that is mainly to do with Character Maps. On the Mac there is a little extension called PopChars that allows you to click a small icon in the toolbar and see the complete character mapping for the font you have selected. It's a killer feature and I'm not aware of one for Windows. Is there?
On the Mac there is a little extension called PopChars that allows you to click a small icon in the toolbar and see the complete character mapping for the font you have selected. It's a killer feature and I'm not aware of one for Windows. Is there?
Sounds like your talking about what is in fact called "Character Map" in Windows. I use it enough that I have a shortcut to it on my desktop. Here's the path to it...
C:\WINDOWS\system32\charmap.exe
In your XP Start menu, you find it under...
Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Character Map
It has a flaw shared by a lot of otherwise good books... the index isn't too helpful unless you already know what something is called... but it contains a lot of good information and I couldn't function without it. I use it as a reference book.
Let me know if you want some suggestions for some other basic utilities. They'd be off topic in this thread. (I know that software threads are subject to a lot of self-promotion, but there ought to be a way of getting through some basics without getting too problematic).
Sounds like your talking about what is in fact called "Character Map" in Windows. I use it enough that I have a shortcut to it on my desktop.
Arrrggghhh! How long has that been there? Has that always been a Windows feature?
Thanks RC!
Kaled.
If I thought there was a demand for such a beast I'd create a stand-alone version.
With ATM no longer being offered, that leaves a gap I believe in the Windows Font Management area (big boys). There appear to be hundreds, if not thousands of third party font management tools. The Printer's Apprentice is serving my purpose at the moment.
The question was asked earlier in regards to what kind of font management was required outside of what Windows offers. When you are working with various font libraries; Adobe, Bitstream, Linotype, etc., there are tens of thousands of fonts to manage. Yes, I do work with a wide variety of fonts and have been referred to as the "font meister" in some parts of woods. But, that is all on a Mac, using Suitcase since I can remember (early 90s). I never had to manage that many fonts on a PC.
Within Suitcase, I'm able to build client folders and then have their fonts separate and ready to load at a clicks notice. Does Windows have something like that by default?
