Font Manager

[stmartin]

I tried to open a PDF with two missing fonts.
Is it impossible at this stage to replace a font via the Font Manager, if you replaced it with the standard replacement font while opening the PDF?

[R C-R]

I think it is impossible because once they are replaced they are no longer missing. So if you want to be able to replace a missing font later, I believe the only way to do that is to not tick the "Replace missing fonts" checkbox on import.

[stmartin]

11 hours ago, R C-R said:

I think it is impossible because once they are replaced they are no longer missing. So if you want to be able to replace a missing font later, I believe the only way to do that is to not tick the "Replace missing fonts" checkbox on import.

I know, that was my point. So the Font Manager is quite useless at the moment. 

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, stmartin said:

So the Font Manager is quite useless at the moment. 

It is not useless if you do not use "Replace missing fonts" during imports.

[stmartin]

34 minutes ago, R C-R said:

It is not useless if you do not use "Replace missing fonts" during imports.

In InDesign I can change used fonts at any time. What I use quite often. So why the restriction?
And yes, Publisher has to compare with InDesign.

[Move Along People]

-

[stmartin]

So could anyone please explain to me what the Font Manager is good for?

[carl123]

Just don't "Replace missing fonts" on import and you get much more flexibility in the Font Manager to do what you want with them later

 

[Alfred]

1 minute ago, carl123 said:

Just don't "Replace missing fonts" on import and you get much more flexibility in the Font Manager to do what you want with them later

I think the problem here is that there isn’t a clear enough distinction between (temporary) substitution and (permanent) replacement.

[carl123]

6 minutes ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

I think the problem here is that there isn’t a clear enough distinction between (temporary) substitution and (permanent) replacement.

If you explicitly tell the program to Replace the fonts on import that is clearly a permanent request/decision on your part

If you don't do that and use Font Manage to manage the missing fonts, using substitutions, then that is clearly temporary as you can change those substitutions at any time

[Alfred]

27 minutes ago, carl123 said:

If you explicitly tell the program to Replace the fonts on import that is clearly a permanent request/decision on your part

If you don't do that and use Font Manage to manage the missing fonts, using substitutions, then that is clearly temporary as you can change those substitutions at any time

You and I are used to the font substitutions mechanism in the ‘Plus’ applications, where we would use F&R if we wanted permanent replacements, but my point is that the fact of ‘Replace’ being permanent isn’t explicitly stated anywhere in the Affinity apps.

[Wosven]

1 hour ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

You and I are used to the font substitutions mechanism in the ‘Plus’ applications, where we would use F&R if we wanted permanent replacements, but my point is that the fact of ‘Replace’ being permanent isn’t explicitly stated anywhere in the Affinity apps.

With other apps when you replace a font you replace a font. That's all.

The trick is to replace it with another you never use (ex.: Courier New or Comic sans MS — if you didn't delete this one > you could tell clients you don't have it) so you would see later where and how it is used in the document and which font replacement is better suited for this document.
Since you plan to replace "Courier/Comic" with another font later.

[Alfred]

22 minutes ago, Wosven said:

With other apps when you replace a font you replace a font. That's all.

In PagePlus when you replace a font (via ‘Find & Replace’) you replace the font just as you would in other apps, but when you open a document with missing fonts you get a dialog asking whether you want to edit the font substitutions or to accept the program’s automatic substitutions. Whichever option you choose, the original fonts are retained in the document when you resave it: this means that when you subsequently open it on a computer which has those fonts installed, you see it as originally intended (instead of finding it littered with instances of Comic Sans MS which you’d have to change back again, perhaps inadvertently changing some instances which were really meant to be there).

[vonBusing]

Interesting. I was not fully aware of how font substitution during pdf import actually worked. My related question is: how do you substitute (document-wide) an exiting font in an Affinity document?

[Seneca]

6 minutes ago, vonBusing said:

how do you substitute (document-wide) an exiting font in an Affinity document?

Document > Font Manager...

[vonBusing]

Thanks @Seneca, but, what I can see and as @stmartin stated above, one cannot do a document-wide substitution of an existing font that is OK from that panel.

[Seneca]

18 minutes ago, vonBusing said:

one cannot do a document-wide substitution of an existing font that is OK from that panel.

Yes, sorry, you are right.

Then try to find and replace feature.

Text > Find ...

You can search for any formatting, including font, paragraph styles, character styles and see whether that works for you, but it should.

[Seneca]

Of course the best way to deal with this sort of thing is to have styles.

You define styles for your document and then simply update your styles with the fonts you need.

[vonBusing]

Thanks @Seneca for the suggestions. Using styles properly is, of course, the most elegant way. But Text>Find was a powerful tool I had not tried before, and it did the job pretty well.

[Wosven]

2 hours ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

In PagePlus when you replace a font (via ‘Find & Replace’) you replace the font just as you would in other apps, but when you open a document with missing fonts you get a dialog asking whether you want to edit the font substitutions or to accept the program’s automatic substitutions. Whichever option you choose, the original fonts are retained in the document when you resave it: this means that when you subsequently open it on a computer which has those fonts installed, you see it as originally intended (instead of finding it littered with instances of Comic Sans MS which you’d have to change back again, perhaps inadvertently changing some instances which were really meant to be there).

If you don't ask to modify/replace fonts in the Styles, they'll keep on being missing next time you open the document..

The replacement when opening a document is only for display on screen (so it wouldn't be too messed up).

The trick with easily reconizable fonts* is when you know you won't have the fonts and you need to use different ones: that's a fast way to see where they are used and replaced them, since it's usefull to gauge what is needed at first glance (You see this font is only used for titles and subtitles, you'll go for a bolder and more interesting font that usually used for body text where you need one more readable than fancy). And avoiding bad replacement with a font already in use in other parts of the document.
That's when you need to use find & replace (and in styles too) once the document is opened.

 

If you don't define replacement fonts when opening the document, you can usually set a default replacement font for the app (for display), or it can try to use similar fonts.

 

You can work on a document with missing fonts and wait later to open it with them, but usually it's a waste of time.
I work on a long documents made with Arial and there's a subtle difference between the 2 "same" fonts (2 different computers) I work with. I need to readjust part of the text each time I switch preprocess work to final computer work. (Not enough to replace the font for the same version on the 2 computer, but I wouldn't work with another font than the required one in a document, it would be worst.)
If I really need a font in a document, I'd rather wait to get it or be allow to replace it if it's impossible than working with replacement fonts.

* First thing is to open the document and look at the mess, before deciding what is needed and which fonts are in use (I wouldn't be sorry for replacing "by error" certain fonts like the one mentioned )

[Alfred]

7 minutes ago, Wosven said:

If you don't ask to modify/replace fonts in the Styles, they'll keep on being missing next time you open the document.

That’s exactly what you need if you’re trying to avoid a “bad” replacement, isn’t it? If you have two computers, only one of which has the required fonts installed, the last thing you want is for those fonts to be replaced in the saved document (because you would then have to open the file on the “good” computer, change them back again and resave the file).

[Wosven]

35 minutes ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

That’s exactly what you need if you’re trying to avoid a “bad” replacement, isn’t it? If you have two computers, only one of which has the required fonts installed, the last thing you want is for those fonts to be replaced in the saved document (because you would then have to open the file on the “good” computer, change them back again and resave the file).

For this Arial problem, it's not missing, I never checked it but it should be a slight difference in kerning of this font version, and ID don't seem to use the one in the "Document  Fonts" folder associated to the document. It's not a problem, this isn't long text like a novel but lot of data in short paragraphs I need to block page to page, and check at different stages before final PDF. There's not enough difference between fonts to add a page or a line, but text align left will take a little bit more space with one of the font.

As a general rule, I wouldn't work with substitute or missing fonts, and avoid this feature. If I need to change fonts, I do it and I work after on the pages. You can't block your pages/articles with missing or substitute fonts: once the correct fonts are in use, you'll need to adjust again for your texts and your pictures to use all the available space, your columns to be balanced, avoid override, etc.
That's one of the first thing people learn when disabling "hightligh missing fonts" in ID and working with substitutes.

It would be interesting to have the same feature as in ID: APub being able to use fonts stored in a specific folder at same level as the document. App for fonts management like Suitcase are more and more bugged (OSes implementing new features for managing new fonts are part of the problem too!)

[Old Bruce]

7 hours ago, Seneca said:

Of course the best way to deal with this sort of thing is to have styles.

You define styles for your document and then simply update your styles with the fonts you need.

 

6 hours ago, vonBusing said:

Thanks @Seneca for the suggestions. Using styles properly is, of course, the most elegant way. But Text>Find was a powerful tool I had not tried before, and it did the job pretty well.

Thanks to Seneca and vonBusing for the tip about using the Find and Replace panel/pane to find specific fonts by calling up the Format window/panel/pane (from the Gear icon on the right of "Find" and "Replace"). I noticed that there is a Missing Font in the list of fonts in there. I don't have a document with missing fonts "in" it so I can't test it. Sorry.
 

[Alfred]

17 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

Thanks to Seneca and vonBusing for the tip about using the Find and Replace panel/pane to find specific fonts by calling up the Format window/panel/pane (from the Gear icon on the right of "Find" and "Replace"). I noticed that there is a Missing Font in the list of fonts in there. I don't have a document with missing fonts "in" it so I can't test it. Sorry.

I created a document in Affinity Designer on iPad, using a couple of fonts that I don’t have installed on my Windows machine. As expected, I got a ‘Document contains missing fonts’ warning when I opened the file in Publisher beta build 128, but when I visited the Text menu and chose the ‘Find...’ option the app crashed. On relaunching the app and trying again the app didn’t crash; however, choosing the ‘Missing’ option on the right-hand side merely shows ‘[No change]’ in the font family dropdown list on the left (instead of allowing me to specify a font).

[walt.farrell]

16 minutes ago, αℓƒяє∂ said:

however, choosing the ‘Missing’ option on the right-hand side 

I haven't found that option; can you show where it is, please?