Using fonts in Publisher

[sammyd]

What are the guidelines for opening fonts, do you use suitcase fusion which normally requires a plugin for the Application.

[Sabine 108]

I've started to use "RightFont" and I like it's features. Using it in Publisher works even better than in InDesign (CS6).
At least for me

[jmwellborn]

There is also Typeface 2, which I have just discovered.    It has some very nice ways to manage/create collections of fonts.   And the added advantage, according to one reviewer on the Apple App Store of "Auto Activation in Affinity Apps (and others)."   That was what sold me.   It is half the price of RightFont as an added incentive.   

[rumo]

On 11/20/2018 at 8:17 PM, jmwellborn said:

There is also Typeface 2, which I have just discovered.    It has some very nice ways to manage/create collections of fonts.   And the added advantage, according to one reviewer on the Apple App Store of "Auto Activation in Affinity Apps (and others)."   That was what sold me.   It is half the price of RightFont as an added incentive.   

Thank you very much for pointing me to this app. I used Fontexplorer for years and it always worked perfectly, though it came at a high price point. So I gave Fontbase and Rightfont a try, both with Indesign and now with Affinity Publisher (no auto-activation with Publisher here). Both came with an interface too simple for my tasks and some flaws like bad font detection with Publisher (so I had them activate manually).

Typeface works like a charm. It still lacks my appreciated fontlists checkboxes (helps with activating fonts very quickly) and the given activation button is ridiculously small. But its fast, easy to use and comes at a reasonable price.

[wonderings]

The plugins for Suitcase Fusion and other apps are generally for auto activation from the software. So if you were to open a job in Indesign and the font was not activated Suitcase would then activate automatically. You can still activate the font manually from Suitcase and have it work in all software without plugins, just not auto activation. 

[rumo]

On 3/16/2020 at 1:23 PM, wonderings said:

The plugins for Suitcase Fusion and other apps are generally for auto activation from the software. So if you were to open a job in Indesign and the font was not activated Suitcase would then activate automatically. You can still activate the font manually from Suitcase and have it work in all software without plugins, just not auto activation. 

That is true. It’s just not that convenient that there is no plugin for FEX as far as I know and there other font managers I’ve tested were a bit buggy. Can’t speak for Suitcase though as I never get used to its UI.

[wonderings]

Personally use FontExplore Pro, prefer it over Suitcase though it has been years since I used Suitcase. With Indesign packaged files I find I do not need or use FontExplorer much anymore. I am anal about packaging files so all fonts and everything necessary is there and Indesign sees the fonts in the "Document fonts" folder and does not need activating. 

[Jeremy Bohn]

I used to use FontAgent but ditched them when my old version no longer worked in 64-bit. Newer versions are 64-bit but it seems the features they remove outweigh the benefits of them rewriting the app to modern standards. I checked out both RightFont and Typeface and found RightFont to be closer to my needs but not quite there, or enough to actually buy it, but I did send a few suggestions to the developer. I think it needs a more professional list of fonts, just the names without previews, and you see the preview in a separate panel only when you click on the font. This is needed when you have thousands of fonts to scroll through. The previewed view takes up too much room, slowing you down. Also the ability to have auto-activation happen without the app open (FontAgent can do this).

[garrettm30]

I am another Typeface user. I think it is a good app for the price, so it depends on your needs. A couple of things that I like about it: first, you can have additional font folders. For example, in my small organization, we have a folder on Dropbox for the fonts of our organization, and I can tell Typeface to look in that folder for activating fonts. Similarly, you can sync the entire Google Fonts collection. Second thing I like is the auto-activation of fonts. It doesn't always work perfectly, but it usually does work. (When it hasn't worked in the past, I can't remember whether that was for InDesign or all other apps including Publisher, as that apparently is a separate mechanism.)

I don't think the app is perfect, but understanding that, it has my cautious recommendation. I am satisfied to stay with it. One of the things encouraging about it is that it is actively developed. Every few months something new comes along. I actually purchased it before Typeface 2, and when 2 came along, we did not have to purchase again. In fact, both of my favorite features I mentioned above came after I made the purchase. So like Affinity itself, I see Typeface 2 to be a fairly-priced app with great potential for future growth.

One thing to note when using auto-activation in conjunction with Publisher is Publisher will report missing fonts in a just-opened document before Typeface has the chance to activate them. Then after a couple seconds Typeface will make the font available. Another issue is that if you link an aPub document into another document, and the linked document has fonts that are not activated, Typeface won't activate those fonts. The solution there is to open the linked document separately so Typeface can know to open them, and then those fonts will also be available in the other document containing the linked document. (I hope that made sense!)

EDIT: I forgot to give the link to the website and mention that there is a free trial:

https://typefaceapp.com

Edited March 19, 2020 by garrettm30
Edit is noted in post

[Jeremy Bohn]

2 hours ago, garrettm30 said:

One thing to note when using auto-activation in conjunction with Publisher is Publisher will report missing fonts in a just-opened document before Typeface has the chance to activate them. Then after a couple seconds Typeface will make the font available. Another issue is that if you link an aPub document into another document, and the linked document has fonts that are not activated, Typeface won't activate those fonts. The solution there is to open the linked document separately so Typeface can know to open them, and then those fonts will also be available in the other document containing the linked document. (I hope that made sense!)

Exactly as it worked with InDesign and FontAgent.

[Fixx]

Does Typeface keep fonts in their original folders? I think RightFont did tend to move them to some location of its own. Also, RightFont did not accept many older fonts (even when they were OTF) but rejected them. Is Typeface more forgiving?

[garrettm30]

37 minutes ago, Fixx said:

Does Typeface keep fonts in their original folders?

It leaves them where you put them. It will look in the three system font folders to start with, and you can make additional folders for fonts and tell it where to look, such as my example with Dropbox. Here is a quote from the support page:

Quote

Typeface will activate your fonts in-place. This means that Typeface won’t copy or move your font files, but will simply reference them. The advantage is that you can manage your files & directories however you want in Finder, Typeface won’t touch them.

 

41 minutes ago, Fixx said:

Also, RightFont did not accept many older fonts (even when they were OTF) but rejected them. Is Typeface more forgiving?

I'm not 100% sure about that. I had some really old Postscript Type 1 fonts (the kind that come with a pair of files: FFIL & LWFN) that I thought didn't work in the past. However, it seems that they are showing up in Typeface now. I have one such font here where the file was last modified in 1993, and it is showing up in Typeface and is activated when I open an afpub document that uses it.

Since there is a free demo, and since it does not move fonts around, I think you could try it out yourself (not that I mind answering questions). The developer also seems to be reachable. I just wrote the dev today and got a very nice response soon after.

[Jeremy Bohn]

I just gave Typeface another look and I remember why I crossed it off my list. Unless I missed something, there is only one view type. I find Typeface's grid too cluttered, and harder to see the name of the font. I want a normal list in a plain font and a preview when I click on the font to the right or below, plus be able to quickly switch the preview between a customer phrase and all characters.

RightFont seems to be a bit more what I need, but again it lacks more professional view options. The list view is a bit easier for me to look at than Typeface's grid but I'd still prefer a plain list and separate preview especially having thousands of fonts to scroll through.

[dominik]

4 hours ago, Jeremy Bohn said:

I want a normal list in a plain font and a preview when I click on the font to the right or below, plus be able to quickly switch the preview between a customer phrase and all characters.

Main Type does this. But it is Windows only.

But the custom phrase is only available in the font list, not the preview. I do not know if this has changed in Version 9.

Cheers,
d.

[BrandZing]

I loaded Affinity Publisher and also downloaded the Montebella Font folder and web font but it would not load in Font Book on my MacBook Pro, using Catalina OS?

Why on earth are Fonts still an issue in this day and age?!? How do I use the Font Affinity provided with Affinity Publisher purchase?

[walt.farrell]

10 hours ago, BrandZing said:

I loaded Affinity Publisher and also downloaded the Montebella Font folder and web font but it would not load in Font Book on my MacBook Pro, using Catalina OS?

Which "it" would not install?

The Montebello Font folder has 8 fonts (4 each in .otf and in .ttf).

The web font probably would not install, as it is for use on a server (but I don't know that for sure).

[BrandZing]

I read a lot of the forums and noticed many suggestions to use the Typeface app and it worked correctly to load the Montebella font that Affinity included with purchase of Affinity Publisher.

Why was the Apple Font Book app not able to load the font?? I have purchased many of the best 3rd party Font handling apps in the past 2-plus decades but I am shocked that loading and storing some fonts still requires a 3rd party app!?

[Jeremy Bohn]

That very strange. I haven't had a problem with it (Publisher in the background, FontBook in the foreground):

[Petar Petrenko]

Quark included font manager in it's new release 2020. Maybe a good place for a new idea for A-Team?