Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT
iPad, Other OS
i actually went to Pages today expecting font importing to have been added in one of the many updates that have gone by and i couldnt see how to do it so i googled it and this discussion popped up. this discussion has been going on since 2010, it's 2012 right now. this shouldn't be a discussion anymore. i dont even know if anyone at apple can read this but you guys gotta get on your apps. its kind of embarrassing that pages can do a bunch of cool things and yet it can't use external fonts when every other app can. even apps that aren't even word processors like idraw can import fonts, you guys need to get on that now. its 2012 we got a robot walking around on mars, pages needs font importing NOW.
I don't see any other app which can "import fonts". Can you explain what you mean by that? iOS is a closed system and users can't add fonts to it. Individual apps can have their own, non-Apple fonts, but no other apps can use them.
It's just other users in these forums, but you can ask Apple to improve things via
So what's your point? Let me explain to you the difference between specifics like "iOS is a closed system" and the average consumer experience:
iDraw can import fonts.
Pages cannot.
This is what the user experiences- he doesn't care if iOS is a closed system and fonts can't be shared across apps- he only knows that iDraw CAN IMPORT FONTS and Pages CANNOT period.
What is your point bringing up apps not being able to share fonts? What does that have anything to do with PAGES not being able to import fonts? Why are you trying to steer? Did I say that I wanted fonts to be available across the system? No. I said I wanted Pages to be able to import fonts period. Pages. That's all I asked.
I want you to understand that I'm speaking from an average user experience, and the average user simply wants to USE their own fonts. And in 2012, on the iPad, this is possible with many other apps. If this is possible with other apps, to USE your own fonts- then why can't Pages? This is super simple. There's absolutely no reason to steer this discussion and bring doubt to what I'm talking about. No need to put "import fonts" into quotes- you should've just looked it up yourself before even responding. I said iDraw right? Go to the iTunes store and look up iDraw. Now scroll down the features and notice it says "Import Fonts".
What this says to the user... is that HE CAN USE HIS OWN FONTS. Doesn't say if other apps can use it, but you know what- that's okay because he knows as long as he's using THIS app, he CAN USE HIS OWN FONTS. It's been 2 years, you don't think people've been suggesting this to Apple in the span of 2 years? I'm going to leave a feedback with them but I almost guarantee you Apple will ignore it. Nay, I promise you this.
CalChan wrote:
he only knows that iDraw CAN IMPORT FONTS and Pages CANNOT period.
I do see your point. But iDraw is a drawing program which cannot produce any kind of editable text document, which is rather different from Pages or any other word processing app. Do you know of a word processor which can import fonts? If so, that would be strong argument for Apple to follow suit and deviate from their standard approach where fonts belong to the OS and not to apps.
I'm not quite sure what you're going on about. I feel you're once again trying to steer the discussion into justifying Apple's position on whether or not we should even include the ability to import fonts in Pages. Look, it's pretty simple:
1. Word processors on actual computers allow the user to use whatever font they wish.
2. Word processors on iPad do not allow the user to use whatever font they wish, currently.
3. It's proven that iPad apps have the ability to allow the user to use whatever font they wish.
I mean, how is watching and waiting to see if any other word processor does it first, moving forward? Does Apple only build things because the market thinks its a good idea? Or does not Apple build things because it would be a good idea?
iDraw is a vector drawing program that can produce documents where text is editable. The ability is there. Or maybe I don't understand your argument: did you not think apps could produce editable text documents that carry font information? Because they all can and do. It's just Pages doesn't allow the importing of fonts and iDraw does. That's basically it. It's not that Pages, because it's a word processor, can't produce documents with any font- that's not true. All they have to do is build a part of Pages that houses custom fonts and when the document refers to the font, it finds it and applies it.
However, if you're taking the stance that word processors on iPad should only be allowed to use system fonts because of some weird idealogy- that's kind of backwards. Pages in OSX can use any fonts that the user chooses- and they start writing a paper in OSX and then send it to their iPad to finish it later using Pages on iPad and their fonts are gone. And then imagine their frustration (my frustration) when they find there is no option at all for custom fonts, when there could've been. You can finish writing it, but now you have to send it back into your Macbook if you want to send it with the font you wanted.
Here's the thing, you go from computer to computer, there are going to be different fonts anyways. You might have to install a font here and there when using other computers, but you know what, you might as well have Pages on your Mac and Pages on your iPad carry the same font. At least give me the ability to do that. What's stupid to begin with is that they both didn't come with the same set of fonts, stock. Where's Myriad? Where's Garamond? Come on, at least put Garamond in there. It is only natural to assume iWork on OSX to work seamlessly with iWork on iPad, so when it doesn't, even in a small way, it *****. Yeah, Pages for iPad has cool new features, that's great- but don't remove standard functionality.
And bottomline, if you want Apple to continue being innovative- don't join in with the fanboyism and justify everything they do or decide not to do, if that is what your'e doing. I have an Apple product and it doesn't do something I wish it did, even though we all know it CAN do it. The nazi behavior where people think we need to do what Apple thinks is best needs to stop.
TouchDraw is another drawing app that supports TTF fonts via iTunes App (touchdraw) sync. Text in app remains fully editable with uploaded TTF font...
Joe Storm wrote:
TouchDraw is another drawing app that supports TTF fonts via iTunes App (touchdraw) sync. Text in app remains fully editable with uploaded TTF font...
Thanks for that info, very useful to know.
It's too bad that such apps can't export to any of the formats normally used for editable word processing docs, so that they could serve as an alternative to Pages and others which do not have the font import capability.
Note Steve Jobs biggest contribution to computers as far as he was concerned was elegant fonts, this may be why even though the underlying system's GUI (NeXTOS) was based on postscript output, Adobe is also a competitor and Postscript may still have patents held by adobe that limit what iOS can use without paying royalties to Adobe. Also, fonts use memory, and its possible you could exploit memory to write over kernel memory and possibly install a rootkit on the iPad thereby making it into a node on the zombie nets.
BS
No there really is no reason for this not to be a feature of the iPad, BY THE WAY , Steve is dead, you have no reason to be @ maca$$h°le anymore..
Because he was the king of a manipulators, 99% open source coders who knew steve would agree.
Oh I forgot, technically Postscript is a stack based computer language based on Fourth, as I recall, and has had viral exploits before targeted at printers, as far I know, Apple ha not permitted people to use interpretive languages on the iOS platform, for fear that people might use them to exploit vulnerabilities and permit malware to be installed on the iPad.
Recall Visual Basic + Outlook malware on Windows platform, thats something to fear..
Technically, iOS supports fonts within an app. So eventually it makes sense that such a feature be added to a word processor, be it Pages or another one. Supporting add-on fonts is probably more a political decision that Apple took for whatever reason, the same way they decided not to support any communication besides Wi-Fi.
You can install any TTF or OTF font on an iOS 7 device with an app called AnyFont. https://itunes.apple.com/de/app/anyfont/id821560738?mt=8
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<Edited by Host>
It's funny that the last two replies span 2 years... and it's still relevant. I think this will forever be on the back burner. No worries, everyone's probably learned to walk with the limp by now.
CalChan wrote:
I think this will forever be on the back burner.
What are you referring to? The problem is solved, Apple opened iOS to user installation of fonts with iOS 7, and now there are at least 3 apps to do it.
I was referring to a native ability, which maybe I've missed it and you know how to do it- if you could list the steps that'd be appreciated 🙂. There are apps you can download (like the one above) but if you know of a free one, please let me know. I just find it weird if you go into a restaurant pay for your meal and another company charges you for something like napkins, when pretty much for the last century napkins should come with your meal.
Adding a font to pages for Ipad
