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Cannot use fonts in Font Book - Please help

Hello - I cannot seem to find any answers on this. I have numerous Macs and about a year ago most of the fonts that I used all the time disappeared from the menus. They are still there in Font Book, they are validated, and yet they do not show up in the menus of Mail, Preview, Photos, etc.

In particular I really need to use Apple Chancery. It is in Font Book and validated.

I am not at all clear on the point of Font Book if the fonts there are not available to use. There must be something that I have to do or change since we upgraded to High Sierra - its the only thing I can think of that changed from when we could use it before.

If anyone can help this would be greatly appreciated!

iMac 21.5" 4K, macOS 10.13

Posted on Nov 20, 2019 10:33 AM

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Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Posted on Nov 22, 2019 7:08 AM

Just because I was on a bit of a roll, I dug a little deeper. 🙂

Turns outs this is a problem Apple themselves have created. It all goes back to where Seravek and the other fonts I mentioned earlier won't show up in Apple's own apps. Apple dumps a whole bunch of paired files onto the drive that go with each font installed by the OS. They're at:

/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/

Frameworks/ATS.framework/Versions/A/Resources/FontInfo/

While they've been included with the Mac OS for a long time, these dumb things now appear to be tied to SIP and have something to do with protecting the system from hacked versions of the fonts. That's my assumption anyway since this whole issue with "ghost" fonts started with the introduction of SIP. If the checksum (or whatever method Apple is using) doesn't match the info of these files, the fonts won't appear in Apple's apps. Third party apps can still use them, though. Which makes the entire idea of checking them in the first place entirely pointless.

How do these buried files figure in? Charter used to be in the list of OS supplied fonts that wouldn't work. In the 10.13.4 update, Charter was updated, and I presume also its matching support files. All of a sudden, that font started working everywhere! They also updated Iowan Old Style further back (don't recall which OS that happened in), but then that font suddenly stopped working and has been broken since.

Seriously. Why does Apple bother with these .ATSD and .fontinfo files? All they do is cause unnecessary problems.

Can you get around it? Yes, if you have a font editor and do nothing but generate a new, unique font file. I opened Apple Chancery in FontLab IV and did nothing but save it back out as a .otf OpenType PostScript font. And voila, now being considered a third party font, it appears everywhere, just like it already should!

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26 replies

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Nov 20, 2019 1:19 PM in response to EdgemontFarm

When you use Font Book to install your own fonts, the Fonts folder in your user account is where they go by default. If you haven't added any third party fonts, then yes, it will be empty.

Yes, those are all the default collections the OS installs for Font Book. But they'll also be in the new test account you just created. Since the problem is the same there, it's very unlikely removing these files in your normal account will help.

EdgemontFarm Author

Level 1

58 points

Nov 20, 2019 1:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Okay - I'll need to prepare more for reinstalling the OS, as I'm running Parallels & quickbooks and a bunch of other things I need to make sure are all set for me to do such a thing (LOL). I am assuming that reinstalling the OS means I have to start all over with various AIDs, preferences, etc. I share calendars, contacts, messages with other AIDs from home & office etc.

Also I'm still running High Sierra so am I correct that I can just do this from the recovery disk in my computer by restarting with Command+R?

Thank you all so much for your help!

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Nov 20, 2019 1:34 PM in response to EdgemontFarm

Also I'm still running High Sierra so am I correct that I can just do this from the recovery disk in my computer by restarting with Command+R?

Yes, and with that particular key combination, it will reinstall the same OS already being used.

Only OS items are replaced. All user installed apps, settings and such remain as they are. Assuming nothing goes wrong, that is.

EdgemontFarm Author

Level 1

58 points

Nov 20, 2019 3:22 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Just one extra thing to mention - my iMac at home also running High Sierra 10.13.6 does the exact same behavior. Before I do a total reinstall of the OS, it seems bizarre that both computers would have this same issue, no?

Is it for certain that it would be normal in Preview of a jpg or png that the font pulldown would have all the fonts including Apple Chancery? And its not just some quirk of High Sierra?

I just don't want to do this if it turns out to not be the case that the fonts would appear in Preview or Photos (LOL)

Just as additional info, in Photos I can go to Markup, Edit, pull down "Show All Fonts" and can see then to choose All Fonts instead of the default "English" but regardless of what you do in that window, the type on the image you are editing will not change font or color or respond in any way unless you pull down from the font pulldown inside the photos app window, limiting you back to the same "English" only choices.

If you guys are certain that it should be normal that 10.13.6 should show all the font choices in Preview and Photos I will do it!

Thanks!

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Nov 21, 2019 6:50 AM in response to EdgemontFarm

Hmm, it's really strange to me you're having the same issue on two entirely different Macs. I used High Sierra well into Mojave's release (it was too much for an old 2010 Mac Pro, even with an upgraded video card installed). Never had those kinds of font issues. But then, I also never use Font Book or Mail (both removed from the drive).

But that does make the idea of reinstalling OS seem rather pointless. It won't hurt anything to try, but from what you describe, it may not change anything, either.

The "English" set in Font Book is rather self explanatory. It doesn't list non-English language fonts such as Kohinoor or Myanmar MN. All, of course, just means all fonts collectively in the three main Fonts folders (System, Library, user account).

What you're seeing is pretty odd. You've already done all of the easier steps that normally work, and you're still not seeing fonts that are active. At least, I presume if you look at Apple Chancery in Font Book, the name is displayed as black for active, and not gray for inactive?

EdgemontFarm Author

Level 1

58 points

Nov 21, 2019 2:46 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Thanks for your response - I also think its weird both computers do this and as I recall it started last year at this same time - it comes up because its the font our company uses on Xmas card designs which I have to do, as well as party invitations etc. I had done these every year, using Apple Chancery until last year it "disappeared."

To be honest, other than this I have never used Font Book or even knew it was there (LOL) but discovered it in trying to solve this issue. Inside Font Book Apple Chancery is indeed black and if you validate it says there are no error or issues.

The other oddity to me is that Apple Chancery is in English and one would presume would show up in the "English" group.

I thought maybe this was some new quirk in High Sierra when using Preview, when we upgraded our Macs about a year or 2 ago.

Just curious, if YOU try in your system to open something with Preview and then markup, can you see Apple Chancery in the Font pulldown?

I will try the reinstall of the OS on my home computer this weekend and see if it fixes anything - this is so weird. I'm having no other issues with either Mac, except the oddity that I can no longer change my Safari homepage without booting into Safe Mode. (I do not have Profiles, so no idea...)

EdgemontFarm Author

Level 1

58 points

Nov 22, 2019 8:18 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Dear Kurt - THANK YOU for going above and beyond to try and solve this for me. At least I know I'm not completely losing it and why Chancery was working like normal before a couple of updates ago last Xmas-ish....

I've never used (or needed) a Font Editor - Maybe I can try and find a simple non-expensive one to try this to get Chancery back? LOL!

Is Apple aware of all this? it makes ZERO sense to provide tons of fonts (especially with the name Apple in them) if we cannot use them in Photos or Preview etc. Its a shame because Chancery is one of the nicest fonts for things like invitations - simple, elegant, readable.

Meanwhile, thank you all again, for trying and preventing me from the hassle of reinstalling the OS; and at least this discussion is up for others who I found online all having this same issue to no avail.

Happy Thanksgiving!

EdgemontFarm Author

Level 1

58 points

Nov 20, 2019 1:39 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Okay thank you all again for the quick responses. After I do this I will report back - hopefully this will solve and help others who I see online are having this issue as well!

VikingOSX

Level 10

123,176 points

Nov 22, 2019 7:48 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Kurt,

By the way, Apple Chancery and ZapfDingbats also appear in the the LibreOffice Writer v6.3.3.2 font menu.

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Nov 20, 2019 10:55 AM in response to EdgemontFarm

That's usually a sign Font Book's database is damaged.

Restart the Mac and immediately hold down the Shift key. Keep holding the key until it asks you to login. That will bring you to the Safe Mode desktop. Restart again normally.

Test.

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,472 points

Nov 20, 2019 12:49 PM in response to EdgemontFarm

Starting up in Safe Mode (among other services the Mac performs when doing this) is all cache files are removed from the user account you logged into in Safe Mode, and Font Book's database is reset.

Some items need to be handled separately.

Close any apps you have running. Open the Library folder of your user account. One way to get there is to click anywhere on the desktop so Finder is the foreground app listed at the top left by the Apple logo. Hold down the Option key and on the top menu bar, choose Go > Library.

Now that the Library folder is visible, open the Preferences folder. Put these two items in the trash.

com.apple.FontBook.plist

com.apple.FontRegistry.user.plist

Next, from an administrator account, open the Terminal app (in the /Applications/Utilities/ folder) and enter the following command. You can also copy/paste it from here into the Terminal window:

sudo atsutil databases -remove

This removes all font cache files. Both for the system and the current logged in user. After running the command, close Terminal and immediately restart your Mac.

If that still doesn't help, try these next.

Back in the Library folder of your user account, open the FontCollections folder. Put all items within that folder in the trash. Except for any sets you many have created, these are not even slightly important. They're just examples of how to use sets in Font Book. The reason for removing them is damaged sets can cause Font Book to behave very badly.

BDAqua has already mentioned the other item I was going to. It can be a very useful test. No problem in the new account? Then the issue is confined to your normal account. Same problem? It's a system wide issue that typically means you need to reinstall the OS.

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Cannot use fonts in Font Book - Please help