Extensis Suitcase 10.2.2 problem(s) - HELP PLEASE!

Okay, here goes... I have done lots of reading on these forums and on the Extensis support pages and have answered some of my issues, but now have a new interesting development that I have not found ANY answers for. Like others, I suddenly found myself having a problem with Suitcase telling me that I had font conflicts that needed to be resolved. As per instructions given by Extensis (which you can read here if you are not familiar with this problem),

http://www.extensis.com/en/support/kb_article.jsp?articleNumber=2002221

I cleaned up my system fonts as they recommended, with partial results. Then I came across another workaround here on the Apple forums which rather simply involved turning off the Preview Pane in Suitcase. This simple fix actually did the trick. HOWEVER...

Now, as per the instructions given by Extensis about creating a folder called 'Moved From System Font Folders' and 'cleaning' (placing) all 'unnessecary fonts' into four folders inside this main folder, I have done so. The resulting problem is that I now cannot open two of the four folders contained in the primary 'Moved From System Font Folders' that they suggest creating without causing my window from abruptly closing! The two Font folders that automatically close my hard drive window when attempting to open them are called 'System Domain Fonts' and 'Library Fonts'. The other two Font folders, 'Classic Fonts' and 'User Fonts' are okay. Nothing crashes, but the window repeatedly closes out when trying to view the contents of those two folders. Now, Extensis gives specifics about which fonts absolutely must remain to insure smooth running of the operating system(follow the link above), but I am now suspicious of this whole scenerio, and right now am wishing that I had not moved anything, especially in light of the workaround I later found here on our forum regarding turning off the Preview Pane in Suitcase which seems to have worked.

Fonts are confusing enough at the best of times, and now I feel considerably more lost than usual. Any help would be appreciated. Have I messed my beloved Mac up, or is this a non- issue and not to be worried about again? Were those fonts that I moved really as dispensible as Extensis state? In a nutshell, was the advice given by Extensis to move those fonts good advice and harmless and/or helpful? Can I put things back the way they were if need be? It seems pretty difficult since I cannot even scroll through those two Font folders without having the window close on me. Help please, if at the very least to put my mind at ease that my computer is okay with the way things are now and that the amazing automatically closing hard drive window is nothing to worry about. Thank you for your time in this matter.

1.25 Duel G4, Mac OS X (10.4.3)

Posted on Apr 1, 2006 11:58 PM

24 replies

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,502 points

Apr 4, 2006 6:20 AM in response to Morpheus Blak

Shows how long it's been since I installed Suitcase. As you've discovered, it's an activation preference, not a one time question about controlling system fonts. I would leave that option off. For conflicts, I always have it on "Ask me what to do". But that's just my preferred way of doing it. If you know the fonts you have open are the ones you'd always prefer, then set it to "Keep the current font active".

expect you will tell me not to enable 'Allow Suitcase to override system fonts'.

That's my preferred method. But then, I always know which fonts I want active, so I don't need, or want Suitcase giving me a helping hand.

So, if I want Helvetica to show up as an available fonts in my apps, then I have to add it to Suitcase, correct?

With your current list of fonts, no. Helvetica is already active as a .dfont version. You'd be creating a font conflict. Unless you must use a PostScript version of that font, you can just leave things as they are. Otherwise, allow Suitcase to override system fonts so you can activate another version of Helvetica without removing the .dfont from your hard drive, or delete the .dfont version entirely and always have your PostScript or OpenType version active.

Helvetica and Courier are two of those fonts that now sit in a folder of Classic fonts. If I add Helvetica through Suitcase(as an example of a font that has a .dfont doppleganger) and do not activate the aforementioned radio button, then does this mean that my System knows which Helvetica(the .dfont) to use for its' needs, and that Suitcase knows which Helvetica(the postscript version) I need for creating documents.

Heh! That's another can of worms altogether. In such a case, yes, you would need to activate the OS 9 versions of Helvetica and Courier in order for Classic (OS 9) versions of software to use those fonts. Classic cannot read .dfonts. So in order to use that typeface in Classic, you need to open a different version. That's partly why I use Type 1 PostScript versions of Helvetica and Courier. By opening those through Suitcase (excluding Fusion), both OS X and 9 can use the same font. Otherwise, though it would normally create a font conflict to have the OS X and 9 versions of Helvetica open at the same time, it doesn't. Some rather clever programming by Apple to allow that kind of dual activation.

So. when I select the System Fonts(All) view, is Suitcase controlling them, or just showing them to me?

It's just showing you which fonts are active.

Apr 4, 2006 10:30 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Okay, regarding this statement from your latest reply;

With your current list of fonts, no. Helvetica is already active as a .dfont version. You'd be creating a font conflict. Unless you must use a PostScript version of that font, you can just leave things as they are. Otherwise, allow Suitcase to override system fonts so you can activate another version of Helvetica without removing the .dfont from your hard drive, or delete the .dfont version entirely and always have your PostScript or OpenType version active.

So, when I open up a new document in Photoshop for example, and I currantly see the list of fonts available to me now(without firing up Suitcase) I see a list of fonts that appears to be a mix of the .dfonts and the essential Adobe fonts that reside in Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts/Reqrd/Base. Is this correct? However, if I wanted to open up a new document in PageMaker, I would need to activate Helvetica through Suitcase, as the .dfont is not going to show up in Classic. As I rarely use Helvetica, it will likely never come to that, but I am trying to make sense of how this all works.

Next, are PostScript fonts the ones that have an A icon in front of them? It seems hard to discern what is what until I get them into Suitcase which then tells you what is what, unless the A icon is a designation of a PostScript font. How does all that work? I believe that the Helvetica and Courier that came resident on my machine are OpenType fonts.

Apr 4, 2006 10:53 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Okay, here is what I do not get, when I open Suitcase now and look at System Fonts(All) and get the list that I have posted here previously, we see in the case of Monaco that it is a required essential font in both OS9 and OSX, therefore there are two Monacos in the list, the .dfont and the TrueType version. How would Courier or Helvetica be any different by my adding those two fonts back into the System Folder from their currantly archieved position in my Fonts folder? Would that create a conflict because OS9 cannot recognize the .dfont?

Apr 4, 2006 11:26 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Also, in the Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts/Reqrd/Base folder there are PostScript fonts (ie: New Baskerville). Is it okay to activate these through Suitcase for use in other apps such as PageMaker?

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,502 points

Apr 4, 2006 12:09 PM in response to Morpheus Blak

Questions, questions, questions. 😉

So, when I open up a new document in Photoshop for example, and I currantly see the list of fonts available to me now(without firing up Suitcase) I see a list of fonts that appears to be a mix of the .dfonts and the essential Adobe fonts that reside in Library/Application Support/Adobe/Fonts/Reqrd/Base. Is this correct?

Yes. All Adobe Creative Suite apps look in its Application Support for fonts installed by Adobe. No other applications know they are there. But you can open them in Suitcase so all other apps can use them.

However, if I wanted to open up a new document in PageMaker, I would need to activate Helvetica through Suitcase, as the .dfont is not going to show up in Classic.

Correct.

Next, are PostScript fonts the ones that have an A icon in front of them?

Yes, but that's only because those are PostScript fonts created by Adobe. The icon for the printer outline portion of a Type 1 PostScript font varies by foundry. If you look at all of the files in that folder, you'll see that one of them is different. That's the suitcase of screen fonts. The rest are the matching printer outline fonts for that set of Type 1 PS fonts. They must remain together in order to work.

How would Courier or Helvetica be any different by my adding those two fonts back into the System Folder from their currantly archieved position in my Fonts folder? Would that create a conflict because OS9 cannot recognize the .dfont?

Normally, it would. But OS X treats fonts active in OS X folders separate from those in the OS 9 Fonts folder. That is, as long as one cannot be used in the other. You really have to watch what you're opening where. For example, if you wanted to use a TrueType version of Helvetica in both OS 9 and X, you could simply open it in Suitcase. If you did it manually, you would place the font in the OS 9 Fonts folder. Both OS 9 and X will see it. But you then would not place that same font in an OS X fonts folder. It would create a conflict since OS X can already see the one in the OS 9 Fonts folder. However, there's no reason to do any manual placement. Just use Suitcase to open fonts for both 9 and X simultaneously.

Is it okay to activate these through Suitcase for use in other apps such as PageMaker?

Yes. The only problem there may be that PageMaker won't recognize OpenType fonts. I'm not whether it can or not.

Apr 4, 2006 4:28 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Hi Kurt,

Okay, all is seemingly back up and running, your help and information was great. I learned alot along the journey. One last thing on this subject, when I am firing up PageMaker and entering Classic, I am getting a dialogue box saying that Times is not available, and it is substituting Geneva. I tried dropping Times back into the OS9 System Folder, but that did not do it. Any thoughts? Not a big deal, but annoying since it was not happening before.

Morpheus

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,502 points

Apr 5, 2006 6:49 AM in response to Morpheus Blak

when I am firing up PageMaker and entering Classic, I am getting a dialogue box saying that Times is not available, and it is substituting Geneva.

Two possibilities. One, it's a .dfont. OS 9 can't use them. Two, it's on outline font for a Type 1 PostScript font. Outlines will not work alone. The suitcase of screen fonts must also be present, and they must be in the same folder. Well, maybe a third. Not all applications recognize fonts activated after the program has already been launched. Try closing PageMaker and launching it again.

Your e-mail question about the Optima font is that you have a Type 1 PostScript font. The suitcase file "Optima" is the screen font portion. All others with the "Font.mdimporter Document" designation are the matching outline printer fonts for Optima. For example, OptimBolObl is the outline font for Bold Oblique. All of these must remain together in the same folder in order to work.

As far as tidying things up, you can place the entire Optima font set into it's own folder, but as said, they must remain together. Open the set with Suitcase to use them in OS X or 9. Were you to do it manually, you can place the font in any of the OS X Fonts folders as is. OS X can see fonts in subfolders. Classic (OS 9) still lives under its same old rule. All fonts must be loose in the Fonts folder of the System Folder. No subfolders allowed. But no manual placement of fonts is necessary since you have Suitcase.

Apr 5, 2006 8:49 AM in response to Kurt Lang

In response to;
One, it's a .dfont. OS 9 can't use them. Two, it's on outline font for a Type 1 PostScript font. Outlines will not work alone. The suitcase of screen fonts must also be present, and they must be in the same folder. Well, maybe a third. Not all applications recognize fonts activated after the program has already been launched. Try closing PageMaker and launching it again.

I tried and considered all these things yesterday to no avail, I will have to play with it some more... unless you have any further suggestions.

In response to;
All of these must remain together in the same folder in order to work.
As far as tidying things up, you can place the entire Optima font set into it's own folder, but as said, they must remain together. Open the set with Suitcase to use them in OS X or 9.

I just tried an experiment with the Optima font set, put them all inside a new folder called Optima Font Set which resides in my Font folder, fired up Suitcase, activated Optima(which I already had added yesterday when I added all of my fonts back into Suitcase), started up PageMaker, and then Photoshop and it showed up in both. So, I think I will attempt a little cleanup of my main Font folder, as it really looks rather unruley, if you approve of course!

Morpheus

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,502 points

Apr 5, 2006 3:47 PM in response to Morpheus Blak

I tried and considered all these things yesterday to no avail, I will have to play with it some more... unless you have any further suggestions.

Can't think of one at the moment.

which resides in my Font folder

I take it this a folder you created to keep your non active fonts in? Because if it's one of OS X's Font folders, the fonts are already active.

So, I think I will attempt a little cleanup of my main Font folder, as it really looks rather unruley, if you approve of course!

Who, me? 🙂 Far be it from me to tell someone else how they want to organize their hard drive. Do whatever suits your organizational ideas.

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Extensis Suitcase 10.2.2 problem(s) - HELP PLEASE!