Fonts between OSX Tiger and Classic OS9

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Level 1

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Fonts between OSX Tiger and Classic OS9

My company, a small newspaper, upgraded our macs to OSX: Tiger. This was great.

However, we're still using QuarkXPress 5.0 out of Classic OS 9. This in and of itself, is okay.

The problem is that our old Type Manager (ATM Deluxe) is running out of Classic as well, and is providing Quark access to fonts that are not seeming to be recognized by Tiger. This wouldn't be a huge problem either, it it weren't for the fact that we're trying to use Acrobat Distiller Pro, which is running out of Tiger.

So, it seems that the two are not playing nice together. We'd really like to use Distiller Pro because it's faster and seemingly more stable. Currently, we're creating a .ps file from Quark, and then distilling that in Tiger. Of course, if we hit a font that Tiger doesn't recognize, the file is flushed.

I've toyed with Font Book, but it doesn't seem to even SEE the fonts that I'm pointing it too. It has a Classic OS 9 folder, but it doesn't have all of the fonts that I need.

I've ready about Font Explorer and I'm wondering if it has a cross-OS solution, or if ANYONE has a cross-platform solution.

Admittedly, I don't know everything about fonts or font managers, and I sure could use some advice. Being a small company, we're looking for free or on-site solutions.

HELP !!!

Varied, Mac OS X (10.2.x)

Posted on Aug 28, 2006 8:46 AM

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Answer 1

Dr. Smoke

Level 9

56,586 points

Aug 28, 2006 9:13 AM in response to 12gage

Hi, 12gage.

Font Book primarily manages fonts in the default locations used by Tiger. See "Mac OS X: Font Locations and Their Purposes."

If the Mac OS 9 fonts you are using are not in showing up in the Classic library in Font Book, then they are either:

• Not in the location specified for Classic fonts in the article cited above.

• Bitmap fonts, which are incompatible with Mac OS X.

If ATM is loading the Mac OS 9 fonts from a different folder on the Classic side, you can try creating a new Library in Font Book pointing to that folder. You may have to play around with this a bit depending on whether or not ATM is running when you are attempting to generate the PDF. See "Font Book 2.0 Help: Creating a new font library."

Mac OS 9 and Quark 5 are obsolete technologies: you should seriously consider upgrading to Quark 7 and abandoning Classic mode.

In terms of third-party font-management applications, you can investigate, in alphabetical order by publisher, the following:

• Alsoft MasterJuggler®.

• Extensis® Font Reserve and Suitcase® Fusion.

• Insider Software’s FontAgent® Pro.

Good luck!

😉 Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X

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Answer 2

12gage Author

Level 1

0 points

Aug 28, 2006 10:07 AM in response to Dr. Smoke

I remember that in OS 9, you could only have (x) amount of fonts in your system folder. Is that still true in Classic mode? What about with Tiger?

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Answer 3

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,726 points

Aug 28, 2006 11:05 AM in response to 12gage

Is that still true in Classic mode?

Yes, since it's still OS 9. Running in a shell within OS X doesn't change its limitations. You must also still put all fonts loose within the OS 9 Fonts folder. Nothing in subfolders will be recognized.

What about with Tiger?

OS X can handle a lot more fonts. You can also have subfolders within the various Fonts folders. OS X can use the older Classic suitcase styled TrueType fonts, Type 1 PostScript, Type 3 PostScript (rarely used by anyone), Multiple Master (a Type 1 variant), Windows TrueType (.ttf), Apple .dfont (OS 9 cannot use these in any way) and TrueType or PostScript OpenType fonts.

You really shouldn't try to use ATM Pro within Classic. You essentially have two font managers running. It and Font Book. Best bets are those Dr. Smoke has already mentioned. There's also the free Font Explorer X. A note on Suitcase Fusion. While it is far superior to the previous Suitcase X1, support for Classic has been removed, so the Fusion version of Suitcase no longer opens fonts for Classic.

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Answer 4

12gage Author

Level 1

0 points

Sep 3, 2006 11:18 AM in response to Kurt Lang

Would I be better off moving forward with Font Book or Font Explorer?

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Answer 5

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,726 points

Sep 3, 2006 1:25 PM in response to 12gage

Hi 12gage,

Even as a free item, FontExplorer I think is a much better font manager than Font Book. Many on these boards use it and like it a lot. I stick with Suitcase for a few reasons. One, I've been using it for a long time. Since back before Symantec had it and then sold it to Extensis. Two, I'm just too stubborn to switch to something else. Three, I just prefer how it works. It's the only font manager that leaves all fonts just where they are. No copying or moving of any fonts with Suitcase to activate them. FontExplorer works very much like Font Agent Pro. Fonts are copied to a folder of its own and managed from there.

Give them a try to see which you like best. As mentioned, FontExplorer is free. Suitcase Fusion can be downloaded and used as a 30 day trial.

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Answer 6

Kurt Lang

Level 9

68,726 points

Sep 4, 2006 11:54 AM in response to Kurt Lang

An addendum. I just tested the new 1.1 version of FontExplorer X. It now supports opening fonts without moving or copying them, just as Suitcase does. A huge improvement in my opinion. You make the choice how you want to set it up during its first use. You can either move fonts, or copy them to it's own management folder. In that way, it acts much like Font Agent Pro. But you now also have the choice of "no management". It's a bit confusing stated that way, but simply means it activates fonts from where they are, ala Suitcase.

FontExplorer X has just become a serious contender for Suitcase users, especially being free.

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Answer 7

Kevin Horn

Level 4

1,836 points

Sep 4, 2006 3:33 PM in response to 12gage

Font Explorer X is far superior, in my opinion, Suitcase Fusion would probably be even better for what you need.

As for your other problems I would suggest getting InDesign. Then you will be all in OSX and probably have smoother transitions between it and Distiller. Adobe makes all their apps work together.

I was a Quark user for many years but now use InDesign exclusively and haven't touched Quark in over a year, and I have the OSX version.

I have a feeling your fonts that are causing problems are fonts not supported by OSX and there is no way to fix that except to find OSX replacements.

Kevin

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