How to install / use fonts in OS X?

Question

Level 1

8 points

How to install / use fonts in OS X?

I've downloaded a bunch of .pcf fonts, two .NFNT fonts, and some .bdf fonts.
I read a bit online, saw that fonts go in ~/Libary/Fonts, so I dumped 'em into ~/Library/Fonts, and OS X doesn't recognize or allow me to select any of them from within Terminal.app's font selection panel.

So I read a bit more, found FontBook on the machine, read the help for installing fonts...

"Double-click the icon for the font in the Finder. Font Book opens and displays the font so you can see what the font looks like.
Click Install Font."

I double click the only two fonts (of 30 total) that're associated with fontbook (.NFNT) and fontbook opens....and shows me all the installed fonts. No display of the font I just 'opened', no Install Font option. I try it manually with the + button at the bottom, choose the font...nothing.

Any ideas?

agp g4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) noisier than a dreamcast

Posted on Nov 3, 2006 12:52 PM

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Answer 1

baltwo

Level 9

62,406 points

Nov 4, 2006 1:47 AM in response to Teitoku

See http://www.apple.com/support/tiger/fontbook/,
http://images.apple.com/macosx/pdf/MacOSXFontTB.pdf, and http://www.apple.com/pro/tips/badfonts.html.

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Answer 2

Nov 4, 2006 2:28 AM in response to Teitoku

I'd recommend using Linotype FontExplorer for font management and conflict catching. It's free:
http://www.linotype.com/fontexplorerX

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Answer 3

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 4, 2006 1:22 PM in response to Björn Herrmann

Alright...I installed Font Explorer but I really have no idea what it's supposed to do. I ran it, had it scan all my font folders, it's ignoring the .pcf and .bdf files, and of the two 'Font Suitcase' files, it shows IBMac in red due to 'missing printer-font file' and Enclave just doesn't show anywhere.

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Answer 4

Nov 4, 2006 1:58 PM in response to Teitoku

FontExplorer is a font management software. It's better to use this software to activate/deactivate fonts than just putting the font files in ~/Library/Fonts via the Finder, because it tells you if there's a conflict or other problem. You can add fonts by drag & drop into FontExplorer. The reason it's ignoring your files may be that there's no pcf/bdf-support in OS X. At least I have never heard of someone using these.

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Answer 5

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,144 points

Nov 4, 2006 2:30 PM in response to Björn Herrmann

The reason
it's ignoring your files may be that there's no
pcf/bdf-support in OS X. At least I have never heard
of someone using these.

Me neither. Also it could be that fonts for terminal go somewhere else than fonts for OS X proper. The original poster might want to ask in the Unix forum as well:

http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=735

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Answer 6

baltwo

Level 9

62,406 points

Nov 4, 2006 2:36 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

AFAIK, Terminal fonts are selected in Terminal->Window Settings->Display->Text. Clicking on set font brings up a font selection window depicting every installed and valid font.

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Answer 7

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 4, 2006 4:45 PM in response to baltwo

I can also choose a font from Font up in the terminal menubar, but if the system rejects my fonts and doesn't have any with the correct characters...well, it doesn't do much good.

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Answer 8

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,144 points

Nov 4, 2006 5:11 PM in response to Teitoku

if the system ...
doesn't have any with the correct characters.

What characters are these which you think the system does not have fonts for, and why exactly do you think so? Your problem may not in fact relate to fonts but to something else, like encodings.

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Answer 9

Kurt Lang

Level 9

71,177 points

Nov 4, 2006 6:03 PM in response to Teitoku

Hi Teitoku

You pretty much have a bunch of useless stuff.

A .pcf font is a Portable Compiled Font (PCF). Its format is a binary format for bitmap fonts. Not usable in OS X that I know of.

The bitmapped font ( 'NFNT' ) resource describes a bitmapped font--a font whose glyphs are represented by bit images. Used as the format for the bitmap portion of a Type 1 PS font, but cannot be used as a stand alone font.

A BDF file is an ASCII file that defines a font. When compiled, they are also bitmap fonts. Also unusable in OS X that I know of.

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Answer 10

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 4, 2006 7:07 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

What characters are these which you think the system
does not have fonts for, and why exactly do you think
so? Your problem may not in fact relate to fonts
but to something else, like encodings.

All the ones used in ANSI artwork. The blocks, half-blocks, half-shaded blocks, you know. And I'm assuming I don't have them because I've tried every encoding setting in every terminal/telnet/ssh app and I STILL just get accented latin letters. DEC VT100, ANSI, whatever, they never work.

Can somebody please give a shot at connecting to, say, sunrisebbs.darktech.org at port 23 and see if you can figure it out?

agp g4 Mac OS X (10.4.7) noisier than a dreamcast

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Answer 11

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 4, 2006 7:14 PM in response to Kurt Lang

Okay, I have a bunch of useless recommendations. Neato.

Can somebody please actually try and not just toss guesses at me?

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Answer 12

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,144 points

Nov 4, 2006 7:58 PM in response to Teitoku

Okay, I have a bunch of useless recommendations.
Neato.

It would help if you would tell people what you are actually trying to accomplish instead of asking questions about installing fonts. I'm guessing now it must be telnetting into bbs's and doing ansi art? Have you done any searching on this already in places like Google? Here is one link that might be helpful if my guess is correct.

http://apple.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=04/08/24/2229226

In general questions about doing stuff with Terminal are best placed in the Unix forum.

http://discussions.apple.com/forum.jspa?forumID=735

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Answer 13

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 5, 2006 12:04 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Yes, I'm trying to get ANSI art to display correctly. I haven't been posting in the unix/terminal forums because I already gave up on Terminal.app itself as a solution after reading page after page of of results from web searches.

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Answer 14

Tom Gewecke

Level 10

123,144 points

Nov 5, 2006 12:37 PM in response to Teitoku

I haven't been posting in the unix/terminal forums
because I already gave up on Terminal.app itself as
a solution after reading page after page of of
results from web searches.

Still, all the stuff you are trying to do is Unix, not OS X proper.

Did you try this from the slashdot link? It tells you where to put your pcf font ( not in the OS X Fonts folders) and the commands to make them work.

* Download an ANSI font from here [earthlink.net]
* Place sabvga.pcf in /usr/X11R6/lib/X11/fonts/misc
* cd to that dir and run "sudo mkfontdir"
* Fire up X11 in your Utilities folder
* Open an Xterm and run "xtern -fn sabvga"

The font source is

http://home.earthlink.net/~us5zahns/enl/ansifont.html

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Answer 15

Teitoku Author

Level 1

8 points

Nov 5, 2006 1:28 PM in response to Tom Gewecke

Right, and I don't have X11, so I was hoping OS X could use them. It can't, so I've been focusing on the two 'font suitcase' files. I don't think they're going to work either. In fact, I don't think it's going to be solved by any OS X solution so I'm just going to install virtualpc and windows 95, because THAT Just Works.

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