Tired of El Capitan Font Issues

Sorry about the delay. I was doing some testing to see where Font Book really keeps its database. Because I very much avoid using, or even looking at Font Book, it's been quite a while since I really tested it to see what happens when you do X.

The fonts you list as remaining in the System's Fonts folder, and the root Library's Fonts folder are now only the ones OS X installs (if Restore Standard Fonts removed anything at all). Next to each of those Fonts folders, you will find one named Fonts (Removed). Anything in them are fonts the command moved that it thinks don't belong in the two Fonts folders.

Absolutely do not remove the two files named com.apple.FontRegistryUIAgent.plist in the System folder. Your list shows only one of them, but there are two in separate folders. Without them, the system will not boot. Not even in Safe Mode.

The two items shown as folders don't belong to Font Book at all. They are created by and updated by the OS regardless of what font manager is on the drive. Or any at all.

The only one that belongs to Font Book is com.apple.FontRegistry.user.plist in your user account Preferences folder. This file is only created if you add fonts as a standard Collection set with Font Book. If you only adds fonts to Font Book as a Library set (activate in place), it will never be created. So this item is the only one you should remove. Then restart.

If you are still seeing text as question marks in a box after that, then something that is part of your FEX Pro library is causing it. And typically, that's a font which is specifically conflicting with one of El Capitan's system fonts. That is, a font which itself is a system font from either an older version of OS X, or is a duplicate of one or more of El Capitan's system fonts.

pinkstones wrote:

If you don't have the time to read something a member here provided for you in an attempt to help you with your problem, and if you're going to be dismissive of that help, what exactly do you want any of us to do?

FWIW, I concur. Everyone here is donating time to help. If the poster looking for help can not or will not dedicate the time necessary to help himself there is not much for anyone here to do.

It also may be due to Quark's own font cache files. Close Quark XPress. In your user account Preferences folder, open the folder Quark > Quark XPress 2015 > jaws. Put the folder FontStubs in the trash. The path will of course be slightly different depending on the version of Quark XPress you're using.

I followed your advice about the QXP preference file, but QXP still did not recognize Futura if FontExplorerX Pro added it back as an active font.

No, but I wasn't expecting that to happen. I was just hoping clearing Quark's cache data might fix the Futura set showing up as an omega Ω symbol.

I then manually added all of the Futura Family of fonts to /Library/Fonts, and they instantly became available in all applications that I was able to test, but most importantly they were available in QXP.

I would suspect this was the issue, if I'm reading it right. From the sounds of things, you moved the OS X supplied Futura.ttc out of the /Library/Fonts/ folder, then put a different set in, such as a Futura set purchased from Adobe. If that's the case, then that's exactly why XPress wouldn't show Futura in its menus. Quark will never show conflicting fonts. So before you moved Futura.ttc out of the /Library/Fonts/ folder, you had a conflict between that TrueType Collection and the third party set being activated by FEX Pro.

Many apps will show one version or the other of a conflicting font in their menus. Quark won't. That's usually a big hint there's a font conflict.

BinsuJiro wrote:

Bob the Fisherman,

I have been working very closely with those trying to help, but you and Pinkstone are not helping and are sticking your collective noses in where they don't belong.

So, just mind your own business.

This is your statement.

" However, I don't have the time to read this article, and it does not cover the entire list of fonts installed in SYSTEM/LIBRARY/FONTS. Nor can I divert my time from work for clients to correct problems cased by Apple's arrogance in not providing a way to deal with proper font management. I use Asian fonts, yet the article really does not address the placement of Asian fonts in the various folders of the El Capitan system."

I was merely pointing out that you don't have the time but expect the volunteers trying to help you to devote their time away from their primary tasks to help you. By making this point I was trying to alert you that you will get the best help here by participating with those like Tom trying to help you. I'll let you get back to, in your opinion, your more important work/clients than ours.

Excuse me? I've only said one thing to you, and that's it. Please do not drag me into problems you're having with other members here.

Hmm. Something isn't working as it should on your Mac. As mentioned earlier, other than the known El Capitan bug that can be worked around for legacy Mac TrueType and Type 1 PostScript fonts, I'm not having any issues with fonts in El Capitan.

Create a new test account. Login to it and see if the problems persist there. If not, then the issue is somewhere in your normal user account. If it has the same problem, then it's a system wide issue. If that's the case, reinstall the OS. And if that doesn't work, your only fix would be to revert to the OS you were on from a backup, or install El Capitan from scratch on an erased partition so any old problems can't be dragged into it. That of course also means reinstalling your apps from scratch and manually pulling your personal data in from a backup. Do not import anything or you may simply restore the problem.

Kurt,

thank you very much for helping. I ran into the exact same problem as BinsuJiroand your hint concerning the preference file of FontBook helped me resolve the issue. Strangely I never ever started FontBook, so I wonder, why FontBook ever created thi file, but nevertheless... now all is good. THANKS A LOT!

Kind regards,

Chris

You're welcome. 🙂

You are not the only designer whose fonts do not show up in QuarkXpress anymore. I use Extensis Suitcase Fusion 6 and Quark 2015 and have been wrestling with this since last Sept 2015 when I stupidly updated to El Capitan. Each update that they finally released is supposed to fix it – but doesn't.

Before El Capitan everything worked fine. It has been a nightmare that has gone on for almost 6 months with endless hours conversing with Quark and Extensis forums and emails – waiting for updates. It is definitely related to El Capitan and those third party apps. I finally walked a way from Quark for a couple of months and just worked with Photoshop where the fonts appear okay.

But after I briefly had a work-around by dragging some fonts into the OS Fonts folder – which sometimes worked. But the latest update to El Capitan has permanently broken it and now just about all Post script fonts no longer appear in Quark legacy or new layouts. They show fine in Apple's TextEdit and Adobe Photoshop, just not Quark. Now even Helvetica Postscript doesn't work anymore. I switched to TrueTYpe for all my Helvetica now.

I've boiled it down to mostly Postscript 1 fonts incompatibility with Quark under El Capitan. Quark is clueless and offers no help. OpenType and Truetype are the only fonts formats with no issues. But with my 5000 legacy font collection and over 25 years of legacy Quark documents – as a professional art director this is a bona fide disaster.

I really wish Apple or SOMEONE would address this. Even a work-around! Please!