programs to detect bad fonts

[njxbean]

Question. Are there any free programs that detect bad or damaged fonts? Also, what are the good reliable programs that do this?

 

[jimoblak]

While I can't think of any free apps that will automatically check for bad fonts, there are some freeware apps that will print font samples. You could print to a virtual PS printer from these programs and watch for which fonts cause errors.

See versiontracker.com for the goods.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

 

[maxformed]

jimoblak has a good suggestion. If you use ATM deluxe, you can do a report (from tools) to check recognized fonts.

max

http://artechllc.com

http://doyoulikeair.com

 

[DGTLguy]

I don't know about free... but a good reliable program is Suitcase. if you deal with a lot of fonts, this program is worth every penny. It will keep your computer running smoothly and keep the launching time of programs that use fonts (illustrator) short.

 

[njxbean]

What do you consider a lot of fonts? Because some users have 300+ fonts in their system folder. Which i have heard is bad. We currently do use ATM. Is there a certian number of fonts that should be active at a time? Is it better for a program to manage the fonts instead of the system folder?

 

[DGTLguy]

the only fonts that i recommend allowing in your systems folder is those that came with it. while adding a few might not hurt you, excess fonts will slow down your computer. they can also cause major errors with your computer and certain programs. personally i only have the fonts that are in current use active on my computer. with Suitcase all of that is taken care of. when you open up a project, all the necessary fonts for that project will be activated. i have a G4 with approximatly 800 fonts, maybe 60 of which are activated at a time.

 

[njxbean]

WOW. Maybe i will try suitcase. So could having like 300 fonts in the system folder cause os crashes on a regular basis?

 

[jimoblak]

Crash? yes.

What OS version are we dealing with? ATM Lite or Deluxe? I don't think OS9 and below should not have that many fonts active at once.

- - picklefish - -
Why is everyone in this forum responding to me as picklefish?

 

[tad1952]

I am using Suitcase 10. It comes with FontDoctor which can diagnose all the font problems & rebuild all your existing fonts into one nice package. I now have a clean font folder with over 16,000 fonts in it (not counting the truetype fonts). I try to keep my open fonts to a minimum (easy to do with Suitcase), but even with magazine work, I have had no problems crashing or bogging down with a lot of fonts open.