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Font managers reviews and opinions
justice:
Yep it has its issues and that's why the pc version is not available for download from links although you and i have both found out how to download it ;)
Mex:
Before I joined DC, I'd settled on these three Windows OpenType font programs:
1. Bitstream Font Manager-- I have 7 or 8 thousand fonts on file; Windows loads about 84 of them at startup. Every other font program makes me wait 30 seconds or more while all my fonts are enumerated-- Bitstream doesn't make me wait. Fastest way to upgrade to the latest Deja Vu, for example. CONS: Can't customize the interface very much; duplicate font finder is unreliable. Comes bundled in CorelDraw.
2. XFonter-- One has a "collection" of music files, but fonts live in a "library." If you want to page through your library in a clean, bright, highly configurable setting, XFonter's tabbed interface allows full access to font history, information & nomenclature, plus all the usual font manager functions, plus textures and Blacksun's very nice color sampler. XFonter seems a marriage of beauty & function. CONS: This one makes me wait while I close it, too. Waiting for software to start is much easier than waiting for it to finish.
3. MainType-- seems to be the fastest full-featured Windows font manager. I use it when I want to compare fonts and select a group of them for a project. MainType has a handsome, highly functional, tool-like interface that's surprisingly configurable. For everyday Windows use, it's quite a bargain at the DC price. CONS: Can't open every tool at once-- there's not enough room.
Curt:
Yep it has its issues -justice (September 09, 2008, 06:56 AM)
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- "issues"?? It is totally not ready for public use! I installed it and did not click "manage my fonts". Seconds later it was moving my fonts to locations named All Users\My Documents\0 , All Users\My Documents\2 , All Users\My Documents\A , All Users\My Documents\B , etcetera, and it did not move them back when uninstalled. Hrmff!
In my opinion there are two things a font manager must do:
- It must support at least TrueType and OpenType fonts (some font managers fail)
- It must be stable (don't use Beta software)
-erwind (September 09, 2008, 06:03 AM)
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;)
nontroppo:
The *best* font manager IMO, at least a year ago, after I spent lots of time looking at the available options, was FontExpert by Proxima:
http://www.proximasoftware.com/fontexpert/
Its features for managing groups & tagging/rating, along with very solid enable/disable of font (groups) are unrivalled (didn't try Maintype though, but it looks less comprehensive from the web info).
Armando:
Nice input from many DCers! I'll have to try some of these in the next few weeks.
The *best* font manager IMO, at least a year ago, after I spent lots of time looking at the available options, was FontExpert by Proxima:
-nontroppo (September 10, 2008, 03:07 PM)
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Interestingly, when mouser edited my (a bit... dry?) first post and added a screenshot, he added the FontExpert one. Coincidence?
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