Thread View: adobe.typography
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Started by Bran MacEachaidh
Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:44
Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Bran MacEachaidh
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:44
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 12:44
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G'day all, Most of the font managers available for Windows (XP) seem to base their font-management on sorting the fonts alphabetically by name. Logical enough, but while my visual memory is fairly good at remembering the shapes and overall effect of typefaces, I can't often recall what the associated font was actually called ! ;-) If I want to find, say, a period English Blackletter face for a certain project, then a list of the font names doesn't help me enormously. And it's time-wasting to page through the list of fonts, waiting to spot the one(s) I'm looking for. I'm currently using Font Navigator (which used to be Bitstream's but now seems to be distributed only by Corel), which allows for the creation of custom sub-lists, so the fonts can be sorted into groups based on style of the faces. So in my search for a Blackletter, then I only have to page through the Blackletter sub-list. (I understand most other font managers also have this feature.) When I'm starting a project, I may know what kind of "look" I want, but how do I find the font that's going to give me that, among the list of alphabetical names, without having to do a long and manual serial scan through all the faces ? I've tried to use the generalised typeface classification schemas, but they seem more based on the historical development of the shapes and printing customs, and that doesn't necessarily relate to their modern usage as design elements and the mood they convey in a completed layout. (I know, a fairly sweeping statement; there may be a whole book on typographic design right there ! I'm obviously short of the knowledge to write it, but maybe one day ...) In addition, each classification group seems so broad that I find it doesn't usefully narrow down the search. My question: can anyone offer me recommendations, please, for a schema that they find helps them fairly easily locate at least the *type* or *style* or *mood* of face they want ? Are people willing to give examples for how they sort their own fonts ? And while I'm asking, if anyone has a favourite font manager (for Windows) that offers additional features to make this kind of thing easier, I'd be grateful to hear about that as well. I know I've been a bit wordy here. Sorry. I wasn't sure that I'd expressed myself clearly enough, possibly because I'm feeling out of my depth on this subject. In any case, any help you can offer is very much appreciated, folks. d�rachdan, Bran
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Sheila_Hoffman
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:56
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 20:56
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Bran: This may not be quite what you had in mind but it's what came to MY mind. Daniel Will-Harris put together this great little tool for choosing fonts based on their style. It's not a font manager on your system but a fun online tool. It might give you some ideas of categories anyhow. http://www.will-harris.com/esperfonto/ Sheila http://www.hoffmangraphics.com
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Thomas_Phinney
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:15
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:15
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Font Reserve and its successor, Suitcase Fusion, use a classification database built into the application. They will recognize and auto-classify most common fonts, and this is one of the many ways you can sort or browse the fonts in the app. You can classify the fonts yourself for ones it doesn't recognize. I hope this feature has made it to the Windows version of Suitcase, or if not that it does soon. The Windows version is still a bit behind the Mac version for some reason. (Full disclosure: I created their original font database, before I came to Adobe ten years ago.) Regards, T
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Herb
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:19
Date: Fri, 15 Jun 2007 23:19
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re: Auto-classification - Tom - does that rely at all on fonts' various internal flags and panose data? - Herb
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Bran MacEachaidh
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:36
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 00:36
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Sheila, thanks for that suggestion. Yeah, Daniel Will-Harris is a clever bloke. I really enjoy his site. (Speaking of which, I checked out yours as well: you do some lovely work ! It was a pleasure to look through, so thank you !) Thomas, I've checked out the Extensis offerings, but I'm a bit put off by the Windows versions remaining so Mac-centric in the way they work -- "suitcases" and the like -- I'm not criticizing the Mac approach, nor saying the Windows way of handling fonts is "better" at all -- but I'm wary of using ported apps which try to do things in a way other than how the OS works. That way be trouble. I'm wary, not wanting to get too excited by features like their auto-activation, which relies on additional plug-ins -- that reliance would seem to put the broader capabilities of the application at the mercy of ongoing trade partnerships, because if Extensis hasn't struck a deal with the developer of the app you're using (I also use CorelDRAW, for instance) to fund the development of a customised plug-in, then you're out in the cold. (And when one side of the equation changes or gets upgraded, things often just stop working. It's all getting pretty complex, eh ?!) I couldn't find any info about it on the site, so I'd echo Herb's query: do you know what data encoded in the font is used for the auto-classification ? And whether the internal database can be expanded or amended ?
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Matthew Silverstein
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:27
Date: Sat, 16 Jun 2007 15:27
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On Friday, June 15, 2007, Thomas_Phinney@adobeforums.com wrote: > I hope this feature has made it to the Windows version of Suitcase, or > if not that it does soon. The Windows version is still a bit behind the > Mac version for some reason. Thomas, I'm using the new version of Suitcase for Vista, and sadly it does not include this classification feature. Matty
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Thomas_Phinney
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 11:34
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 11:34
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The Extensis font database simply relies on the family names in the fonts. Panose numbers are only possible for OpenType and TrueType, and are often eithomitted or incomplete for fonts in those formats. The database gets updated periodically, and you can add classification info for other fonts you have. Bran: Yeah, it's amazing how poor all the available Windows font management apps are compared to their Mac brethren. Even ATM Deluxe for Windows lagged behind its Mac counterpart, back when both were being sold. Regards, T
Re: Suggestions on sorting fonts ?
Author: Bran MacEachaidh
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:22
Date: Sun, 17 Jun 2007 12:22
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Thomas, many thanks for your input on this. Well, I'll see what I can devise as far as a font classification that I can work with (and remember !) goes. d�rachdan, Bran
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