🚀 go-pugleaf

You already bought them. The client was using an older Type 1 or 
Truetype version. The opentype versions have slightly different names 
but should give you a result so close that nobody would would possibly 
notice.


I've done this plenty of times with Helvetica fonts missing from client 
files and used my OpenType versions.

Bob

I'm much younger. <g>

Bob

J, 

      ...and these are not working. I am still getting the error messages, and
      no other fonts I can seem to find look like what I need.




What do you mean by "not working"? What error messages? Are you sure your new fonts are properly installed and activated?

It could be that the versions of these Neue Helvetica fonts are not the same ones as used by the client. What happens if you just do font substitution within the document (search-and-replace style)?

Also be careful that you do not have duplicate installations of same-named fonts.

Neil

Bob types faster than I do. <g>

Neil

<ashton kuscher>Burn </ak>

      I'm much younger. <g>




I'm taller. <g>

Neil

Hi Bob and Neil,

You guys are awesome. You might be saving my skin on this one. Thanks for helping me make sense of this.

So far, none of the fonts I've bought/installed/activated seem to match up exactly with what the client gave me, and I have a few extra twists that I'm up against.

To answer your questions:

* "What do you mean by "not working"? What error messages?"

I was given two different files from my client (who is a designer) - one is a Flash file, the other is a Photoshop file.

In Photoshop, when I initially open the file, the error message I get is the dreaded "Some text layers contain fonts that are missing. These layers will need to have the missing fonts replaced before they can be used for vector based output."

Then when I click on individual layers with the actual text on them it gives me these:
    "The following fonts are missing for text layer "X":
    HelveticaNeue BoldCond
    Font substitution will occur. Continue?"
also the same but with
    "HelveticaNeue HeavyCond"

At this point after I click "Cancel," the following shows up in my font indicator (or whatever it is in the upper left of Photoshop that tells you what font you're using):
   [HelveticaNeue] [BoldCond] and
   [HelveticaNeue] [HeavyCond]

In Flash, when I open a different-but-similar file, here is the error message:
   "Missing Font Warning:
    One or more fonts used by this movie are not available. Substitute fonts will be used for display and export. They will not be saved to the Macromedia Flash authoring document. Options: Choose Substitute or Use Default."
   When I click on "Choose Substitute," it says that the missing fonts are
   * HelveticaNeue BoldCond and
   * HelveticaNeue Condensed

The tricky thing about this is that so far, I've only been given the fla file, not the published swf. So after I've open the fla file, I'm looking at what has happened after a font substitution has already occurred (either my default font or whatever I've chosen to substitute it).

That's why I'm hoping I can find an exact match - so I'll be sure that, when I open the fla file, I'm seeing what it was supposed to look like.

A few other clues/twists/variables/hurdles:
  * The root of the problem: my client is Mac, I'm on Windows.
  * The client did give me the fonts they used. Problem is, they're Mac fonts, so of course I can't use them right now.
  * The exact file names of the fonts they gave me:
      - HelveNeuBlaCon
      - HelveNeuBolCon
      - HelveticaNeue BlackCond
      - HelveticaNeue BoldCond
        (doesn't seem like it should be a hair-puller, right?)
  * One interesting thing I've found: in Photoshop, in all my efforts to find something that matches, I've found that that if I use the font (which I have) "Helvetica Neue LT Std" 77 Bold Condensed...and then use the Free Transform tool to shrink the width of the text...it matches almost perfectly (the closest match I've found).
  * It's also not out of the question that I'm just doing something completely silly, like not installing/activating/etc with the right secret handshake. But I've installed, closed Photoshop and Flash, rebooted, burned incense, etc. I'm on Windows and not using Suitcase, so activating isn't an issue, the fonts I've bought do show up (just with extra numbers like "77" and stuff like "Std") and are working, they just aren't working the way I want them to.

What do you think - maybe I should look into becoming a dentist?

Thanks,

Jonathan

I covered it all in post one. I can't add anything else. Use the 
opentype versions you have as replacements.

Bob

Jonathan,

As Bob says, we've covered all the bases we can think of. Just make sure that your purchased fonts are properly installed and activated. Unless you know exactly foundry, font, font technology that the client used, you will have to do manual font substitution as already mentioned. 

      A few other clues/twists/variables/hurdles: * The root of the problem:
      my client is Mac, I'm on Windows.





Shouldn't matter. Just match the font names. 

      * The client did give me the fonts they used. Problem is, they're Mac
      fonts, so of course I can't use them right now.




Can't legally do that anyway without being a software pirate. Fonts are licensed software, just like, say, Photoshop. In most cases, you cannot "lend" fonts to anyone any more than you can "lend" your Photoshop. Explain that to your client.

Neil

      Unless you know exactly foundry, font, font technology that the client
      used,




�and maybe platform too. For instance, Adobe Acrobat always complains about not finding MS ArialMT because Microsoft named it differently in the internal name from what they used externally in Windows. Drives me nuts, even with a TT version of the font from a Windows installation activated on my Mac.

This is kind of a workaround...but...if your designer is that particular about his fonts...this might be a horrible idea.

For the Photoshop file you can ask him to rasterize his text and resend it to you. It will lose the benefits of perfect vector line art though. I think you could rasterize it too, but would be stuck with screen resolution. I'm not sure about CS.

For the Flash File, you could ask him to send the original swf file. Then you could view it and KNOW what it is supposed to look like. Then you could try to match as close as you can with the fonts you have.

Not exactly an elegant solution. It all depends on how picky your client is. By the way, if they are that picky, why didn't they provide you with the correct font files? If they bought the originals, they would have a better chance of knowing what the matching Windows files would be. Plus, some font packages come with both. (But that might be a modern day bonus. I'm relatively new and don't know all the pills and ills designers have gone through down the ages.)

Good Luck.