Leopard Font Management

[pcmodem]

I am just now getting a chance to test out Leopard and wanting to get some feedback.

I know there have been several threads on PP about what fonts should be located in the System/Library/Fonts folder. I have not installed Helvetica any where and when I launch applications like Safari, it asks me if I want to allow Safari to use the Helvetica Font it found. I tell it no and to remember my choice. Below is what I have in my System/Library/Fonts.

AppleGothic.ttf
Geneva.dfont
Keyboard.dfont
LastResort.dfont
LucidaGrande.dfont
Monaco.dfont

How do you handle the Helvetica fonts requirement?

What do you have in your System/Library/Fonts?

 

[zcto7]

I use a postscript version of Helvetica, Times, etc... Reason being, it will work with anything requesting it, vs the opentype fonts that have the STD suffix.

Shouldn't be deleted in OSX 10.5
AppleGothic.ttf
AquaKanaBold.otf
AquaKanaRegular.otf
Courier.dfont*
Geneva.dfont
Helvetica LT MM & HelveLTMM
Helvetica.dfont*
HelveticaNeue.dfont*
Keyboard.dfont
LastResort.dfont
LucidaGrande.dfont
Monaco.dfont
Osaka.dfont
OsakaMono.dfont
Symbol.dfont*
Times LT MM & TimesLTMM
Times.dfont*
ZapfDingbats.dfont*
HiraMinProN-W3, HiraMinProN-W6, HiraKakuProN-W3 & HiraKakuProN-W6

The fonts marked with an asterisk can be replaced by other versions of the same font. This means you can use a PostScript version of Helvetica instead of the .dfont version.

Theres a good guide below on managing font inside of Leopard, as it is different from Tiger. It will try and replace fonts for you if you remove them.
Removing non essential fonts

*Edit
I also delete (and archive) the font in my user/library folder

 

[pcmodem]

Why shouldn't those be deleted when running Leopard?

 

[zcto7]

I apologize for hastily replying without explaining, I tried to squeeze it in at work in between jobs, and pasted those from an article. Those are just common fonts used by various programs. Some of those are required when using different languages, which might not be used. (pg25 of the pdf link below)

Advanced Typography with Mac OSX Tiger

Your collection of fonts are fine, but I would at least add a postscript Helvetica in there to eliminate the error messages. The really critical ones are : Geneva, Helvetica, Lucida Grande, Monaco, Keyboard.dfont, and LastResort.dfont , as listed on page 24. The keyboard.dfont and Lastresort.dfont are fonts that it reverts to if all goes wrong and it needs something to display.

In addition to the critical fonts, I would add Postscript T1 fonts of Courier, Futura, GillSans, Times New Roman, and any others that programs might frequently request.

You can let Suitcase or fontbook handle these frequently used fonts, I did at first but kept finding myself turning on a set of these everytime at startup, which is a hassle. I opt to keep just these frequently used postscript fonts in the system folder, and let suitcase handle the rest.

I would also recommend running FontNuke to clear out all of the font cache files from OSX, and Adobe programs.

 

[mrgraphics]

Hello PCmodem. How are you guys... Recently i purchased the new intelmac 24" with leopard system. I like to use Font Agent Pro. But the problem i was facing was if i add helvetica it was crashing all the time and conflicting but finally i managed with one of the forum and now i am have added all my favourite Helvita family without any conflict. The following is the solution.

Users of Suitcase Fusion and the Suitcase Server X1 client who upgrade to Mac OS X 10.5 may encounter problems when attempting to use the Manage System Fonts feature. A warning message may display when attempting to manage one or more system fonts: "The system font '[name of font]' was removed. This font file is required by Mac OS X to display onscreen text. It has been restored." After a font is managed, the font is still present in /System/Library/Fonts.

solutions/workaround:
A new feature introduced in Mac OS X 10.5 is the ability to prevent system fonts from being removed from /System/Library/Fonts. When this feature is active, certain fonts will be automatically replaced by a backup copy if removed by the user or a font manager. The user is warned that the removed font was restored. This can cause problems for users who wish to manage the versions of Helvetica and Helvetica Neue that ship with Mac OS X.

Note:
These fonts are automatically replaced by the System Font Protection feature of Mac OS X 10.5:
Geneva.dfont
Helvetica.dfont
HelveticaNeue.dfont
Keyboard.dfont
LastResort.dfont
LucidaGranda.dfont
Monaco.dfont

The System Font Protection feature is controlled by a preference in Font Book; unchecking the "Alert me if system fonts change" checkbox will prevent Mac OS X 10.5 from raising an error dialog if you remove any of the protected fonts or replacing the listed fonts if you remove them.
Both Suitcase Fusion and the Suitcase Server X1 client have a feature to override system fonts; this feature works normally in Mac OS X 10.5, and it is recommended that this feature be used to activate alternate versions of the protected system fonts. System Font Protection must be disabled for overriding system fonts to work properly.

After i tried to follow the above i am running fine and i am using FONT AGENT PRO.

Hope this help you too.

 

[jkidwell]

Font Management in Mac OS X Best Practices Guide

Font Management in Mac OS X Best Practices Guide

We publish a guide that details system font requirements, as well as other best practices for font management in Mac OS X. You can download a free copy from our website here:

Best Practices for Managing Fonts in Mac OS X - 5th Edition (updated: Jan. 2009)

Jim Kidwell
Extensis