Why can't I just find a font app that works??

[sarahpeller]

I've tried sooo many font apps and they all are a constant hassle. I finally really want to just stick to Adobe Fonts. I've always shied away from it because it takes a really long time to load missing fonts. But maybe there is a solution for that? Also, I want to add my own fonts to the app, of course. But that already is failing miserably after a few initial tries. Most fonts I try to add give me a message that simply says "unable to add". I'm not sure why they're not adding to the system. There is not explanation. They aren't Type 1 fonts or anything and they seemed to work in other font apps.

Should I just give up on Adobe Fonts too or is there a way around these problems? Do other people like using this app?

[Tarun Saini]

Hi @sarahpeller,

We're sorry to hear about this. Before we proceed further, please help us with a few questions. Do you see a Missing Fonts message upon opening a file in one of your desktop applications? What happens when you add your own Fonts? Please share the screenshot of the error message you're seeing.  Is it possible for you to share the screen recording of the issue?

We're here to help, just need some info.

Regards,

Tarun

[Bobby Henderson]

I don't think the Adobe Fonts service is meant to be an all-purpose solution for using and managing fonts on a computer. I consider it to be a very good cloud-based fonts add-on to the traditional approaches of installing and using fonts.

While it's possible to upload fonts into a CC account I can't imagine doing so for more than a few fonts at a time. And I would only do that for fonts I want to use on a signed-in mobile device, such as an iPad Pro. Otherwise I'll just install the fonts directly into the computer's operating system or have a font management application locally installed on the computer manage those fonts. The process is going to be faster and more practical.

[sarahpeller]

Bummer. I have tried a few font management apps. The latest one I've tried is Extensis Connect Fonts for mac, which so many people rave about. But I have had a constant stream of problems and troubleshooting with that app and I'm finally giving up. It requires so much time-consuming work to manage. I just want a font management app that works and I don't have to think about it or troubleshoot it constantly. Does something like that exist? What do you use?

[Bobby Henderson]

I don't think any font management applications out there are perfect. The font manager itself can be a source of problems and then you have the varying quality of fonts. The stuff from free fonts web sites can cause problems; I'm especially wary of "picture fonts" that contain clip art images acting like glyphs.

I mainly use Windows-based computers; the only font management app I use is Corel Font Manager, an app bundled into CorelDRAW (an Illustrator rival). It was formerly known as Bitstream Font Manager.

There's good and bad with that application. The "good" is that the app is somewhat easy to use and it's easy to have it watch folders you set up with certain font collections. Those collections can be turned on/off pretty easy without have to install fonts into the OS.

The "bad" part is Corel's Font Manager app has some bugs Corel has not fixed in years. The biggest problem is some "super family" typefaces can have styles that come up missing, get changed into italic (or vice versa) or get changed into default Arial. I've seen these glitches most often with fonts downloaded from the Google Fonts website (sometimes the glitches can be fixed by downloading another copy months later). But it has also affected some type families I've purchased. Another problem is I can't have both Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW running at the same time. If I do it will affect certain typefaces within Illustrator. Some styles will disappear from Illustrator's fonts menu. If I shut down both applications and re-launch Illustrator its fonts menu will be back to normal.

Generally, I try to stay on top of the fonts I use, whether they're installed directly in the operating system's fonts folder, turned on via a font manager or synced via Adobe Fonts. There are certain "work horse" type families I use frequently and leave installed. Lots of other type families have their own style and appeal, but if I'm not using them I'll remove or deactivate them.

[Qzzzzzzzzzzzz]

Would have ben great to see areal answer to this question. I have the same issue.

[sarahpeller]

I know 😑