Font is installed, shows in Illustrator, won't let me use it

[Holton Recorder]

I'm trying to install and use the Franklin Gothic Medium font, and I've downloaded/installed it from various websites with the exact same result - if I open a .pdf file using that font, it highlights it and puts an asterisk (*) next to the font name in the Character panel, indicating that it doesn't exist even though it most certainly is installed. What is going on? Thank you!

[Mylenium]

Soem fonts are blacklisted due to licensing kerfuffle behind the scenes with legacy fonts. You may need to install the official Adobe version (if available) or switch to another font.

Mylenium

[Ton Frederiks]

Does Type > Find/Replace Font help?

[Warren Heaton]

Use Franklin Gothic Medium from Adobe Type.

Access to the fonts in the Adobe Type library are included with our Creative Cloud subscription plan and already licesned for both personal and commeri....

[Holton Recorder · Accepted solution]

I found them, thanks! I've got them installed, but for some reason, the font in the document that was sent to us is a lot thicker. And the above issue still persists. I changed the font to the official Adobe one, but it's a lot thinner than the one the client sent. But I guess I can just switch that out. muhahahaha

[davidc85205287]

Can you check and see that the font is not a Type 1 font.

[Bobby Henderson]

Hi Holton,

Were these Franklin Gothic fonts purchased commercially? Or did they come included with a graphics application? Do you know which company made the fonts (Linotype, ITC, URW, etc)? I have a couple or so different "flavors" of Franklin Gothic in my collection and have never seen styles fail to show up in the Illustrator font menu.

As others have mentioned, Postscript Type 1 fonts are no longer supported in Adobe applications. That could be a source of the trouble.

Another factor: moving an Illustrator AI or PDF document from one computer to another. If an AI or PDF document is opened on a different PC and doesn't have the exact font files installed that were used in the document font substitution errors can occur.

Are you running any font manager applications and/or other graphics applications at the same time as Illustrator? Example: I've personally seen conflicts between Adobe Illustrator and CorelDRAW when both are running at the same time on the same PC. Some styles in multiple type families will disappear from the font menu in Illustrator. Documents using those missing styles will show errors similar to your screen shots. When I shut down CorelDRAW and re-launch Illustrator any fonts that were missing are restored in the fonts menu.

[Holton Recorder]

I'm not using any other programs, and I got the fonts via various free websites like Onlinewebfonts, Fontsgeek, Fontmeme, etc. Every single one has the same result. I know that .otf files are no longer supported (at least, I kept getting a popup toward the end of 2022 saying they wouldn't be allowed after Jan. 1), so all my fonts are also .ttf files.

I just opened Font Book and did Cmd+I, and I see no mention of Postscript Type 1. It says version 2.20 and this info:

Unique name Monotype - Franklin Gothic Medium Regular

Manufacturer International Typeface Corporation

Designer Victor Caruso

Here is everything I got from Font Book:

[Doug A Roberts]

I know that .otf files are no longer supported...

By @Holton Recorder

I'm probably responding to a typo, but just in case, support for OTF files isn't changing.

[davecc]

OpenType and TrueType are supported.

[Bobby Henderson]

Some of the free fonts web sites out there are offering up pirated copies of commercially sold fonts. However I'm not sure how Adobe Illustrator could tell the difference between a copy of Franklin Gothic that came from one of these web sites as opposed to a font file that was purchased legitimately or came bundled in an application (MS Office, CorelDRAW, etc).

Google Fonts and Font Squirrel are good sources for free yet legal/open source fonts. And they are much safer sites to visit. Sites offering up free copies of commercial fonts are trying to use the fonts as bait to trick people into installing all sorts of other utilities loaded with adware, spyware or malware. That's via the multiple "download" buttons scattered around the web page layout.

OpenType fonts (OTF) are fully supported by Adobe Illustrator. The newer OTF Variable and OTF SVG formats are also fully supported by Illustrator.

A Postscript Type 1 font typically has at least 2 files associated with it, a PFB file containing the font outline data and a PFM file containing the font's metrics. Some T1 fonts will include PFB, PFM, AFM and INF files. Type 1 Multiple Master fonts will include MMM files along with the PFB and PFM files.

[Holton Recorder]

I do also use Font Squirrel (love that site!) I'm now using the Adobe family font. I'm just not sure why the original pdf registers it as Franklin Gothic Medium, when the Adobe version isn't as thick. It's more in line with Franklin Gothic Heavy. But oh well, as long as I can get it to work!

[Bobby Henderson]

Different type companies or type designers who release their own versions of a classic typeface, such as Franklin Gothic, will often re-draw the letters and other glyphs to their own liking. If you make multiple copies of a text string and set each in a different variant of Franklin Gothic (such as ITC or URW, Linotype, etc) you'll see all sorts of subtle differences in the letters if the text objects are lined up on top of each other.

This is a situation that can drive me up the wall with certain sign repair tasks. A business may lose one or more trim-capped letter faces off a lighted channel letter building sign. It's no problem if my company originally built the sign; we'd have the original art files. The replacement faces will match perfectly. If a different company made the sign and I had to re-create the artwork I'd need to use the same "flavor" of typeface used to create that sign. Otherwise we'll have to make a pattern from the letter returns and manually cut the replacement faces. Some typefaces have lots of variants or look-alike "clones" with different typeface names. They mostly look identical in appearance, but their letter outlines usually don't line up with each other perfectly. Helvetica is a perfect example of this. Topping it off, many graphics people have the nasty habit of distorting fonts out of their normal proportions, squeezing and stretching them to fit a certain space.

[Met1]

Do you need to make text changes?

If not, tell your client to save the file with fonts outlined.

Or instead of opening in Illy, just place in Illy.