Participant

Answered

fonts management in illustrator 29.8.1 doesnt work anymore.

Forum|Forum|4 months ago
September 16, 2025
22 replies
4610 views

Im using nexusfonts as font manager, im working for tens different brands and i dont want to install hundres of fonts so i activate/deactivate fonts to suits my specific needs. Since this last version of illustrator, when i was selecting a different font collection from nexusfont, illustrator saw the new activated fonts and updated them in the documents. Now it doesn't do this anymore and I have to close and reopen illustrator with the collection activated in nexusfont everytime im switchig between different clients documents. It's very annoying and I would like to know if there is a solution for this. Thanks! 🙂

Correct answer d1malien

This bug has been fixed in Adobe Illustrator v.30. Activating/deactivating fonts on the fly using font managers in Adobe Photoshop v.27 also works. Please check it out.

talos72

Inspiring

I am using a Windows 11 machine with Extensis Connect font manager. I have noticed it no longer can activate/ deactivate fonts on the fly with Illustrator or Photoshop. I have to close Adobe app, activate fonts I need temporarily and reopen Adobe app. Very annoying and slow.

d1malienCorrect answer

Inspiring

This bug has been fixed in Adobe Illustrator v.30. Activating/deactivating fonts on the fly using font managers in Adobe Photoshop v.27 also works. Please check it out.

talos72

Inspiring

Yeah. Thanks for letting me know. After updating AI to latest version it is now working fine with Connect.

L

lomaxd

Inspiring

I just checked the latest Illustrator update, version 30.0. After updating Extensis Connect to version 28.0.0 it now works as it should. Fonts activate/deactivate while a doc is open and auto-activate when a font is not active, but present in the file being opened. Thanks to all involved. Go get your favorite beverage of choice to celebrate. (Consume wisely.)

d1malien

Inspiring

In Adobe Illustrator v.30 this bug has been fixed, I checked with Font Expert 2015. Check on your font managers.

Thank you to all participants for your support.

M

marianm52683389Author

Participant

i updated illustrator to version 29.8.2 and the problem persist

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @marianm52683389,

Thanks for the update. Could you please try testing this behavior in the latest Illustrator (Beta) build available via the Creative Cloud Desktop App? You can install it from here: https://adobe.ly/46FEut6 and check if it resolves the issue with font activation not updating automatically.

Let me know how it goes after testing so I can share your feedback with the team.

Abhishek

L

lomaxd

Inspiring

Abhishek,

I've tested Extensis Connect in the Beta 30.1 65. Fonts that are activated while an .AI document is open do indeed become available to use, as well as unavailable when they are again deactivated in Extensis Connect. The auto activation function does not work. Where a font in an existing document does not activate automatically if it's deactivated in Connect before the document is then opened.

A

anjana2k26

Participant

I have been using the font manager Fontbase with Illustrator for a few years without any problems. Typically, when we activate a font in Fontbase, it is immediately available across various applications like Photoshop and Illustrator.

But after a recent update to Illustrator, this method no longer works. Now we must restart Illustrator every time we activate a font in Fontbase for it to appear in Illustrator. This problem only occurs in the latest versions of Illustrator, while older versions and Photoshop do not have this issue. I also checked the Fontbase community, and it seems the problem is not on Fontbase's side. https://forum.fontba.se/t/activating-fonts-do-not-appear-in-illustrator/1733

Please resolve this issue without creating additional problems. Thank you!

Monika Gause

Community Expert

So probably the font base engineers should contact the Illustrator engineers about the issue instead of just poking around? Maybe join the prerelease group?

A

AdbeC

Participant

problem is on Adobe side, if you install a new font, it won't appear when you searched for it, you need to restart illustrator for the new font to be reflected. Maybe learn how to read context clues before calling out someone for poking around?

S

simplybright

Participating Frequently

As of a few weeks ago, Illustrator stopped doing live updates of newly installed fonts while the program is open. I have to complete restart the program to get the font library to update. I tried doing a clean install, also clearing the app data and temp folders.

A service rep told me to install fonts through the creative cloud app, but that's not something I'm interested in doing for a multitude of reasons. Hopefully this is an easy fix that I just overlooked, thanks in advance!

Abhishek Rao

Community Manager

Hi @simplybright,

Thanks for sharing the details. Illustrator should normally refresh newly added system fonts without needing a restart, so this behavior isn't expected. Please try resetting Illustrator preferences (https://adobe.ly/3VShctG) and see if that helps. Also, ensure you’re installing the fonts for 'All Users' in Windows rather than just your current profile, as that can affect how Illustrator detects them.

Additionally, try signing out and back into the Creative Cloud desktop app to refresh syncing. If the problem continues, clear your system font cache using the steps here: https://adobe.ly/3VPedCr.

Once done, restart your system and test again by installing a new font while Illustrator is open. Let me know if the fonts still don’t refresh automatically, so I can check this further.

Looking forward to your update.
Abhishek

S

simplybright

Participating Frequently

I've done all the steps and am still encountering the issue.

A

atomicvibe

Known Participant

Extensis Connect 27.0.4 user here on a Mac running Mac OS 14.7 and Adobe Illustrator 29.8.2.

The problem I'm having is that Illustrator is not auto-activating inactive fonts in Extensis Connect. See screenshots. There is text set in the font, Yorklyn Stencil, which is inactive in an Extensis Connect library. When I open the Illustrator file with the font in it, the file should auto-activate Yorklyn Stencil for use until I quit Illustrator, but it doesn't. In the screenshots, you can clearly see Illustrator not recognizing the font, yet I have the font (inactive) in Extensis Connect, AND I have the Extensis Connect Auto-Activation plugin installed in Illustrator.

K

kyler11166443

Participating Frequently

I see some posts about the beta not fixing this either. I gave up on waiting for Adobe to fix this and reverted to v29.7.1 and now fonts activate instantly again. Just remember to save a screenshot of your workspace layout as reverting doesn't save this for some reason.

d1malien

Inspiring

This issue has not been fixed in Adobe Illustrator 29.8.2, so I also reverted to version 29.7.1, although it also has issues with saving artboard names, but fonts are more important. To be honest, I'm shocked that we have to choose versions of paid software, but we test them for free, then pay for them and test them again. Perhaps it is not profitable for developers to make high-quality software from the outset and not break features that have worked many years, and then add tested additional features to it, because there would be no justification for their salaries.

mosesconspiracy

Participating Frequently

Issue still persisting for me in version 29.8.2 with using Extensis and Fontbase, Win11

mosesconspiracy

Participating Frequently

Also I would add: this almost definitely isn't an issue with any font management software as even manually installing a font to the Windows font folder does not update the font list in Illustrator unless you restart

patyf41978578

Participant

I am using Font Base and facing the same issues.

A

avalent

Known Participant

Please don't forget to upvote. So far there are only 6 upvotes and at least double as many replies.

Q

quitecontrary

Known Participant

I'm having the same issue with Extensis and Adobe Illustrator, but I can't get any of the fonts to activate no matter how much I close and re-open either app. Stop adding useless AI features to Illustrator and fix this issue immediately.

David Sutphin

Participating Frequently

I had the same problem. Solution was reverting to previous version. A pain because you loose workspace layouts but it removes the font problem which is definitely and Adobe issue, not an Extensis issue. (Extensis was very responsive with their support.)

M

marianm52683389Author

Participant

do you have problems opening documents you worked in latest version, after reverting to previous one? I would also do it but i already worked loads of documents and searching and save them in an older version is not an option for me anymore

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