Cannot activate Adobe fonts (ID 2019)

[Mike Diehl]

I posted this yesterday in the Adobe fonts forum, but got no replies. Thought I'd try here.

Adobe fonts clearly is a feature of ID v. 14.0 (2019), and they work on my machine with Illustrator (2020) but I cannot activate fonts in InDesign -- and, of course, there is no way to upgrade just one iteration, to ID 2020 (if that would even solve the problem). I do see in the CC app an alert, "Something went wrong when initiating Creative Cloud Libraries," and I tried several things suggested on the pages linked to, all to no avail. 

Last but not least, I spent 45 minutes chatting with someone before he told me he couldn't assist further because Adobe supports only two versions back. So here I am, soliciting suggestions. 

[Derek Cross]

The latest version of InDesign is 19.4, is there a reason for using an old version?

[Mike Diehl]

v. 19 won't run on my OS. The most recent version that will is 15 (2020) but alas, that's not available. I'm disinclined to update my OS because I have some legacy software I couldn't use were I to upgrade. Plus, the system has been very stable and I like stability -- I prefer to do my work, and not be distracted by computer stuff. 

[Derek Cross]

Fair enough.

[BobLevine]

I know you don't want to hear this but you may well need to consider having two machines. One for legacy stuff and one to keep up with the rest of the world. It's going to be nearly impossible to trouble shoot software that was released more than five years ago and hasn't been supported for more than three years.

Of course, it's your call, but I just want to temper any expectations of fixes for something like this.

[Mike Diehl]

I'm old enough to have been here, multiple times. When a critical mass of software won't work, I'll upgrade, and suffer through the cost of software upgrades and the commensurate learning curves -- and disappointments and frustrations. In the meantime, though,, it seems to me Adobe fonts SHOULD work with my version of InDesign, as the font panels indicate the functionality is active, and the app recognizes the fonts. That said, the troubleshooting efforts I tried included checking a hidden file in the (hidden) /etc folder, and digging into my Networks settings to see if the sites weren't blocked -- way in-the-weeds stuff -- and none of that worked. "Impossible to trouble shoot"? Maybe, probably, but nothing about this makes me think particularly highly of Adobe. (Would you agree that that, too, is "fair enough"?)

[Bill Silbert]

I have found that simply signing out of your Creative Cloud account in the desktop app and then signing in again will fix problems with activating Adobe Fonts. As a matter of fact after I wrote the first sentence of this post I went into my desktop app and saw that the Adobe fonts section of my app was showing an error and the fonts weren't available. Following my own advice I signed out and then signed in again. The fonts returned!

[Mike Diehl]

I appreciate, and will try, any suggestion. I'd tried that before, and did again just now, but saw no difference. 

A couple days ago I did discover an alert in CC to a Libraries Syncing error. I went to the page and did all four things suggested -- and I did that again today. 

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/creative-cloud-libraries-panel-doesn-t-load-in-desktop-pro...

To no avail, of course -- but I suspect the problem lies somewhere near here. Maybe I'll post this again, a third time, in the Creative Cloud forum....

[HARSHIKA_VERMA]

Hi @Mike Diehl,

Sorry for the delay in responding. We would like to follow up on your issue. Are you still experiencing the issue with CC libraries sync? In the past, the CC libraries team has pushed an update that has impacted a few services. However, with the current CC libraries version, 4.5, various issues have been fixed.

Hence, please let us know if your issue is fixed or not. 

We would be happy to assist you further.

Thanks,

Harshika

[Mike Diehl]

Thanks. I didn't dig deeply, but just now I looked at the CC app and saw the Libraries Sync Error alert. I clicked the recycle button but that changed nothing. I have no idea what version of libraries I'm running, but I downloaded CC not long ago, around the time this problem arose. Also, I've not had the need to sync Adobe fonts since that first instance, so can't affirm or deny that anything has changes with that feature/functionality. 

I'd like it to work, so if if there's something I can try, or look at, to determine if anything's changes, please advise. 

[rob day]

Hi @Mike Diehl , Are you sure Aktiv Grotesk Cd Regular is available for activation at Adobe Fonts?

When I check the Adobe Fonts site, Aktiv Grotesk Regular is available for activation, but I’m not seeing Aktiv Grotesk Cd Regular.

Open your Creative Cloud app and click the font icon, then Browse more fonts:

A search for Aktiv Grotesk shows these fonts, which can be added (there’s no Cd):

[rob day]

Also I noticed the designer sells a variable axis version of the font on their site:

https://www.daltonmaag.com/portfolio/font-library/aktiv-grotesk.html

Is it possible that, in the past, the font may have been downloaded/purchased, and installed in one of your system font folders, and is a different version than the Adobe Cloud activated font?

I’m running CC2021 and have no problem activating the Aktiv Grotesk family—the path of an Adobe Type font is always listed as Activated from Adobe Fonts and not a local file path:

[Mike Diehl]

That's very kind of you, Rob, to note that detail/exception. I've not had another project come in that needs/uses Adobe fonts, so I've not had the opportunity to further figure out how it all works. The project that used Aktiv went away, so I can't even go back to it "for fun." Hopefully next time it'll make more sense, but in the meantime, I did download a couple fonts (using the cloud icon in CC) and that made a difference. Again, it went away 'cause it was a rush and I wasn't rising to the occasion. If downloading is all it takes, then cool.... 

[rob day · Accepted solution]

The Adobe Type fonts are not downloaded and installed, you activate them from the Adobe Type site (the Browse More Fonts button shortcut in the CC app).

There is a local copy, but it is hidden in the system, so you can't share Adobe Type fonts, they can only be activated by you or another subscriber.