Font Manager - Windows10

A few observations from within Adobe …

Although I have extensively used InDesign since before the product was even initially released (and primarily on Windows) with large numbers of fonts, I have never found it all that compelling to try to deal with the issues associated with font managers, for better or for worse. If I need to use fonts that were not previously installed on my system, I install them either in the Windows font directory, reference the fonts in my InDesign document, package my document to yield a directory with a private Document Fonts subdirectory, and then uninstall the font(s) from Windows unless I believe I really have general need for the font(s) in question. But that's the mishegoss of how I personally work! 

Some things to consider if you are toying with the idea of using a font manager product with Windows and any of the core Adobe CC applications:

(1)     Adobe applications do enumerate fonts via Windows as well as doing its own enumeration of fonts in a number of application-specific and document-specific locations as well as coordinating with third party font managers via predefined APIs that are often modified / expanded as each new release of the CC (and previously the CS) applications were released. Mix into that connections with Typekit to provide access to fonts that are being requested but aren't installed.

(2)     If you choose a font management package, you need to ascertain that the provider of same is committed to providing timely updates to their offering to match Adobe's product update release dates. (Contrary to what some may assume, Adobe does make development versions of these products, including InDesign, available to these third party developers such that they can be ready when we ship!) It such updates are not made in a timely fashion and you update InDesign, you may find yourself blown out of the water in terms of font manager support until such updates come from the font manager's developer!

(3)     Windows has now settled on a twice-a-year major update cadence. Both in 2017 and 2018, there was one such release in which changes made to the Windows font subsystem caused chaos for advanced users with fonts and/or printing that took up to six months to resolve (I know because I initiated the reports to Microsoft to get the fixes made). Mix into that third party font managers that also have to deal with Windows APIs for adding, removing, etc. fonts and things can get even more dicey.

(4)     From what we can see from the last major Windows 10 update earlier this year, additional changes (which you may not like) are being made to the Windows font subsystem that may impact both Adobe applications and font managers. Microsoft is gradually migrating functionality that was previously in the Control Panels to Windows Settings. Currently, you can look at the fonts both from the Fonts Control Panel:

or from the Windows Settings => Personalization => Fonts screen:

Not all information available in the old Fonts Control Panel, such as embedding privileges, is available in the new facility.

But wait, there's more. Microsoft is now licensing fonts via the Microsoft Store, including fonts that were previously optional fonts that were simply installed in the Windows font directory. These fonts from the Microsoft Store are not installed in the Windows font directory, but rather, are installed in subdirectories of  C:\Program Files\WindowsApps\ that are effectively “inaccessible” unless you know how to muck around with directory ownership and access privileges as a system administrator. How and whether these fonts are accessible to Adobe applications and font managers is TBD. It will be interesting to see what happens with the October 2018 Windows 10 release to be forced on your system within the next month or so in terms of fonts. Stay tuned.

-----------------

Bottom line? I would be very careful about bringing a font manager on board under Windows at this point until things settle down a lot. If you really want to evaluate such font managers, I would advise waiting until both the next InDesign CC major release comes out as well as the October 2018 Windows 10 release comes out and the dust settles. Even then, only try on an evaluation system, not on a production system!

          - Dov (“the prudently skeptical”)

I've had really good results with FontExplorer X Pro.

Worth trying? Why not?

I'm a Suitcase Fusion guy, though.