1 Correct answer
In cases like this you should clear your font caches on the Mac to insure no traces of the Type1 Font are still interfering.
Since you're using Suitcase here is a helpful doc:
https://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/troubleshoot-fonts-mac-os-x.html
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Replies
Before you assume that it's InDesign's problem, try two things:
(1) See whether your ITC Zapf Dingbats font works in another Adobe application like Illustrator or Photoshop.
(2) Place the font in the InDesign Fonts folder:
Hi @jillb17247237 Jill,
Dingbats were incorporated into the Unicode system a while back, so many, if not all, are available on some regular fonts. I haven't needed to use a dedicated Dingbats font in quite a few years. Here's the codepoint chart for dingbats from Unicode.org: https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2700.pdf In InDesign's glyph panel, you can search for the codepoint of the symbol you want and see if your favorite font has it.
Some common fonts with Dingbats:
- Noto Sans Symbols 2
- Segoe UI Symbol
- Source Sans Pro
- And from Adobe Fonts, filter for "ornaments" or search for "dingbats." There are some very interesting designs that might have the glyph you want.
What I especially like about using regular fonts is that the glyphs can be in different weights or with variations. In Scotch Display Dingbats (Adobe fonts), for example, the pointing finger has variations where the hand is holding a glass, and the arrows have a very distinctive design.
Have fun with your dingbats!
— Bevi (the Font Fairy)
 
  
Hi Jill @jillb17247237,
Probably it's because the answer is "it depends, maybe, and maybe not."
Beware: This is going to be a long answer!
System fonts are installed by the operating system and their purpose is the draw the text on your screen for menus, dialogue boxes, labels on icons...everything that the operating system controls, such as the user interface.
Generally, they are designed specifically for screen use. I don't know of anything that prevents them from being used in printed and digital documents, but I wouldn't do that. Most likely the typography won't look or read as well as a "real" font.
Both Apple and Microsoft are installing a bazillion foreign language system fonts so that computers and software can be used worldwide, but you might not need most, if any of them. With my font manager, I de-activate the ones I know I'll never use so that my computer isn't cluttered with them. This shortens my font dropdown-lists, too.
Here's a list of Apple's system fonts: https://developer.apple.com/fonts/system-fonts/
Note 1: Don't de-activate any of the common dingbat/symbol fonts because these are often used by software apps and user interfaces.
Note 2: Today, Apple includes many fonts from outside foundries in their package of system fonts. Many of these are fully designed, real fonts you can use in publications, such as Arial, Avenir, Garamond, etc.
A real font has so much more programming in it than a regular system font, like baseline alignment, kerning pairs, and optimization at small sizes. It is designed for both print and digital documents (not user interfaces). And it usually has many more glyphs than its system font counterpart.
So I don't recommend using Apple's system fonts versions of Symbol, Wingdings, or Zapf Dingbats. But there's nothing preventing you from doing so (unless licensing restrictions prevent it), and given that you're using just a character or two, it probably doesn't matter that you might be missing kerning pairs and other built-in typographic features of real fonts.
RE: embedding and licensing rights, I can't find anything definitive on Apple's website, but generally systems fonts are embeddable in PDFs, EPUBs, and other types of digital material without additional licensing fees or restrictions. But that's not a given, either.
So use your font manager or even Apple's Font Book so view the licensing details of each font.
- Look for terms like embeddable or editable embeddable, which indicate that it can be embedded into PDFs and EPUBs.
- Look for any restrictive license usage, such as can't be embedded into digital publications or for commercial use.
- While you're in your font manager, ensure that the font is Unicode/OpenType, which is the current font technology for all digital and print publications.
Here's a screen capture of the Dingbats on my brand new Mac Studio — so no, this version of the font can't be embedded into a PDF.
Compare its "fine print" with the Apple System Font Wingdings:
The entire font industry is in upheaval, making it difficult to figure out what you can and can't do with your fonts. So be sure to check your font's details with your font manager or Font Book (Mac). It will help guide you to the correct font for your projects.
 
And for Windows users reading this thread, examine your fonts in your Windows-based font manager or locate the font file itself in C:/Windows/Fonts. Two tasks:
- Double-click on each font's icon to find info about your font.
- And also right-click/Properties to see licensing and embedding rights.
Sorry this is so long, but you now have quite a bit of my 2-hour fonts class :-0
—Bevi
PS: Can you tell why my friends nicknamed me The Font Fairy?
Noto is also a system font in macOS- we use Connect Fonts to manage our font libraries and the system font is interfering with the downloaded version of Zapf - we are unable to choose the font we download in InDesign.
My question is - are these
By @jillb17247237AdobeApple system fonts allowed to be used in print and media ? Will there be a licensing issue?
Look carefully at the list of Noto fonts included with Apple's System Fonts: https://developer.apple.com/fonts/system-fonts/
Notes:
- They list only regular weights for most fonts, so you don't have a complete set of font weights for design projects.
- They are versions for dedicated languages and dialects.
- Therefore, they are intended to present the user interface in various world languages, not for publishing.
- And there could be embedding and licensing issues. Check the fonts in Font Book or your font manager. (See details in the next message).
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