Product Announcement: ATM Light 4.1 Now Posted

Report · Jul 07, 2000

Hello -

ATM Light 4.1 for Windows has just been posted on the adobe.com web site for free download. If you do not require the font management features that ATM Deluxe supplies, then this is the download you need. Note, the file size is about 12.7 megabytes to accomodate the universal installer.

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/atmwin.htm

If you are an ATM Deluxe 4.0 user, *do not* download this installer as it is incompatible with ATM Deluxe. ATM Deluxe 4.0 users who wish to upgrade to ATM Deluxe 4.1 must purchase the upgrade available for $29. via . This phone number is for upgrades only and the upgrade package does not include a serial number.

Chris Holm, Adobe Systems Inc.

Features

* Rasterization for Type 1 and PostScript OpenType fonts.
* Universal installer automatically installs the proper version of ATM for the version of Windows you are using (Win 95/98; Win NT4; Win 2000).
* Downloads available for 12 languages, including Japanese.

Report · Aug 14, 2002

I'm not sure how this follows. ATM Lite is free.

Aandi Inston

Report · Aug 14, 2002

Your correct Aandi, but ATM Lite is a stripped down version of ATM Deluxe. I'm looking for an upgrade to my ATM 4.0 without the $29 price tag.

Additionally, as Chris Holm has stated: "If you are an ATM Deluxe 4.0 user, *do not* download this installer as it is incompatible with ATM Deluxe. ATM Deluxe 4.0 users who wish to upgrade to ATM Deluxe 4.1 must purchase the upgrade available for $29. via 1-800-445-8787. This phone number is for upgrades only and the upgrade package does not include a serial number.

Report · Aug 14, 2002

>Your correct Aandi, but ATM Lite is a stripped down version of ATM Deluxe. I'm looking for an upgrade to my ATM 4.0 without the $29 price tag.

So, why post under the subject "ATM Light 4.1 now posted"?

Since you don't consider the features of ATM Deluxe 4.1 worth the
money, why are you looking to upgrade?

Aandi Inston

Report · Aug 14, 2002

I posted here because I didn't see a more appropriate topic. If I should have posted somewhere else, I apologize.

This started for me after purchasing a new font recently to replace one that had gotten trashed (no backup) and realizing afterward that ATM 4.0 won't recognized Open Type Fonts. I then began looking for a solution, determined that 4.1 Lite was incompatible with 4.0 Deluxe and that unless I wanted to buy the 4.1 Deluxe upgrade, I now had a new font that I can't use.

Report · Aug 14, 2002

Bob,
ATM 4.1 supports a new OS and new technology. The upgrade fee is nominal.
Some company charge you that for an x.x.x bug fix if you need original
disks.

If you created a menu for a restaurant and they just changed their name
would you offer to create the new menu for free since it was just a small
change?

...Mike

Report · Aug 14, 2002

Your point is well taken Mike. Thanks for the perspective...

Report · Aug 14, 2002

Some point releases are major some ore not. Most double point releases are
free x.x.1 for example, but some companies do charge a nominal fee that
amounts to more than Adobe is charging for 4.1. 4.1 is updates a very old
product and adds support for new OSs and new technology (Open Type). The $30
charge is nominal.

If you printed a menu for a restaurant and they came to you later and asked
you to reprint the menus since they were changing the name of the restaurant
would you expect to do it free of charge since it was just a small change?

...Mike

Report · Oct 24, 2002

Thomas,

This is not directly relevant to Jean's problem, but I for one would like to know the mechanics of how Windows 98, Me, etc makes PostScript fonts available to applications?

By way of background, and please correct me if I am wrong here, the main function of font management programs is to give users the opportunity to load only required fonts into memory leaving those not required sitting out on disc. No point in wasting valuable memory on fonts which will not be used, is there?

So you have all your PostScript fonts on disc, and you "instal" them as required using say ATM Lite which puts them in the folder C:\psfonts, and lists them in the initialisation file atm.ini which the application looks up each time it is executed. But this does not get them into memory, hence my search for knowledge.

Is the answer that there is an arrangement between Adobe and Microsoft that when Windows boots all files in C:\Psfonts are loaded into memory either directly or via the list in the atm.ini file?

If this is the case when and how are newly installed fonts loaded into memory without rebooting?

I note that application software developers are responsible to detect the fonts available in memory when his/her application loads (EnumFontFamilies, EnumFonts).

Regards

Ian Campbell
Sydney, Australia

Report · Oct 25, 2002

>This is not directly relevant to Jean's problem, but I for one would like to know the mechanics of how Windows 98, Me, etc makes PostScript fonts available to applications?

Well, unaided it doesn't. ATM makes it able to do this. Essentially,
ATM "hooks into" Windows so that at critical points, more fonts are
available. That is if one part of Windows asks another "list all
available fonts", it adds more to the list. Of course, it has to do
much more, concerned with actually displaying or printing the font
when the application chooses to use it, but it is all done with hooks.

This applies only to pre-NT systems (95/98/Me).
>
> the main function of font management programs is to give users the opportunity to load only required fonts into memory leaving those not required sitting out on disc. N

Not really. Firstly, a loaded font isn't entirely in memory. The
amount of memory used is by today's standards trivial. Managing fonts
is necessary because these all systems, but especially these
old-fashioned ones, have limits. For instance, the file names of all
fonts are listed in several places that are limited to 64K and cannot
be increased. In addition, it may benefit the end user by limiting
font selection to relevant fonts, and speeding up the selection
process.

Remember: ATM Deluxe is a font manager in this sense. ATM Lite is not.

There is also auto-activation. This relies on the fact that almost
all applications will try to use a font without first checking if it
is available. Normally, if a font is not available, Windows picks a
substitute. But with ATM, it can see the request coming and activate
the named font. This function relies on hooks that do not exist in
Windows NT systems.

>I note that application software developers are responsible to detect the fonts available in memory when his/her application loads (EnumFontFamilies, EnumFonts)

These are exactly the sorts of place where ATM adds hooks. Not all
applications do this (only) when the application loads, but those
which do may be unable to detect when fonts are added.

Aandi Inston

Report · Oct 25, 2002

As to the "hooks" . . .
In the [boot] section of system.ini the third line reads 'system.drv=atmsys.drv'. Presumably this line was inserted when ATM Lite was installed. I believe it causes the latter driver to be loaded into memory at this stage in booting in lieu of the MS Windows driver. At the end of the [boot] section the last line reads 'atmsys.drv=system.drv' from which I presume the latter eventually finds its way into memory without overwriting the former.

Thanks for your contribution.

Ian

Report · Oct 25, 2002

Yes, that's how the "hook driver" loads.

Aandi Inston

Report · Oct 25, 2002

Ian,

I think Aandi answered all your questions (quite possibly better than I would have!).

Thanks, Aandi,

T

Report · May 29, 2004

I have ATM Light 4.0 which won't work with my Indesign 2.02.
It seems that there is no longer download support for the ATM Light 4.1 software and I need to use the OpenType fonts included with In Design.

As I am 72 and retired now I can not afford to Upgrade my 98 SE system to Windows XP or upgrade my InDesign, Acrobat and Illustrator software.

I write newsletters and other material that is published for a non-profit educational organization. Can I get the educational rate for upgrading my Adobe software?

I am a long time user of Adobe software.

Noel Browning

Report · May 29, 2004

>It seems that there is no longer download support for the ATM Light 4.1 software

Why do you say that?

>Can I get the educational rate for upgrading my Adobe software?

ATM Lite is free.

Aandi Inston

Report · May 29, 2004

Just put the opentype fonts in the Adobe/fonts folder. They'll only be
accessable by Adobe apps.

But ATM lite 4.1 is still available here:

http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/product.jsp?product=15&platform=Windows

Bob

Report · May 29, 2004

Bob,

When I attempt to download the ATM Light 4.1 software from the address noted in your message this is the message I receive:

"We're sorry! The page you were trying to view is no longer here. If you reached this page from another part of Adobe.com, please let us know so we can fix the problem".

Acording to the InDesign help file I must use ATM Light 4.1 to install the OpenType fonts included on the InDesign 2.0 CD. I will try copying the OpenType files from the CD to the PS file on my hard drive. I am using InDesign 2.0.2 on a Windows 98 SE PC. The CS version requires Windows XP.

Noel

Report · May 30, 2004

There is an Adobe\fonts folder created somewhere, but I don't know where
it is on Win98.

I'm having no problem reaching that page on the Adobe site. Try again,
as it may have simply been down when you tried to get to it.

Bob

Report · May 30, 2004

Acording to the InDesign help file I must use ATM Light 4.1 to install the OpenType fonts included on the InDesign 2.0 CD.

To make them available to all apps, this is correct for pre-W2K/XP systems. However, some Adobe apps (including ID and PS) have independent font support, and as Bob says the fonts will be made available to those apps by copying them to (as I recall) c:\program files\common files\Adobe\fonts (not, c:\ps fonts or c:\winnt\fonts).

Report · Jun 01, 2004

As of this Tuesday afternoon,
and after talking to Macy at Adobe,
I still can't download ATM Light 4.01 from
my EarthLink DSL connection. Macy could from
her computer but I believe she was on the
Adobe in house network and not on the Internet.

After registering for the download and clicking
on the [Download] button I receive a
File not found message.

Also the support phone number shown on the
Adobe Site (800)685-5658 has been changed
to (800) 833-6687.

Noel [frusterated in Glendale] Browning

Report · Jun 01, 2004

I remember some reports of this over a year ago - some people were
getting this condition, while everyone else just got through to the
download page.

What browser are you using, exactly? Are you going through a proxy
server? Does it work to change the details of your registration -
while I'd never normally advise it, lie about everything including
your country, since your regular registration should already be in the
system.

Aandi Inston

Report · Jun 01, 2004

Also, how far do you get. I get several stages

1. A page where I fill in my personal details.

2. A page where I choose that I want the Windows, English version of
ATM Lite.

3. A page saying
"Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to try Adobe Type Manager Light."

4. Meawhile (same time as 3) a download starts; I am asked to choose a
file name.

Exactly what steps do you get? Also, when it fails, exactly what URL
is shown in the browser (please copy/paste it).

Aandi Inston

Report · Jul 23, 2004

I've figured out what the problem is, and Adobe's webmaster could fix it quite easily... as it is, the form is redirecting to
http://www.adobe.com/download.htm
instead of
http://www.adobe.com/products/atmlight/download.htm
a condition which could be remedied by changing the value of "next-url" on http://www.adobe.com/products/atmlight/ to the full URL of the download page.

Report · Jul 24, 2004

>I've figured out what the problem is, and Adobe's webmaster could fix it quite easily...

If it were that simple, why does it work for me?

I'd like to understand the problem. I've looked at the HTML for
http://www.adobe.com/products/atmlight/download.html and I can see no
reference to the URL you mention. Where is the problem - on what page?

Aandi Inston

Report · Jul 25, 2004

I've also been able to access the download page no problem using both the URL in Aandi's post and by filling in the form and being redirected automatically. No problems here.

Report · Jul 23, 2004

Have still been attempting the download!!

When I attempt to download the ATM Light 4.1 software and press the register button this is the message I receive:

"We're sorry! The page you were trying to view is no longer here. If you reached this page from another part of Adobe.com, please let us know so we can fix the problem".

According to the InDesign help file I must use ATM Light 4.1 to install the OpenType fonts included on the InDesign 2.0 CD. I am using InDesign 2.0.2 on a Windows 98 SE PC. The CS version requires Windows XP.

Is the download available or not?

Noel

Adobe Community

Product Announcement: ATM Light 4.1 Now Posted