Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

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Lmscraps
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:53 pm

Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by Lmscraps »

I hope someone here can help me. When I go to my fonts list in SCAL2, not all of my fonts are showing up. I noticed this when I installed MonogramKK into Windows7... I can use MonogramKK in Word and other programs... and when I installed it, I could use it in SCAL... once. When I reopened SCAL, it mysteriously disappeared, along with several other fonts that I had recently installed. No matter what I do, I can't get it to show up on the list in SCAL, although it shows up in my installed fonts folder in Windows. What am I doing wrong? I really like this font and would like to use it for more projects other than the 1 project I was able to get it to work on!

It's a TT font, I'm running Windows 7 and SCAL2. I have uninstalled and reinstalled, re-downloaded (in case it was corrupt), restarted computer, restarted SCAL, with all the same results.

Thanks,
Lisa
firstcut
Posts: 1822
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 6:19 pm
Location: FL; SCAL1, SCAL2; Mac; Ink .47, AI CS4
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Re: Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by firstcut »

Did you look at the bottom of the font list? Since it starts with a lowercase letter, SCAL alphabetizes it weird.
Lmscraps
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:53 pm

Re: Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by Lmscraps »

Kay, thank you. I will look as soon as I get home. I did notice that the font I downloaded did start with a lower case letter but didn't know if that would make a difference. I bet that's it!

Lisa
Lmscraps
Posts: 5
Joined: Thu Apr 22, 2010 12:53 pm

Re: Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by Lmscraps »

Well, that was not it.... what I did start thinking was that I have a LOT of fonts... like almost 3,000. I started deleting fonts that I never use and probably never will. I'm down to 1,740 now, and my recently-installed fonts are now showing up in my SCAL program. So I guess there's a limit as to how many fonts SCAL can handle.

Lisa
GrammyKrausse
Posts: 858
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:33 am

Re: Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by GrammyKrausse »

Lmscraps wrote:Well, that was not it.... what I did start thinking was that I have a LOT of fonts... like almost 3,000. I started deleting fonts that I never use and probably never will. I'm down to 1,740 now, and my recently-installed fonts are now showing up in my SCAL program. So I guess there's a limit as to how many fonts SCAL can handle.

Lisa
I had been told this before by a tech but decided to do a little research on removing fonts or deleting fonts. I got this from a MS Windows site.

"As the Windows Security box states; this could cause Windows to act differently. Make sure you know which fonts you are removing and that Windows does not need them before you remove any protected system fonts. This could cause many complications with your installation of Windows."
firstcut
Posts: 1822
Joined: Sun Dec 21, 2008 6:19 pm
Location: FL; SCAL1, SCAL2; Mac; Ink .47, AI CS4
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Re: Installed Fonts Not Showing Up in List

Post by firstcut »

Posting my full troubleshooting guide here (couldn't find it before so I just went with the most likely suspect). Glad you solved your issue. This may help for the future or for other searchers.

Troubleshooting steps for when you have installed a font in your operating system and it does not show up in SCAL's font window.

1) Scroll all the way to the bottom of the SCAL font menu. SCAL realphabetizes fonts beginning with lower case letters so sometimes your new font will be filed near the end of the list.
2) Fonts carry an internal name that may be different from the name of the file you downloaded. Check for alternate names the font might be listed under. For instance, JJ Cool Kaps might be Cool Kaps JJ or Kool Kaps JJ.
3) Check to see if the font shows up in another program on your computer such as your word processor. If so, carefully note the font name that appears in the menu and recheck for that name in the SCAL menu. If the font does not show up in other programs either, refer to specific instructions for your operating system on how to install the font.
4) Under Edit>Preferences>General Tab check "Use Full Font Scan" (not available on Mac or some Win versions)
5) Click the refresh button on the Library Window (circular arrow) and search for your font on the list again.

If none of the above methods work, you likely have a font with a coding error of some kind. Some programs are more forgiving of these errors than others, which is why the font will work in other programs and not in SCAL. Unstable fonts like this can sometimes cause problems on your computer and should be uninstalled when you are not using them.

We suspect the set limit to the number of fonts that SCAL can see is 2000, though have been unable to confirm this. Regardless of any limit, it will be easier to find and use fonts in SCAL, and your computer will perform better in other applications as well, if you keep the number of fonts installed on your computer to a reasonable number. What is reasonable depends on your particular operating system, RAM, processor speed, etc. If you find yourself with more fonts installed than is comfortable, if performance seems to be bogging down (especially when applications are opening) or if you just want to be able to view and organize your fonts better, consider a font management program compatible with your operating system. Examples for Windows include The Font Thing, AMP, and FontExplorer. Also see "(temporarly) install fonts in SCAL" in the file section for instructions on how to temporarily access a font in Windows without installing it. Macs have a font manager, called Font Book, built in.

Workarounds for when the font you need won't work in SCAL:
1) If the font works in Inkscape, then design in Inkscape and import to SCAL.
2) If the font works in MS Word, Publisher etc., use its WordArt function and import into SCAL (see http://cleversomeday.wordpress.com/2009 ... r-cutting/ for instuctions).
3) Use the font in any program it works in, take a screenshot and import the screenshot into Inkscape for tracing.
4) Use the previewer function at free font sites to preview your phrase or individual characters, take a screen shot and import into Inkscape for tracing.
5) Find another similar font that works in SCAL.
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