Throughout my life, I have never cared about the font I type in. When in school, I always typed in the font that Microsoft Office offered me, usually the last used font, unless otherwise directed in assignment directions. However, about two years ago, I became interested in fonts. One way I was able to increase my interest was by looking around Font Book – the area of the Mac where you are able to view, delete, and download new fonts. Font Book is an aspect of Mac that not all users discover. This article will full explore Font Book.
Where is Font Book?
You can access Font Book in the Applications folder of your Mac. However, this isn’t the most functional way of accessing Font Book, especially if you want to access the application regularly. If you’d like to access Font Book another way, you can do so with “Command + T”. It’s important to ensure that you are doing this command in an application supporting Font Book or font changes (Font Panel). For example, doing a Command + T will bring up a new tab rather than Comic Sans in an app that doesn’t support font changes. To be safe, you can always go to” Format -> Font” to find font options.
The Interface of Font Book
When you load up Font Book, you are presented with the ability to choose from various fonts in the center and left side of the screen. You can also preview the fonts on the right side of the screen. At the top of the Font Book window, you can search through fonts and even paste and preview your text in Font Book. Clicking the “i” button allows you to view more information.
Clicking the “+” button below the “Collection” category allows you to make an album of fonts. Clicking the “+” below the “Font” section allows you to add your own fonts. Clicking the checkmark allows you to disable a specific font. Of course, font size options are available on the right side of the screen.
Downloading Fonts
Downloading fonts from Font Book is simple to do. First off, click the “+” sign under the Font column. This will bring up a Finder folder that will allow you to search for the font you’d like to download. It’s important when downloading fonts to have them placed in an easily accessible location. If you are interested in downloading high quality fonts, and not so sure where to start, two websites that I make use of for new fonts are Google Web Fonts and FontShop. Both offer amazing, new fonts that are high quality and unique.
Troubleshooting
Lastly, Font Book can sometimes have issues with duplicate or unsupported fonts popping up around your Mac. If this occurs when you download a new font, or you discover it when searching around Font Book, there are some official ways of fixing the problem. When a dot appears next to the font name, simply right click the font(s) to “Disable/Remove” the font, “Validate” the font if the issue is present, or click “Resolve Duplicates” when that is discovered.
Font Book offers many options in terms of what you can do with your fonts – adding new ones or adjusting the amount of fonts you have already. Let us know in the comments below if you, too, have discovered the joy of font choices and which are your favorites.
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Ari Simon
Ari Simon has been a writer with Make Tech Easier since August 2011. Ari loves anything related to technology and social media. When Ari isn’t working, he enjoys traveling and trying out the latest tech gadget.
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