FONTS Not Available

RW
Posted By
Rick Wooton
Aug 10, 2003
Views
405
Replies
8
Status
Closed
Can someone please tell me why some fonts aren’t available in Photoshop?

I’ve noticed whenever I have to reinstall the software, or when I upgraded, some of the more common fonts I like to use are no longer available. How do I add them back in?

Please reply to

Thank you very much!
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L
LenHewitt
Aug 10, 2003
Richard,

Please reply to …<<

Sorry, but that isn’t how the forums work – With postings on the forum each Q&A can benefit many…

First question:

whenever I have to reinstall the software, <<

How often are you doing this??? I have NEVER needed to re-install a version Photoshop since first using 2.5, other than after an O/S upgrade, HDD upgrade or HDD failure.

Now to the problem

Fonts in Illustrator and Photoshop are ordered alphabetically by writing script code, and use the PostScript Name. Consequently many fonts will not be where you expect them to be in the listing. For instance ZaphDingbats will be displayed as ITC ZaphDingbats. Additionally many TTFonts have the incorrect writing script as many foundries were using a font creation program with a bug in it. These will be in a 2nd alphabetically ordered listing below the first.

If you open the adobefnt.LST file, you will find those problem fonts have an entry for:

writingscript : easteuropean (or Greek or something other than Roman).

By editing the Adobefnt.lst file so those entries read writingscript: Roman, they will appear in the correct order and be usable. However, you will also need to set the adobfnt.lst file to read only, or it will revert when Illustrator is next opened. This means that Photoshop won’t see any additions or deletions to/from your active fonts.

The real cure is to get versions of those fonts that do not contain the bug.

Lastly, you can delete all adobefnt*.LST files on your machine – they will be rebuilt as required.
RW
Rick Wooton
Aug 10, 2003
Thanks, but I already saw that on the FAQ – my problem is some of the fonts I want aren’t even in the list! None of my fonts in the .lst file show that error – they just aren’t there.

I don’t have to reinstall the software unless I do an HD upgrade, or in this case, a C reformat to reinstall the OS.

But that didn’t cure it, and I even went in and deleted ALL Adobe files and reinstalled again, and it still didn’t pick them up.
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 10, 2003
Hmm… pardon my candor for the sake of getting to the point. We don’t know what you know, so outside of Len’s suggestion, there’s something going on. As a quick review…

Photoshop has nothing really to do with fonts, except that it requires they are in tact, and is more discerning about that than most other apps.

We don’t know if you’re using a font manager so…

Photoshop simply uses the fonts that are installed in the Windows Fonts folder. Are you sure the fonts you are looking for are there? If not, that’s where the problem lies. If they ARE there, are you saying that Photoshop used to recognize them, but now does not? Where did these fonts come from? Are they oddballs or standards like Arial? Is it possible that a font is corrupted? Is it possible to reinstall the font into windows?

Len’s suggestion was to basically rename the ADOBEFNT.LST files to have an extension of OLD, then restart photoshop. If the fonts are good, and installed on your system, PS will re-read the installed fonts and they will be listed. If they aren’t it points to a font or installation problem, but not a phtoshop one.

Peace,
Tony
RW
Rick Wooton
Aug 10, 2003
No, I’m not using a font manager – other than the install utility that comes with XP. On my wifes machine (networked to mine) she still has version 4. One of the fonts we want is called Sanskrit Roman Bold Italic. It works fine on hers.

I installed that font on my machine, which is running PS v5 and now version 7 also. And it IS in the Windows Fonts directory – but it doesn’t show up on the list anywhere. I’ve tried deleting the files, and it did make new ones, but those fonts again aren’t in the list, and my list doesn’t show any fonts with the error.
RW
Rick Wooton
Aug 10, 2003
It also may help… I am able to use that font in other applications, such as Wordpad or Works…. just not in Photoshop.
RW
Rick Wooton
Aug 10, 2003
That’s what I did. It doesn’t appear in teh Photoshop list OR the adobefnt.lst file.

And I have tested that font in all the other applications I can find on my computer, and it works fine.

Wierd, huh?
Y
YrbkMgr
Aug 11, 2003
Then it definately has me confused – although you should be aware that me being confused is not necessarily a difficult thing <grin>.

I dunno Rick – I’m outta ideas. Is it a TT Font?
L
LenHewitt
Aug 11, 2003
Rick,

Zip up the font file and e-mail it to me at "info at cdds.co.uk" and I will happily check it out for you.

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