Summary

In this Chapter, you learned that the term font has come to mean a digital file that contains the information necessary for the computer to create characters on the screen and in print.

You learned details about each of the Mac font formats, or font types: bitmap, PostScript, Multiple Master, TrueType, OpenType, and the Mac OS X dfont.

We reviewed the font-related features of Mac OS X, such as that you can use an unlimited number of fonts; you no longer need Adobe Type Manager; and that Mac OS X provides font smoothing, font validation, and protects against font corruption.

The six possible locations for fonts in Mac OS X were described: Application, Home, Main, Network, System, and Classic. This arrangement gives more control over fonts, protects essential fonts, and provides continuity with Unix. Where to put your fonts in various situations was discussed.

The new Mac OS X 10.3 application Font Book was examined in detail. Font Book enables most users to manage fonts in Mac OS X without having to purchase a third-party font management utility. We also looked at Mac OS X 10.3’s Font panel (mainly for Cocoa apps), the Character Palette, and the Keyboard Viewer.

We listed the third-party font management utilities available for Mac OS X and discussed what they can do and in what situations their use is recommended. We also listed the general capabilities of other font utilities.

The necessity of removing fonts from the Mac OS X System folder under certain situations was covered, as well as techniques for removing them.