Font Previews

[Rob_Hodgson]

Hi,
I have a problem concerning previews which seems similar to the following…

After upgrade from MainType 7 to 8, some fonts have no preview

Hello, today I upgraded from MainType 7 Professional Edition to version 8 (same edition). After refreshing all font folders manually, all fonts showed up, so I don’t think my problem is the same as described in Fonts not showing after upgrading from v7 to v8. On my Windows 10 system, 1668 of my 18058 fonts are installed. Most fonts do have a preview, but unfortunately quite a few don’t have one, the field is empty there. In the Characters panel, all cells are empty, too, and the Sample panel u…

Fonts not showing after upgrading from v7 to v8

Hi! I just upgraded from version 7 to version 8 (64-bit). I made a backup of my fonts I’ve been working on this week, then un-installed 7, rebooted, and installed 8. The group folders I’ve been adding to v7 this week are there, but their fonts aren’t showing. Did I do something wrong during the upgrade? or did I miss a step? What do I need to do to get my fonts showing in the new version? (I tried adding the folders, but that didn’t work, also tried restoring the backup. That didn’t work ei…

Preview and sample show generic text, even when font has all characters [Solved]

In MainType 7.0.0, the highlighted font (Mrs Saint Delafield) has all basic latin characters (which you can see from the Characters and Zoom panes), but the preview shows generic: [BadPreview.jpg] When the font is loaded, Word has no problem displaying the font: [MrsSaintDelafield.jpg] Although the PANOSE information is wildly incorrect, it is perfectly valid: [MrsSaintDelafieldPANOSE.jpg] But, MainType works fine if I set the PANOSE to something more closely resembling the actual font: […

As I begin to add tags and ratings, some font previews disappear. Their samples and characters either appear in a default font (Arial), don’t appear at all, or display the message ‘No characters defined’. When I load a font without a preview, the preview appears, but doesn’t show samples or characters. The Font Operation window says that the font is ‘Not Available’, but the font is available in my software, and prints fine.

I first encountered this issue in v7 on Win 10 Pro (pre- creators update). My font collection includes various formats (True Type, Postscript, and Open Type) from a variety of sources (bundled with software, purchased online, and downloaded from Font Squirrel etc), but the issue isn’t specific to file format, or source. My computer is highly spec’d, so I doubt it’s anything to do with memory, rendering or rasterization.

Recently I did a complete clean install of my OS and all software, and upgraded to v8 in the hope that it was solved. I’m now running the latest version of Win 10 Pro. When I install Main Type and point it at my font collection, it scans and shows all my fonts - no problem there. I hoped that a clean install might help, but as I began to add tags and ratings the issue began again.

Any ideas?

[ErwinDenissen]

I’ll need to look into this. I’ll contact you.

[ErwinDenissen]

I’m not sure how this happened, but it looks like you did delete fonts, which are actually still partly available.

Can you tell me if you did delete fonts, so I might be able to reproduce and solve the problem.

[Rob_Hodgson]

Yeah, I’ve deleted fonts. I’ve been slowly restructuring and consolidating my font library, deleting doubles (preferring OT over TT and PS), fonts I’ll never use, and older versions, while adding tags. The missing font previews concern font files that haven’t been deleted.

[ErwinDenissen]

We’ve just released an update which solves the issue.

[Rob_Hodgson]

I’ve come across another issue that seems linked to this one.
I’ve noticed that some of the fonts that I’ve deleted are showing as able to be installed.
They preview and show samples and character sets, and if I select install, they seem to do so.
In Word, the font previews but when applied it shows as Arial and can’t be printed.
In InDesign, the font previews, can be applied, and printed.
Any ideas?

[Rob_Hodgson]

… and another possible issue.
As I’ve consolidated my font library, I’ve changed the names of folders.
Now I notice that some of the fonts have kept the name of the older folder as well as the new name.
Any ideas?

[ErwinDenissen]

I’ve come across another issue that seems linked to this one.
I’ve noticed that some of the fonts that I’ve deleted are showing as able to be installed.
They preview and show samples and character sets, and if I select install, they seem to do so.
In Word, the font previews but when applied it shows as Arial and can’t be printed.
In InDesign, the font previews, can be applied, and printed.
Any ideas?

Just to be sure, you’ve deleted fonts through MainType, and they are now back in MainType, where you can install them, but then they don’t work correctly in Word?

I really don’t understand how this could happen, so please explain exactly what is going on.

… and another possible issue.
As I’ve consolidated my font library, I’ve changed the names of folders.
Now I notice that some of the fonts have kept the name of the older folder as well as the new name.
Any ideas?

MainType will only detect a folder is no longer available after a resync of it.

[Rob_Hodgson]

Yes, the one I found previewed in MainType, was installable, but didn’t work correctly in Word.
Is there a font cache that should be rebuilt?
I re-synced all folders, which seems to have fixed it.
Thanks.

[ErwinDenissen]

Yes, the one I found previewed in MainType, was installable, but didn’t work correctly in Word.
Is there a font cache that should be rebuilt?

I would be surprised, but it is possible a font cache is corrupt. A decade ago we wrote a post about how to clear the font cache, but I’m not sure it is relevant these days:
O.S. and Application Specific Font Cache Files

However it is more likely the font itself is invalid or corrupt. Can you send the specific font file to us?

I re-synced all folders, which seems to have fixed it.
Thanks.

Great!

[Rob_Hodgson]

I later found that the fonts that I was seeing were from folders I’d deleted in file explorer. I don’t think the re-sync had updated thoroughly. I could install them, and in InDesign they would display and print. In Word they would preview, but could not be displayed or printed. I deleted them from Main Type, and rebuilt the Win 10 font cache. That seems to have done the trick.