No Path Listed for Some Fonts

MainType - Font Manager
1

What does it mean when I see a font on MT but no path (under Resources>Files) for it on the information panel?
If MT is storing ghost-fonts somewhere, I’d like to eliminate all of them to improve efficiency. Is this possible?

2

It might be a font that is loaded by an external application. Can you post a screenshot?

3

I tag all of my fonts. The four shown here are an example of fonts that seem to have no associated file. Yet, I’m still able to load them (at which point, the location will show up as C:\Windows\Fonts, as expected).

image
image963×542 21.6 KB

4

When MainType first encounters a font—whether it sits in a location specified in MainType’s Font Folder or was installed by another program—it saves the font’s resource in its own database. If the original file later disappears (for example, after you uninstall the font), that database record remains in the library, so Resources → Files is empty. The moment you install the font again, MainType copies it to C:\Windows\Fonts, and the path reappears.

5

Is there a way to update the database to eliminate fonts that are no longer wanted? I have 26K fonts per MT (only 500 installed), and searching by tag has become extremely slow. I suspect these “leftover” fonts are contributing to the long query time.

6

A 26 K library shouldn’t feel sluggish as tag searches are done on an indexed table.

The best cure is a full refresh:

  1. In MainType choose Tools ▸ Import & Export ▸ Export Font Tags, Ratings, and Notes… and save the file.
  2. (Optional) Open FmsConfig and make a backup if you want an extra safety net.
  3. Uninstall MainType and when asked also remove the database, vault, and cache files.
  4. Re-install the latest version of MainType.
  5. Add your font folders again (Options ▸ Font Folders) and let MainType re-index.
  6. Launch it, then Tools ▸ Import & Export ▸ Import Font Tags, Ratings, and Notes to restore your metadata.

The fresh database will contain only fonts that actually exist on disk, and its indexes are rebuilt, so tag searches should be snappy again.

Let me know how it goes!

7

That’s a bit terrifying. Will my virtual groups be preserved?