No idea where to start

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MerrySherry

No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

Like a fool, I purchased the professional version after just reviewing what others said. I'm regretting my decision because when I read the manual and when I come to the forum you all seem to assume that everyone using this product already has prior experience with font management. There doesn't appear to be much to actually help someone get started. I jumped in and tried to add some tags, which was fine, but I have NO idea how to tell if fonts are installed just in Word or installed in MainType - or even if that exists as an option. The whole concept of load/unload doesn't make sense when you open up MainType and see the hundreds of fonts and the advice is to only keep around 500 installed and remove the rest. Remove them from what? MainType or Windows 10? All I am really wanting to do is keep track of which of my fonts were purchased for commercial use and which for personal use only. I want to avoid overburdening my PC with fonts I may never use - but I do not want to lose those fonts. I made the early mistake of thinking I could delete a font in MainType - only to find it was lost forever from my PC as well - and I have no backup. So now I don't know what to do. I would like to uninstall some of the 100s of Adobe Fonts that are useful maybe a couple of times per year. But if I do that - how will I recover them when I do want to (I assume) just load them in MainType? What happens if I decide I want to get rid of MainType altogether - what am I going to lose permanently from my PC if I just uninstall it? I am utterly frustrated - and I'm no technology dummy! I just don't know anything about font managers! :( :( :( :( :(
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

A font manager like MainType is used to organise your fonts for quick and easy installing/uninstalling. You can also load fonts, which installs them temporarily — when you reboot your PC the fonts will no longer be installed. Professional users with large font collections might make groups of fonts needed for particular projects. It then takes a few clicks to install them to work on the project, and a few clicks to uninstall them when no longer working on that project.

Uninstalling fonts does not remove them from your PC. Installed fonts are available for Word and other applications; uninstalled fonts are not. Having 500 fonts or fewer makes it easier to find and select the one that you want, without having to scroll through hundreds that you never use.

If you have some fonts that are of bad quality, and you do not want to use them again, then MainType can delete them for you.

After MainType has finished indexing all available fonts on your computer, it is advised to make a backup, and when you have done with adding tags and groups for now it is recommended to make a backup again.

Perhaps my brief Review of MainType will help you get started.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Erwin Denissen »

And in case you missed it, do take a look at our Quick Start Tutorial.
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MerrySherry

Re: No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

Thank you for the reply. I have read the quick start guide but I found it more frustrating than helpful - which is why I came here. The biggest problem is the usage of the terms uninstall, install, load, unload. When I uninstall most software on my machine, it is actually gone. If I happen to have the original downloaded software, I can reinstall - but if not - there is no place on my PC where I can go and reinstall - except for Windows itself.

So - are you saying that uninstalling a font through either Windows or MainType leaves it available in the Windows Font folder so it can be reinstalled?It does NOT remove them (i.e. DELETE) them from my machine? Are they essentially just "unloaded" by Windows and MainType but still available to use again if I "reinstall/reload" them? I'm trying to understand the jargon that is being used specifically by MainType and how the described action interacts with my PC.

I will read the other guide you mention and see if that helps. The Quick Start Guide is not sufficient for the questions I have about everything and I have gone through posts on here that go back to the early 2000s asking the same kinds of questions. Is there a more detailed guide available? Especially one that would go into detail about what these terms mean in regard to a Mac and a Windows machine?

I don't mean to sound cranky - I'm just frustrated. I think this software is likely what I need, but right now it just feels like a lot more trouble than actually helping. Right now I have just over 750 fonts - but I'm in the process of getting more because of the business and I really want to use something other than a spreadsheet to make my business life less crazy.
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Erwin Denissen »

MerrySherry wrote: Mon Feb 01, 2021 11:49 pm Thank you for the reply. I have read the quick start guide but I found it more frustrating than helpful - which is why I came here. The biggest problem is the usage of the terms uninstall, install, load, unload. When I uninstall most software on my machine, it is actually gone. If I happen to have the original downloaded software, I can reinstall - but if not - there is no place on my PC where I can go and reinstall - except for Windows itself.

So - are you saying that uninstalling a font through either Windows or MainType leaves it available in the Windows Font folder so it can be reinstalled?It does NOT remove them (i.e. DELETE) them from my machine? Are they essentially just "unloaded" by Windows and MainType but still available to use again if I "reinstall/reload" them? I'm trying to understand the jargon that is being used specifically by MainType and how the described action interacts with my PC.
When you uninstall a font, it will be removed from both the system font table and the registry. As a result, the font is no longer available. However the font resource will remain available through MainType, so you can always reinstall the font.

Select Library in the Views panel to browse through all fonts in your library. Alternatively use the Groups panel, or just type the name of the font in the upper right search box.
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MerrySherry

Re: No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

And so if I stop using MainType, any fonts I have uninstalled THROUGH MainType would be lost to me for good? So if I opted to stop using MainType, my first step would be to go back and reinstall any uninstalled fonts before I stop using MainType? Is there any other "clean up" that I would need to do if I choose NOT to continue with MainType? For example, anything in regard to the load/unload - would all of those need to be installed again if I want to keep them (or have backup copies available to do so after dropping MainType?
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

MerrySherry wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:15 pm And so if I stop using MainType, any fonts I have uninstalled THROUGH MainType would be lost to me for good?
No. However, if you delete them through MainType, then uninstall MainType and its data, you would lose them.

MainType maintains a database of your fonts. It searches for font files wherever you tell it to look, and adds them to the vault. Once the indexing is done, installing/uninstalling or loading/unloading is very quick and easy.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
MerrySherry

Re: No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

I'm not exactly sure why anyone would stop using MainType and NOT remove it. I'll do the backups and then I'll think about whether or not to keep this product. I wish I had been more aware of these caveats before I paid for the pro version - bad on me. Thanks for your quick responses. I would STRONGLY urge that you and the company firm up and make MUCH more comprehensive your manual and advise people to review the manual - with these most urgent caveats at the very beginning - before they even install.
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

I think you're making much ado about nothing.

If you do not use MainType, and never used it, if you uninstalled a font that was installed in the Windows Font folder you would also lose it.

MainType protects you from such loss by keeping all fonts in a vault. Only if you delete fonts and remove them from your system, and then remove MainType, will you lose them.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Erwin Denissen »

Bhikkhu Pesala wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:57 pm
MerrySherry wrote: Tue Feb 02, 2021 7:15 pm And so if I stop using MainType, any fonts I have uninstalled THROUGH MainType would be lost to me for good?
No. However, if you delete them through MainType, then uninstall MainType and its data, you would lose them.

MainType maintains a database of your fonts. It searches for font files wherever you tell it to look, and adds them to the vault. Once the indexing is done, installing/uninstalling or loading/unloading is very quick and easy.
If you uninstall fonts through MainType, they will be removed from Windows fonts folder. If the fonts were not removed, a reboot or a font cache rebuild could trigger Windows to reinstall them automatically. To reinstall them, just locate them in MainType and click the Install button. Alternatively select them in MainType and then select Export from the File menu to save them in a folder on your system.

If you add fonts to MainType by adding a folder that contains fonts, all those fonts remain on that location. So you can install and uninstall them as you wish.
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by ptaker »

I agree with the original poster about the need for an improvement in the manual. Some information on how to use Maintype is scattered in a few places, such as the tutorials, responses to typical questions in the font forum and need to ask questions on stuff that should be in the a more detailed manual. I did have some experience with another font management program but some information specific to this program should be explained in more detail in the manual. A very simple example: There is NO detailed information on where the buttons for FAMILY GROUPING or CATEGORIZATION are located or what these buttons do. No references in the Table of Contents or the Index. Try to make believe a person new to this program sees all the buttons and needs a roadmap on where they are and how they work.

Another suggestion is to have either the TABLE OF CONTENTS or the INDEX built up with more details. Example: No reference to FONT STATE or the meaning of the COLORED DOTS on the left of each font. Granted it is shown on page 11 of the user manual but it is not referenced in the index. If this were a book, I would have to put a tab on this page.

Believe it or not, but the hardest thing for me, was understanding how to DOCK some Maintype windows. Putting the top of the window over the four dock icons or the one dock icon does not dock it easily. You have to move the head of the window around and around until you see the section that it could dock to. Easily explained and hard to grasp the concept. Still confused about that.

I have found that between the brief manual, tutorials, responses from the great forum helpers and experimenting on my own, the whole concept of Maintype answers can be found. Maybe a more detailed manual would make the search a lot easier on someone new to this good program. We don't have to know all the details of what this good program can do but right now a working knowledge of what it is capable would be enough to start. We need the tools to understand how to get to that working knowledge.
Bob
MerrySherry

Re: No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

Thank you! I have worked in the MIS world for 40 years and am appalled at the lack of usability in the tool and the poor communication of its functionality. I have stopped using it and will be uninstalling and removing it for just these reasons.
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

I have spent about thirty years supporting users of numerous different software programs, but there are always a few who make themselves impossible to teach. I do understand that new skills are often hard to acquire. I still have no clue how to type text on my mobile phone, and no amount of reading the help file leaves me any the wiser.

When I am learning a new software program, I first look at all of the menus and dialogs before I refer to the help file. If I am still stuck, I just ask on a support forum, and usually find the answer there.

I don't think help files should even attempt to answer every question. Most users do not read the help file anyway, so time spent writing fully comprehensive help documentation is often wasted. Creating videos is also very time-consuming, even without adding voice-over instructions.

You will find a few of my Video Tutorials on Vimeo, showing how to configure the docking panels, but watching amateur videos is no substitute for experimenting with the features yourself.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
MerrySherry

Re: No idea where to start

Post by MerrySherry »

And that kind of condescension is exactly why your product is not worth my time. I too have spent decades in support and your characterization is unwarranted and irrelevant to the question.
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Re: No idea where to start

Post by Bhikkhu Pesala »

MerrySherry wrote: Tue Mar 23, 2021 1:03 pm And that kind of condescension is exactly why your product is not worth my time. I too have spent decades in support and your characterization is unwarranted and irrelevant to the question.
It is not my product, and your attitude is what wastes my time as well as your own.

The product is fine, and not difficult to use. However, if you have no previous experience of using any font manager, and do not understand the basics of how to use one, you should be prepared to listen and learn.

I explained the difference between installing and loading fonts in my first reply to you.
My FontsReviews: MainTypeFont CreatorHelpFC15 + MT12.0 @ Win 10 64-bit build 19045.2486
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