A Better Font Book

zeedee-h · Mar 18, 2013, 07:45 PM

I have had this idea kicking around for a while now, and have finally done a bit of work on it. I use font book quite a bit, I like its simplicity, but a few features could really improve it. The main thing that would make finding fonts quicker and easier is a tagging system, shown in this little mockup.

Whenever you add a new font - 3, you can assign tags to it that you have defined. These tags - 1, can then be used to search for a font based on its characteristics. You can change tags assigned to existing fonts - 4, and when browsing through a collection the weight variations appear in a separate popup - 2, to save time instead of drilling down for each font.

How complicated would it be to make some sort of patch with this functionality? or are there any existing offline mac programs that can do this? I havent found anything quite like it. Any feedback/input would be great!

12dylan34 · Mar 18, 2013, 08:15 PM

I've always been interested in exactly the program that you've got mocked up above. Do the fonts already contain metadata? e.g. "I'm a serif font," or do you think the user would have to go through and tag them all?

Edit: Ignore my question. I didn't read your whole post....

zeedee-h · Mar 18, 2013, 09:36 PM

It would be great if fonts could somehow include metadata, but its probably unlikely until some next generation format. Also I think its great being able to assign your own, as how you define characteristics can be quite personal.

benwiggy · Mar 19, 2013, 02:08 PM

If you have any kind of font collection, Linotype FontExplorerX is essential. It allows you to add a customisable list of attributes to any font, as well as comments.
It has excellent auto-activation, plug-ins for Creative Suite, is rock-stable, and has superb management through font sets, including Smart Sets.

citizenzen · Mar 19, 2013, 11:55 PM

Personally, I love the idea.

I haven't used a font manager since ATM bit the dust around a decade ago.

But that might bring me around.

MalooNZ · Mar 20, 2013, 01:59 PM

Can't beat Linotypes Font Explorer

Mar 18, 2013, 07:45 PM	#1
zeedee-h macrumors member Join Date: May 2007 Location: aus	A Better Font Book I have had this idea kicking around for a while now, and have finally done a bit of work on it. I use font book quite a bit, I like its simplicity, but a few features could really improve it. The main thing that would make finding fonts quicker and easier is a tagging system, shown in this little mockup. Whenever you add a new font - 3, you can assign tags to it that you have defined. These tags - 1, can then be used to search for a font based on its characteristics. You can change tags assigned to existing fonts - 4, and when browsing through a collection the weight variations appear in a separate popup - 2, to save time instead of drilling down for each font. How complicated would it be to make some sort of patch with this functionality? or are there any existing offline mac programs that can do this? I havent found anything quite like it. Any feedback/input would be great!
	0

Mar 19, 2013, 02:08 PM	#4
benwiggy macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jun 2012	If you have any kind of font collection, Linotype FontExplorerX is essential. It allows you to add a customisable list of attributes to any font, as well as comments. It has excellent auto-activation, plug-ins for Creative Suite, is rock-stable, and has superb management through font sets, including Smart Sets. __________________ 2012 MacMini, 2.6GHz i7, 16Gb RAM, Fusion Drive \| 2009 MacBook, 6Gb RAM, 240Gb SSD \| 2006 iMac \| 2003 G3 iBook \| Beige G3 \| PowerMac 7600 \| Mac IIsi \|
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Mar 18, 2013, 08:15 PM	#2
12dylan34 macrumors 6502a Join Date: Sep 2009	I've always been interested in exactly the program that you've got mocked up above. Do the fonts already contain metadata? e.g. "I'm a serif font," or do you think the user would have to go through and tag them all? Edit: Ignore my question. I didn't read your whole post....
	0

Mar 18, 2013, 09:36 PM	#3
zeedee-h Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: May 2007 Location: aus	It would be great if fonts could somehow include metadata, but its probably unlikely until some next generation format. Also I think its great being able to assign your own, as how you define characteristics can be quite personal.
	0

Mar 19, 2013, 11:55 PM	#5
citizenzen macrumors 6502a Join Date: Mar 2010	Personally, I love the idea. I haven't used a font manager since ATM bit the dust around a decade ago. But that might bring me around.
	0

Mar 20, 2013, 01:59 PM	#6
MalooNZ macrumors newbie Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Auckland NZ	Can't beat Linotypes Font Explorer
	0


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