Numbers complains font is missing

[Ayrehead]

I often receive spreadsheet files made on Windows machines, and usually Numbers complains various fonts are missing when i open the file and gives a pesky warning box. For example it says:

The Font "Calibri" is missing

However, Calibri is actually installed in the system and the cells in the spreadsheet are Calibri. I used the Font Book app to reinstall the font and I looked for any trouble in there, but I still get the warning. It's a nuisance. Any ideas on how to prevent the warning?

 

[Fishrrman]

If (after the warning appears) you are able to "dismiss" the warning...
and
If (after dismissing the warning) everything else runs as it should...
then
I'd just put up with it, until you stumble onto "a workaround". It seems to actually "be hurting nothing".

Hmmmm....
Are these spreadsheets you work on, and then forward to someone else?

Or... once you get them, do they "stay with you"?

If the latter...
I'd open the sheet and dismiss the warning about the Calibri font.
Then, I'd do a "select all cells", and CHANGE THE FONT to something else.
Then, I'd save the sheet.

This changes nothing else on the sheet, with the exception of the font.
Hopefully after that -- no more warnings.

 

[dwig]

This could be the nasty font naming problem that has plagued cross-platform documents for decades. In this case, there could be a very slight difference between the naming of the Windows font and the macOS version. It can also be a slight different in the way the Windows app stored the font name in the file and the way the macOS app read the name. FOL with cross-platform documents.

 

[Ayrehead]

It seems to actually "be hurting nothing".

That's true. But it gets annoying when it happens every day.

 

[bogdanw]

I used the Font Book app to reinstall the font and I looked for any trouble in there, but I still get the warning.

From where did you get Calibri? I suggest getting it from a Microsoft app like Word /Applications/Microsoft\ Word.app/Contents/Resources/DFonts/Calibri.ttf
You can download the latest install package from https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-office-for-mac

 

[Ayrehead]

That package installs Word itself. I don't want that much.

 

[bogdanw]

That package installs Word itself. I don't want that much.

Pacifist https://www.charlessoft.com or Suspicious Package https://www.mothersruin.com/software/SuspiciousPackage/ to extract only the fonts from the package.

 

[Ayrehead]

I used pacifist and extracted the set of Calibri ttf files and installed with the Font Book app. But i still get the message that "Calibri" is missing. I can't spend more time on this so I'll let it go. Thanks for helping.

 

[chown33]

Maybe ask a coworker to make a simple spreadsheet example (A1=B1+C1) that has absolutely no references to the Calibri font.

If you open it and still see the alert, then either Numbers is confused or is improperly parsing the file, or Calibri is some kind of special font that spreadsheets can't omit.

It might also help narrow things down if you identify the exact versions of the apps that are making and reading the files.

 

[nvmls]

OP fully agree! We suffer from this daily, it's another of those "apple UX gems" which are left in the dust for years, unbelievable really but no surprise at this point.

 

[Slartibart]

MS actually made Calibri available as freeware free for personal use, you can get it e.g. here. After installing it - system wide - with Fontbook restart your Mac. Reopen your documents.

EDIT: corrected availabilit, thanks to @bogdanw

 

[bogdanw]

MS actually made Calibri available as freeware

Microsoft Typography - Font Library - Calibri font family 03/30/2022
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/font-list/calibri
“Copyright © 2018 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.”
Font redistribution FAQ - Document embedding https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/typography/fonts/font-faq#document-embedding