Using Font Book on Your Mac

[@ljjackson7106]

During my 2nd cup of coffee this morning and I have concluded that I could just watch Gary's videos all day and never stop learning! Thanks Gary!

[@dsbennett]

Gary the Talking Manual.

[@meeluanistyn1644]

Never had the need to use Font Book but you’ve piqued my curiosity so I’ll give it a go. Thanks.

[@johnvender]

I've been looking into Unicode lately and it's amazing how much can be in a Unicode font file, up to close to 150k letters, numbers and symbols including many languages. I'm using a Numbers spreadsheet with the decimal number, hex number, the function CHAR to show the character, category and description to let me filter them into categories or search for specific symbols (like mathematics or music). Also comes very handy when I need to write something in Czech where I was born, I've been in Australia for more than 50 years but we still have quite a few relatives there who are in contact with my mother.

[@stac_y_with_no_e]

I'm a "new-ish" Mac user and I was struggling with matching my documents with my website font. Thank you so very much!

[@carlpuccijr.]

Awesome! This is exactly the video I asked for a month or so ago. Glad you changed your mind!

[@iliketonap]

Very helpful video. I was wondering if Font Book would allow one to input their own words to sample the fonts, and sure enough the answer is yes. 2:05 And bless you, sir, for putting chapters into the description! ⭐ One last note: Chinese characters (which are part of unicode) can be copy/pasted to sample fonts in Font Book. Note: not every system font will render Chinese.

[@christinebryant9143]

Gary, thank you very much for this. I had absolutely no idea there was a Font books with the previews etc. I will absolutely explore. Thanks again.

[@carolinebarlow4795]

Thanks very much, Gary, for this most interesting and informative video today!

[@loisskiathitis8926]

A very useful and fun and informative video tutorial today! Thank you, Gary! 👏🏻❤️

[@jacobsinnes]

found this helpful thanks man!

[@jupru220]

Thank you very much! This video is super helpful!

[@Aljobritt]

Thank you so much for this video, I am a crafter and I use a tons of fonts!

[@bonnie5972]

Great video. After a couple more cups of coffee, I’m going to go play with installing some fun fonts. I’ll check out your other videos because I’m 70 years old and need help 😂

[@donnabudgen2268]

Thanks for this. Before I go searching for a new font, is there a way to form the letters of a title into an arc? If so, I’d appreciate a video on how to do that.

[@macmost]

With the right tool, sure. Probably Adobe Illustrator can do it. Search the App Store and see what else.

[@lovemauihawaii]

Pages needs to level up their font work. Microsoft Word can do a LOT of text transformations (including Arc and Circle) that Apple's Pages cannot do. Microsoft Powerpoint also has a ton of text transformations that Apple's Keynote cannot do.

[@ExoBell]

Awesome yet again. I was looking for a way to insert mathematical operator symbols into a pages document. Thanks Gary !

[@lokey416]

is there a way to disable fonts or hide them. It's so annoying that it won't allow me to deactivate some...especially the foreign type. "Fonts automatically installed by Apple are selected. These fonts cannot be deleted or deactivated."

[@chipcurry]

You do a great job with your videos, when I see your face as an option I know that it's going to be fairly brief, very clear, good microphone placement, and I'm gonna be able to get away from it fast with the information I need. Many thanks.

[@macmost]

Thanks!

[@lovemauihawaii]

At 02:22 ...Very cool that we can type a phrase or sentence and then simply scroll down thru the fonts list to see how the phrase looks in each font 👍🏻

[@hossaint2689]

I'm trying to add fonts to Font Book on my MacBook Air M1, but for existing fonts, I have to choose 'replace' or 'skip' one by one. Is there a way to skip or replace all at once instead of doing it one by one? Thank you!

[@MaiElizabeth]

I don’t know why. I installed every types of SF Pro Display fonts in the Font Book but only regular and bold are available to be used on Pages BUT all of them available on Words. Also, I cannot format SF Pro Regular to bold. Instead, I have to use the bold variant of the variant. I still couldn’t find the workaround. It annoys me and force me to use Helvetica instead because that’s the only font similar to SF Pro.

[@TheSharmanova]

Thanks Gary!

[@JacanaProductions]

I installed a font in fontbook and didn't see it on keynote (right side Format > text) after multiple app restarts. Had to go into Menu > fonts and select it from there. Must be cache or something and perhaps there is some terminal fu to fix the issue and reload the cache. When into Font Book and validated fonts too.

[@macmost]

So it in the Menu Bar but not in the sidebar? I've never seen that. Not sure what could be going on.

[@JacanaProductions]

@@macmost pretty much. Once I used it, it appeared back at the top in the sidebar.

[@cherylf2133]

Great video. Are all fonts from all apps (such as purchased Adobe fonts) installed in Font Book or do those fonts live elsewhere in the system?

[@SaptaWikana]

can we use those default fonts from Mac OS commercially?

[@macmost]

Yes.

[@NYsba328]

Thank you for another great video! Is there a way to use these font on KZbin for instance to make a title of a video pop out more ? Whenever I copy from font book or word doc into a KZbin video it does not match the style

[@macmost]

Not sure what you mean by "copy ... into a KZbin video." Which app are you using to make your videos?

[@NYsba328]

@@macmost I’m trying to copy these nice fonts that I just added to font book into other work spaces such as Google mail, titling my KZbin projects. From my understanding they work with Apple based programs like photoshop word but not on internet. I hope this makes a bit more sense this time

[@macmost]

@@NYsba328 Using a font in an email message wouldn't work anyway since the recipient wouldn't have that font. You can use fonts in apps like iMovie, Final Cut, Premiere, etc, when creating videos though.

[@NYsba328]

@@macmost understood. Thank you for explaining that

[@KelliDBH]

Hi Gary. Thanks for the video. I'm going through my fonts and adding some to collections. Is opening the collection the only way to see if the font's in it? In other words, there is no place in the FontBase individual font screen that notes it's in a collection?

[@macmost]

I don't think so, but experiment.

[@KelliDBH]

Oh I have. A lot before I ever asked here.

[@TC-en7vi]

Hi ninja! Thanks for this video! Some how the Century Gothic font on my coworker's Mac isn't there. We "installed it" a few times but it didn't show. We try what you said about closing and open again the App (Keynote) but it did't work. Other suggestions!?! Thanks!

[@macmost]

Double-check in Font Book to make sure it is installed and checks out there. Check in other apps to see if it shows up too.

[@dinatrupia4041]

Do you have a video on how to transfer all the fonts from an old computer (Mac) to a new computer?

[@macmost]

No, I don't have one. Migration Assistant should have gotten them. But if not, you should be able to just transfer the files from your old Mac to the new one, and then just drop them into Font Book.

[@dinatrupia4041]

@@macmost Thank you so much for your quick reply. I did this and it worked great. Love your videos! Very helpful!

[@anajuliagobbi4398]

Hi Gary, thank you very much for this video. I use Font Book, but there were some tricks I didn't know, thanks for that! However, I have a doubt that I have not been able to solve, maybe you know. Sometimes when I install font families (e.g. Rubrik regular, italic, bold, extra bold, etc.) it groups all the styles together, but sometimes it happens that one style (e.g. the bold version) is left out of this group. Is there any possibility that all the styles of the same family are grouped together or combined? I hope my question is understood and thank you very much for your help!

[@macmost]

I'm guessing that it has to do with the description inside the font that was put there by the creator of the font. Nothing for you to do but just use it as it is.

[@j.mcdonald8256]

thank you when i install the fonts on a software lets say cricut . can i delete it from my computer and i can still use it for cricut?

[@macmost]

I don't use a Cricut but I think you'd probably need them installed on your Mac to use them in the software that you use to talk to it.

[@JustDeJane]

How do you use the font in pages once you’ve downloaded the font to font book?

[@macmost]

If you have made it active in Font Book, then it should appear in Pages as a font choice.

[@rubenmalinao1862]

Thanks Gary

[@Shoyzzgalaxies]

Thanks for this tutorial, it was really helpful. I'm having a problem with the fontbook. For instance, I installed a font, and it shows up on other apps like Pages, illustrator, etc. But when I open Fontbook I can no longer find them there. Do you know what could be happening? Thank you.

[@macmost]

Check what you have selected in the left sidebar carefully to make sure you are looking in the right place.

[@ryanmuraro4911]

Downloaded a font (Interstate) and 22 of the 23 download into Font Book as "Regular", with no evidence anywhere as to where the "Regular" designation is coming from, and seemingly doesn't allow me to edit the name... It's resulting in the font not being fully usable in Adobe, as Adobe reads the 22 "Regular" fonts as one "Regular" font and just gives me one of the 22 at random as the "Regular"... Any way I can edit the tags in Font Book so it reads proper in Adobe and other apps?

[@macmost]

Could just be poorly-put together font files. "Regular" is usually an indicator of the style (Regular, Bold, Heavy, Thin, etc). There's probably no way to fix them without font editing software.

[@lovemauihawaii]

Gary,, would you happen to know of any handwriting fonts that include a secondary version of each character? Words with two consecutive letters (e.g. Free) that appear identical, take away from the handwriting's realism. So in that example it'd be nice to have an alternate handwritten "e" that looks slightly different the the other "e" right next to it. Also needed when using two capital letters. (e.g. "Cooking Class" with identical handwritten capital C's)

[@macmost]

Sorry, I don't know of any font like that, or how it would even work with various apps.

[@livinginaccordwiththesky]

I have found info on installing fonts but I can't find anywhere how to actually make use of a font. Being an artist I want to take a creative background and using a font overlay a quote or message but cannot find how to actually make this connection. Can you offer any help on this?

[@macmost]

Depends on the app you are using.

[@francesnelsonsalyers3403]

Thanks for the super-helpful and easy-to-follow video. I have installed a new font, and it shows up in Font Book's "My Fonts" as well as in the "All Fonts" list. However, I have not had success getting it to pop up in my Pages font list -- even after closing the Pages app and Font Book. I hope somebody who reads this can help me fix that. Thanks.

[@macmost]

Could be an issue with that particular font. Maybe it is using an old format of some sort that Pages doesn't handle?

[@DonnaMcBroomTheriot89]

Great video. My computer is telling me I cannot download an .otf font into Word? I have a MAC. Any advice or do I just give up. I have been googling and watching videos for five hours. I really want this font.

[@macmost]

Not sure what you mean by "download." Does it import into Font Book?

[@DonnaMcBroomTheriot89]

It imports into Font Book but when I open Word it isn't available. I have deleted and redownloaded from the site and repeated the installation, restarted my computer and it still doesn't show up in Word. @@macmost

[@macmost]

@@DonnaMcBroomTheriot89 You'll need to contact Microsoft support about that.

[@ayushthumbarathy3961]

This video made me want to be a designer just so I can collect all the different fonts and flex. P.S. : Never really notice the fontbook before this video. Thank You. It's still buried in some corner of my launchpad in the folder of utitilties I'm probably never gonna use but can't get rid of because they came installed with the computer.

[@TWMAD]

Can the font sizes increase & you keep it that way when using your mac? My problem is I can't increase my font size. I've tried everything & nothing is working. I only want to increase the font size & not the Apps Icons or anything else.

[@macmost]

Sounds like you are talking about the Mac screen interface (menu bar, icons, Dock, etc) not Font Book here. You most likely need to simply change your screen resolution. See kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJeog6B_nKyta5Y for other ideas.

[@TheNameOfJesus]

How do I use the Search box in this app? In Apple's emoji viewer I can use its search box to search for special characters. But in this app, I can't seem to use that box to do anything useful. It seems like they removed this functionality from the previous version of macOS.

[@macmost]

The search box is for searching for fonts, not characters. If you want to find a symbol, use the Emoji Viewer like you said. If you want to see how a character looks in different fonts, then switch to Sample View mode and change the "Quick brown fox..." text to include that character.

[@TheNameOfJesus]

@@macmost Thanks. That's too bad, since some fonts contain the same kind of symbols as emojis.

[@djjrodnyc]

How to Batch Add? Without having to hit install individually to each one from the added folder

[@macmost]

Select a bunch of font files, and drag and drop into Font Book.

[@kbstabs5982]

Hi. This is great. How do you get a font into My Fonts?

[@macmost]

I show installing fonts in the video.

[@kbstabs5982]

@@macmost OK, thanks but I guess it wasn't clear that, and I am now presuming, that My Fonts, only contains fonts that have been purchased or otherwise obtained.

[@macmost]

@@kbstabs5982 That makes sense, yes. Any fonts that came with macOS would be under All User Fonts, naturally.

[@nadergt4632]

How do you bring fonts from " All Fonts " to " My Fonts " ? And also how do I change my existing font to the font I like in the Font Book ?

[@macmost]

All Fonts is just a way of looking at all fonts. It is a list. If all you have is "My Fonts" then All Fonts and My Fonts are the same. Not sure what you mean by "my existing font." In which app and what situation?

[@nadergt4632]

@@macmost Hi, I''m a beginner and Just started learning about fonts and don't know much so ignore the first part of my question , I thought you can pick a Font from All font section and add it to the My Font section. By existing Font I meant the Font that comes with iMac originally and I wanted to see if I can change or add some Font like " Italic " to it as well. I just saw another video and learnt that you can go to File and click on the " Add Font to Current user " but when I want to add a Font that I've selected in Font Book which has a lock sign in front of it , I get a message which says ; ( No Installation Font Selected and None of the files selected contains Font that can be installed on macOs , check your selection and start again ) I don't know what I'm doing wrong. Do I need to unlock the Fonts first or are they just there as an example and can't be added and I need to download the Fonts I like from google sites first and then I can add it.

[@macmost]

@@nadergt4632 My Fonts is for fonts you install. If you already have the font on your Mac then you don't need to install it. You can't add "italics" to an existing font like that. That would be something that would be done by the company that makes the font. You can find another font that looks similar that has an italic version, download it, and then add that to your Mac via Font Book.

[@ClockworkOrangeX]

I've followed the steps but the font I have installed won't show up in any applications no matter how many times I close and reopen them or even restart my computer. I can view them in font book but they're unusable.

[@macmost]

Could be the font is corrupt, or of a format not supported by any modern apps. Maybe see if you can find another, newer, version of that font.

[@desertpatient]

Thanks bunches

[@cruzmejias4148]

I want to remove the Noto fonts from my Mac but they appear locked. Is there a way to unlock and delete them or should I not delete them because they are System fonts?

[@macmost]

They are part of the system. You cannot remove them. Why would you want to?

[@cruzmejias4148]

As a Graphic Designer I will never use them and they clutter my fonts list in Adobe Illustrator.

[@macmost]

@@cruzmejias4148 You'll need to live with the clutter as you can't remove them I'm afraid. Maybe Illustrator has a way to adjust which fonts are shown.

[@cruzmejias4148]

@@macmostPreciate the quick replies!

[@sipapito]

What about if the font shows a little lock? how do you unlock it?

[@macmost]

That just means that it is part of macOS and can't be removed.

[@sipapito]

@ thanks ! Is there a way to change the font for KZbin ?

[@macmost]

@@sipapito For the KZbin web site? No, you can't force a font on a site like that. The fonts are chosen by the web site designers.

[@sipapito]

@ Thank for your reply,didn’t think so either.

[@manton49663]

Somewhere along the way, when I download new fonts and try to install, I get a message that Project Life cannot open the font. I do not want Project Life to open the fonts because I want Font Book set as default. Apparently Project Life is set as default. How do I change this?

[@macmost]

Sorry, I don't know what "Project Life" is. Is that an app you installed? Do you need it anymore? If not, then uninstall it.

[@manton49663]

@ it is a app that I use.

[@macmost]

@@manton49663 Does it handle fonts? If so, then either change the default app for those files back to Font Book (kzbin.info/www/bejne/pYfUnJRtiayXhaM) or open them from Font Book.

[@manton49663]

@ how?

[@macmost]

@@manton49663 How to set the default app for those files back? I included a link in my last comment. Or, just open fonts up in Font Book (File menu, Add Fonts...)

[@1952Elly]

It gets to the part and does NOT show to install it. It never did show to install.

[@nellyrosa2680]

Very good. It seems that adding fonts to a collection is not working

[@ryanmooncat3949]

Nice one Gary. However - as I'm sure you know, it is an absolute TOXIC HELL-STEW when one has iCloud documents (Pages, Keynote) that, when opened on an iPad, bring up the warning that the fonts in the document aren't installed on the iPad. Getting fonts onto an iPad is truly, and literally, unbelievably complicated. I can't believe Apple hasn't come up with a solution to this problem in the last decade. Basically, yeah, install all the fonts you want on your Mac, and use them in all your documents. Just... if you want to enjoy the convenience of say, making a Keynote on your Mac and then using your iPad to present it.... Apple leaves you totally in the ditch.

[@francesnelsonsalyers3403]

Thanks for posting this, Ryanmooncat3949. I was headed in the direction of doing this. You have saved me a lot of time and frustration. I'll find another way and not attempt the original plan.

[@tet2mor282]

thank you so much...

[@iamwilliam3122]

Im trying to use ESPY SANS but it won't show on Pages I can't get it to work

[@macmost]

Examine the font closely in Font Book. Look at the info for it. What makes it different than other fonts that do work in Pages?

[@zip7806]

How to Turn OFF annoying Red Spell Check line that is Ruining my Graphic designs.

[@macmost]

In which app?

[@RobinSampsonMcCarthy]

I cant delete fonts?

[@macmost]

You can use Font Book to remove fonts, sure. But I would only remove ones that you have added. Say you have added a few to do a special project and then end up not using some. You can remove those. I wouldn't remove any that were already there or you aren't sure about as that could lead to trouble.

[@SoftwareManiacLSM]

Nice summary of an important macOS tool. Butttttt ..... Has ANYONE seen when you create a collection and then right-click Add a Font. Selecting one or more fonts DON'T SHOW UP IN A COLLECTION (but they are installed)? Not sure if it doesn't show up in the collection because it is queued up for a later time or what. Sometimes just-added fonts will show up in the collection. Seriously, this is odd and frustrating.

[@AnilAtluriWord]

Does installing new fonts occupy space and impact the Macbook?

[@DannyBridie]

doubt you'll see this at this point but, I've downloaded about 6 different fonts, which I'm trying to use in the Pages app. I've followed literally every instruction on his to do so, yet NONE of them show up. any idea what I'm doing wrong here? thank you! 🖤

[@macmost]

In Font Book do you see them listed under My Fonts? Do they show up there OK when you select each one? Have you restarted Pages? Are these front all from the same source? In Font Book, what does it show the "Format" of each font?

[@DannyBridie]

@@macmost thanks for the response! 1) they all show up in Font Book. 2) I've tried restarting Pages SEVERAL times. 3) they are from 3 different sources; none are working. I'm not sure about formats. is there a specific format they should/shouldn't be in?!

[@macmost]

@@DannyBridie Not sure on the Format, I just thought seeing that may reveal some information. If they are from different sources then they are different formats. I'm going to have to suggest you try Apple Support then as you'll need someone to walk you through some checks to see what is going on here.

[@xqp5503]

🙌🏼

[@forwardkentucky]

I wish you or someone would let Apple know that forcing fonts on us that we cannot remove or hide is very, very annoying. I have tried to figure out a way to get rid of the foreign language fonts, but cannot. Who wants to scroll through hundreds of fonts to get to the ones in English?

[@macmost]

You shouldn't need to even see those in your apps unless you have enabled those languages. Where are you seeing them?

[@forwardkentucky]

@@macmost -- In pretty much all non-Apple apps. I work a lot in MS Office, and they are all over those font lists. And, in Font Book, you can’t deactivate them or remove them. In days past, I would just uninstall fonts I never intended on using. Now, that’s not possible. Very frustrating.

[@cassiamurray5253]

I used hey and typed bluey and literally made the bluey logo lol

[@ttarbill8109]

If this was posted 11 months ago, why are you still talking about Ventura?

[@macmost]

What do you mean. 11 months ago Ventura would have been the current version of macOS.

[@ttarbill8109]

@@macmost you’re right. I thought Sonoma was released earlier in 23

[@PeterbFree]

Bought a new M3 MacBook 3 weeks ago. Font Book has 357 fonts in it, and Pages has 68 fonts available for use. The relationship between Font Book and apps is not automatic and adding a new font to Font Book does not make that font available for use. Thanks for the video, but without understanding or explaining how this really works, it's of little use.

[@macmost]

A lot of those fonts are non-English fonts, and I'm guessing you are set up to only use English on your Mac. In the left sidebar in Font Book you can choose by language and you probably just see "English" there. Select that and the list should much closer to matching what you see in Pages. Others will be gray instead of black in the list because they are not activated.