using packaged fonts when opening on another PC

[R***@adobeforums.com]

I appologise if this question is basic - I think it is so basic I can't find the answer in Indesign help.

When someone provides me with a package (indesign file + fonts folder + files folder) - how can I use the fonts from the folder provided (instead of substituting with fonts on my system)?

I'm using a PC.

[D***@adobeforums.com]

You have to install the fonts on your system, so the answer depends on what method you're using for managing fonts.

That you had to ask this question makes me wonder about the legal issues here. Do you have the right to use those fonts? Or are you asking for our help so you can pirate them?

Dave

[R***@adobeforums.com]

I'm not interested in keeping the fonts - I'm actually trying to create a style register for a client so they can map the styles to XML. Therefore I need to test the layout using the fonts they originally used. I read that I can put the fonts in the inDesign font folder to use them temporarily but this does not seem to work as indesign is still asking me to substitute fonts.

What about print-houses who receive indesign packages - surely they are able to use the packaged fonts in the font folder? I only want to use the fonts in that indesign file.

[D***@adobeforums.com]

Depends on the license agreement; generally, printing houses are expected to own a valid license for any font their customers use, but most licenses then allow them to use the actual copy provided by the customers -- to allow for the possibility that they don't have the same versions.

You are certainly in a grey area. In all likelihood, you would be technically in violation of the license doing what you describe, but you certainly are making a very minor use of those fonts.

The InDesign fonts folder should work. Did you try quitting InDesign and restarting it?

It that doesn't work, then you could be falling foul of the font caching scheme that Adobe uses to speed up management of potentially large numbers of fonts. Try trashing files named AdobeFnt**.lst (where "**" is a two-digit pair, the first usually being a zero, and that's a lowercase L -- for "list").

Another possibility is that you're using Mac fonts. Unless they're OpenType, I don't think they can be used on a PC, even in the InDesign fonts folder.

Dave

[unknown]

Dave's right on all counts.

And just to clarify the last point, you can use Windows fonts in
InDesign's font folder on a Mac, but you can't do it the other way around.

Bob

[L***@adobeforums.com]

We put the supplied font folder (renamed so as not to confuse jobs) into
the Adobe Font folder, of course keeping in mind licensing issues.

But does anyone know what the hierarchy of font usage is? By that I mean,
if you have a given font active at the operating system level, and also have
the same font in the Adobe font folder, which one will InDesign actually
use? I presume it is the one in Adobe's font folder, but I can't find
documentation to that effect.

Larry

[unknown]

Don't do that. You should only have one version of a font active because
there's simply no way to know which will be used.

Bob

[D***@adobeforums.com]

I've never tried it, but does it work if you create subfolders within the Adobe fonts folder? I've always just added the fonts themselves to the folder, not added another folder of fonts.

(I'm too lazy to try myself right now!)

[unknown]

I don't know either, and I really have no reason to try.

Bob

[D***@adobeforums.com]

It works on the Mac. You can even use aliases of font folders.

I do it all the time to manage my fonts because I'm too cheap to buy a commercial font manager.

Dave

[L***@adobeforums.com]

Yes, sub folders do work. And as Dave suggested, we also keep aliases (Mac)
and Shortcut (PC) on desktop for temporally adding in Customer supplied
fonts.

Bob suggested, I know having two or more instances of the same font active
is not recommended, but even with the best of vigilance, this does occur
from time to time in practice. Thankfully we've not had a single problem, PC
or Mac that was traceable to this situation.

Larry

[unknown]

I realize it does happen, and that there might not be a problem.
However, it is one of the first things to check for in the event of a
font problem.

Bob