[meem]

I've been using FontAgent for a little while now and it's slow as all hell doing anything. Has anyone else used it with better luck? Also if any one has used it with good or bad results; how does it compared to FontReserve or Suitcase? I tried Reserve pre Jag days but it never worked at all for me so I gave up. I'm hoping these days something out there works as advertised.

on a related note.... why does osx font management suck so much. Is there some technical thing about OS X that makes it suck. And since I'm asking why isn't adobe making ATM for X

[designbc]

Originally posted by meem:
why does osx font management suck so much. Is there some technical thing about OS X that makes it suck. And since I'm asking why isn't adobe making ATM for X

Yes, WHY???

[Corys]

The majority of my font problems occur when i'm trying to get fonts loaded for classic apps..

I think when I am working 100% in OSX it will be a bit more stable..

Font Agent is currently what I am using, while it's a little slow, it works like ATM..

I hate the UI of Font Reserve, and suitcase can't handle duplicate fonts, which sucks cause you can't modify a font suitcase in OS X, that I know of.

but you are right, font management in OS X is far from perfect...Font Agent just seems like the least painful product to use

[kaboom]

and suitcase can't handle duplicate fonts, which sucks cause you can't modify a font suitcase in OS X, that I know of.

Probably one of my biggest complaints about OSX!

[bousozoku]

There's not much need for Adobe Type Manager in Mac OS X, only the Deluxe part, which was the typeface management.

Besides, there's not much need for it on Windows either, as things have gotten better there.

I still haven't decided to buy one of these, but my thought is to buy Suitcase.

I believe that I can deploy it in Mac OS 9 to pick up my current groupings and using them in Mac OS X.

[bluedog]

The latests version of FontReserve is quite nice, it has integration for OSX with a classic integrator for turning on fonts for both sides of the software coin.

I use the server version at work and it works great for me. They have plugins for Quark, Illustrator, InDesign but NOT for Freehand (which I think is something they shouldn't omit).

I've used Suitcase in the past, but preferred ATM Deluxe for when I was using OS9 exclusively. Now that I'm working in OSX 100% at home I've used Suitcase for personal use, and Font Reserve at work.

I would tend to recommend Font Reserve over all the other options I've tried. Although I haven't tried FontAgent.

[designbc]

I downloaded the demo version of FontAgent Pro some days ago and for me, it works MUCH better than Suitcase and FontReserve.
No more suitcases, no more locked fonts. Brand new font library. Autoactivate plugins for Quark, Illustrator, Photoshop, not sure but I think InDesign also.
I've tried the three of them and this one I'll purchase within the month.

[gatorparrots]

Originally posted by meem:
And since I'm asking why isn't adobe making ATM for X

http://www.adobe.com/products/atm/atmOSX.html

Using ATM Deluxe 4.6.1 and Mac OS X v.10.2
The current version of Adobe Type Manager® Deluxe for the Macintosh (version 4.6), Adobe's font management application, is not compatible with Mac OS X, in either native or Classic mode. The supported Macintosh operating systems for ATM Deluxe 4.6 are Mac OS 8.1 through 9.0.4. (Though ATM Deluxe is not officially supported under Mac OS 9.1 or 9.2, initial testing has uncovered no known problems.) As an alternative for users of Mac OS X, Adobe is recommending that customers evaluate DiamondSoft Font Reserve and Extensis Suitcase products. Adobe has no plans at present to create a version of ATM Deluxe that runs on Mac OS X.

It isn't worth it to them to expend the engineering resources for such limited return. Also, given the saturation in the font management software category on OS X, it doesn't behoove them to jump into the fray.

[gatorparrots]

Originally posted by bousozoku:
I still haven't decided to buy one of these, but my thought is to buy Suitcase.

As a Suitcase user who has suffered through many bug fixes and incremental upgrades since Suitcase 10.0, I seriously hesitate to recommend it. In fact, my opinion of it leans much toward the negative. I have stuck it out since Suitcase version 10.0 (Now at 10.2), since our shop can't really afford to be without a font manager for a single day and I haven't had time to deal with uninstalling Suitcase and trying the trial version of Font Reserve (which is limited to 200 fonts).

A lot of my complaints (stability, login issues) have been answered with successive updates from Extensis (as well as the auto-activate plugins for InDesign and Illustrator), but a lingering problem remains: too many login items cause Suitcase not to load! At first I thought it was database corruption, so I kept restoring it from a backup and then launching Suitcase, but then I realized Suitcase likes uninterrupted time to activate and read its database. Other processes launching at the same time disorient and cause it to fail to launch. So I wrote a small AppleScript that I call "Suitcase.kicker" that basically says "pause thirty seconds, then launch suitcase". I use that as my login item for Suitcase, rather than having it set as a login item by itself.

Those problems aside, it is fairly robust and stable. It works well enough not to kick it out the door, especially since we've already paid for it. However, it is very touchy when it comes to corrupt fonts or sudden shutdowns that may corrupt its database. All in all, I can't recommend it.

Here's a second opinion for you:
http://www.macworld.com/2002/04/reviews/suitcase10/