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abo · Feb 24, 2012, 01:19 AM

I'm still using 10.6.8 on my main computer, but would like to update to 10.7. Unfortunately, I have many old files which are read correctly by Appleworks 6 but are not read correctly by Pages. The problem is a font which I created back in the days of suitcase fonts, which Appleworks 6 recognizes but Pages does not. The font is very specific (lots of special symbols which I constructed myself), so I need to keep it and not use another font. I've tried just dragging the font file to /Library/Font, but that doesn't seem to work (I don't see it when I look at Format/Show Fonts/All Fonts in Pages. Is someone able to help?

ibook_steve · Feb 24, 2012, 02:40 PM

Can you add it in the Font Book application in your Applications folder?

Steve

TETENAL · Feb 24, 2012, 04:40 PM

font suitcase to ttf - Google Search

abo · Feb 25, 2012, 02:34 AM

Thanks very much for the replies.

I tried adding it to the Font Book application, but it doesn't appear. I get a few things flashing on the screen (which I can't make out), but the result is the font's name doesn't appear anywhere in the "All Fonts" list.

I tried the first application from the "font suitcase to ttf" link, called FreeFontConverter, but after choosing my file and then hitting Convert, I get the message, "Invalid font file, did you remember to choose one?" I'll try some more (the non-paying ones anyway..)

What I don't understand is why it appears in Appleworks 6 (in the Fonts list, it appears, and all my files look correct), but not in Pages. I thought Fonts were a Systems thing, not an Applications thing.

Thorzdad · 09:18 AM

The issue sounds like your Suitcase contains only the bitmap information. A Suitcase file should contain both bitmap and vector font files (usually ttf files). When a font is converted from one format to another, the vector information is used. If there is no vector file, there will be no conversion.

To quote an Apple support document:

Font suitcases used by Mac OS 9 and earlier that contain TrueType fonts continue to work with Mac OS X. No revision or conversion is necessary. Font suitcases containing only bitmap fonts will be available in Classic applications but not in Mac OS X applications.

Appleworks6 is, basically, an OS9 app carbonized into a PowerPC app, and runs in Rosetta under OSX 10.6. This is probably why Appleworks can see and use this old font, though why, exactly, is beyond me. Maybe there's some ancient part of it that can still see those old bitmap files? A lingering font cache? In any case, I'm afraid I can't hold out much hope to you that your font is going to be able to be saved.

There are apps for font editing and conversion, but they cost a bundle of bucks (and only run in Rosetta, too). Only you can determine if this would be a worthwhile investment.

abo · Feb 25, 2012, 04:03 PM

Thanks for the reply, although it's not really what I wanted to hear!

andi*pandi · Feb 25, 2012, 04:16 PM

Do you happen to have the original art you made the symbols with, and was it vector?

abo · Feb 25, 2012, 05:33 PM

The font file dates from 1994, so my memory is a bit dim. I think it is almost certainly bit map, because I remember creating the font's symbols by clicking on small squares in a grid. I don't have the original art, but I think I could recreate them if needed. (There are probably only 15 or so symbols in all which would need to be recreated; I'd have to check.)