FontExplorer X 2.0

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Karl Hodge Digital Arts Magazine 11/05/09 Follow @pcworldau

Pros

• Create smart sets, integrates with all leading creative applications

Cons

• Absence of one-click filters, complex interface

Bottom Line

FontExplorer X Pro might not be the most exciting application a designer can install Ᾱ but you’ll be guaranteed to make use of it every day. It’s close to being a ‘must-have’ for Mac-based graphics freelancers.

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That’s where tools like Linotype’s FontExplorer X Pro come in. The name understates the power of this industrial-strength tool. While font managers allow you to preview, add and remove fonts, FontExplorer X Pro integrates with your key applications and enables you to accomplish those tasks within them. You can also customize previews, create active font sets and find missing fonts — and even buy replacement faces from within the application.

The main application collates and backs up the fonts already on your machine, whether they’re installed system fonts or application-specific, giving you access to everything in one place. From there you can arrange fonts into sets manually, or create smart sets.

Like an iTunes Smart Playlist, a smart set is a set of files that meet configurable criteria. You can group fonts by creator, application, family and a couple dozen more criteria. Then, like some omnipotent god of fonts, you can deactivate whole typeface swathes in a single click.

Plug-ins connect FontExplorer to design applications like Photoshop, InDesign and QuarkXPress, giving you much-needed control over how you handle text styles in those programs. The installation process is pretty seamless and is reversible.