Fonts are absolutely the backbone of a great digital project...
And there are so many font resources out there that you don't have
to feel limited to those that came with your computer and/or software
program! Let's discuss one way to download and install a new font
to your system! Keep in mind, that there are other methods (other
organizers, other ways to download and save, etc), but this will
get you started in a way I wish I'd been able to start! Enjoy!
FONT ORGANIZERS
First things first. I recommend using a font organizer software
program, such as The Font Thing from Sue Fisher. It might seem cumbersome
to begin discussing font downloads and installation by first telling
you to go find and install a whole other program, but here's the
thing... Saving too many fonts to your system folder can slow your
computer down drastically, and there are probably fonts you will
only use on very rare occasions. A font organizer is a very
useful piece of software, and I highly recommend using something
to help you organize and quickly install or uninstall your fonts
in a folder seperate from your system files. I
use Sue Fisher's The Font Thing, which is a free program, available
here: [THE
FONT THING]
When you open the above page, you will see the following:
Click the arrow where my little pointer/finger is
to begin the download process. You will then see the following:
Select the "Save" Option, then you will
see the following:
Select "Save," and the Font Thing will be saved to your
"My Documents" folder on your hard drive. Then after it
downloads, you will be able to see a zipped folder in your My Documents
folder. Browse to this by selecting the "Start>My Documents"
button. Then locate the zipped folder called "ttfi".
Right click on the zipped folder and select the "Extract
All" option:
The next dialog box will ask you where you want the
unzipped pieces to land on your computer. Select "Next"
about three times when you're prompted to do so, and then a new
window will open:
Don't worry about any of the other icons in the dialog
box, select the "SETUP" icon, and then just follow the
instructions until the program is installed. Selecting all the default
locations for the program is totally acceptable. Just keep clicking
"next" or "okay".
When the program is successfully installed, you will
see a new window with the following icons:
Double click "The Font Thing" to open the
program. You should be able to browse to your Font Thing program
now from your Start>All Programs button.
A Font Thing Tutorial will be next on my list, but
in the meantime, you can see all the fonts installed on your computer
in the "Installed" Tab (illustrated below). You can also
use the "Browse" Tab to find new fonts which are not in
your system folder (I usually save mine in a seperate folder I've
named "Fonts" in My Documents on my hard drive). This
is where we'll be saving new fonts downloaded from the internet.
NOW DOWNLOADING FONTS!
You can find fonts on many, many internet sites. Many sites offer
free fonts. For example, DSP offers several fonts in our Freebies
Gallery. At DSP, you will see a page that looks like this:
If you click the link that begins with "http://..." your
computer will automatically open a dialog box that looks like this:
Select "Save" at this point, and a new dialog
box will open asking you where you want the font file to land on
your computer's hard drive (the default usually starts you at the
"my documents" point):
Since we have a handy font organization tool, we'll
actually save our downloaded fonts to a new folder. If you don't
currently have a Fonts folder where you keep downloaded fonts, you
can select the folder with the red star thing on the top bar next
to where it says, "Save in: ". A new folder will appear.
Type in "Fonts", then select that folder in which to save
your new font. Save your download to that directory!
After you've saved the font, you'll need to unzip
it. Browse to Start>My Documents>Fonts (your new font folder),
and right click on the zipped folder:
Select "next", then "next", then
"Cancel" upon prompts. Your font is saved and unzipped
and ready to be installed!
AND FINALLY, INSTALLING FONTS!
Okay. Go ahead and close all your windows that we've
opened thus far... And then go back to the Font Thing. Remember,
Start>All Programs>Font Thing. When the program is opened,
find the "Browse" Tab at the top left:
Click the box (if empty) to select "Incl Subfolders",
which will let you see inside folders within the "Fonts"
folder. Then, click the + next to the "(C:) drive (or, your
hard drive if it's named differently than mine). Browse down to
My Documents, then locate your "Fonts" folder. If you're
like me, you have many layers of subfolders, so keep searching until
you find the "FONTS" folder where you've saved your downloaded
font:
Now the screen below should list all the fonts in
your Font folder (which might not have many if you're just starting).
You'll see that the fonts which are currently installed have a windows
icon next to them (on their left). Those without the icon are currently
not installed. In order for your software program to find and use
the font, it needs to be installed.
So, scroll on down (if necessary) to find DSP Pat,
or your newest downloaded font.
You'll see a handy sample screen on your right, telling
you what the font will look like. You can also use those tabs (Sample/Multiple/Characters/Font
Info/Notes) to locate the creator and copyright information (usually
the Font Info Tab). Along the top bar, there is an "Install"
icon. When you want to install a font, click that. Then a windows
icon should appear next to your font on the left, telling you the
font is successfully installed! To UN-install a font, simply select
the "Uninstall" icon. You might un-install fonts that
you use very rarely.
You might find that you need to close and re-start
your software program before using a newly installed font (if it
is open while you install). And sometimes re-booting the computer
helps as well.
You will find a plethora of information on font sites
in the Font
Forum at DSP. They're addictive, though, so watch out! :) Enjoy
your fonts!
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