FontDoctor X, Flexible Font Tool

Macs have always been great for DTP, being one of the areas where they see a lot of use. However, despite all the advantages they offer, there is still one thing Macs are vulnerable to and that is font problems. If you are not into DTP or anything graphics related, you are unlikely to ever have problems with fonts, after all, you only have the fonts that came with your system available. On the other hand, people that often work with fonts can have libraries of many hundreds if not thousands of fonts that they have to manage, something which is not always an easy task. Fortunately, for every task there is always a tool to make it easier, such as FontDoctor X.

What it does
FontDoctor X is a font utility suite that will help find, solve and prevent font issues, as well as a font organizer, converter, archiver and visualizer. All of these tools are quite powerful and up to the task, however, you don't need to use them all to make the most out of this program, and you can use it for just one thing, however, its flexibility makes it ideal as a one stop solution for almost anything font related.

In short it is like a Swiss Army Knife for fonts.

Font Problems?
In all fairness, I do not really use fonts in my work and have never had font related problems, or so I thought. FontDoctor X found problems I never knew existed, which is not surprising, since font files are not exactly very obvious when it comes to having problems, often manifesting themselves in strange ways.

Running the diagnostic tools revealed a series of problems of various types, ranging from incorrect finder flags, to bad font table data and duplicate fonts. While arguably duplicate fonts are not exactly a font problem, it is always helpful to know these things, especially when you manage a huge font library where duplicates are so much easier to miss. Regardless, using the options you can fine tune this process to exclude checks for duplicate font for example, as well as set the behavior when it comes to dealing with such issues.

The other two problems I encountered, I was not aware I had, nor was it immediately apparent exactly what these problems were. Fortunately the program provides a wealth of information about the different errors, what they can manifest as and what it can do about it. This helpful information, as well as the clear on screen instructions make it easy to work with the program, even without ever looking at the documentation.

Organize Fonts
A font library with more than a thousand fonts can get gruesome. Fortunately, staying on top of it has never been easier as FontDoctor X lets you reorganize your font library without having to do more than set a few options. What is great about it, is that you can actually see exactly what the result will look like before actually committing the changes.

Folders, subfolders, everything is handled for you and it can even merge fonts from multiple locations into a new one, or append to an existing location, thus making one large new library, without any font duplicates.

Archiving
While having thousands of fonts is great for being able to pick and choose, it is a nightmare to have present all the time. This is why, the best approach is to have a nice, gargantuan, font archive, and a smaller, more manageable font list, and to be able to easily move fonts between the two. FontDoctor X lets you build a font archive, where it is easy to keep all your fonts, and to move these fonts from the archive so you can use them. Another advantage of this is the way those fonts are kept as one big file, making it easy to back up and transport from one place to another.

The cat in the bag
Despite this program having a demo mode, it is hard to evaluate it. Many of its functions are not working while in demo mode, making it an exercise in futility for the most part. Fortunately, the testimonies of other people that have bought this can be read, and FontDoctor X seems to be a good piece of software, however there have been people that have encountered problems with it, problems that they could not identify before buying it.

Another dubious policy at the very least is how the developer does not issue any release notes for new versions. Amazingly enough, this is even the case with new major updates, that the developer charges for� basically, they ask for money without actually telling you what the update does.

The lack of most functionality in demo mode, and the release notes policy, combined with the relatively high price of the package makes for a bad combination. This is not to say that the software is bad in any way, simply that the developer has a very strange approach to certain things, that not all people will like, and that you should be aware of.

The Good
Complex tool that can handle nearly all font related tasks. Well designed and well documented, is easy to use for both font experts and novices.

The Bad
The demo version is not functional enough for most people to get a good impression of the program, and the full version is a bit pricy. Also, the developer's policy on updates notes is strange, to say the least.

The Truth
If you work with fonts on a regular basis, then this application might help you do things better. The large range of functions makes it great for any type of use.

Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge: