UNIVERSAL TYPE SERVER WEBCAST FAQ

System requirements
Font corruption and repair
Font caches
Plug-ins and activation
Font licensing and compliance
Universal Type Windows client
Pricing
Connectivity
General questions

 

System requirements

System requirements for Universal Type Server Professional (client and server)

System requirements for Universal Type Server Lite (client and server)

In an environment of 600+ Mac users, could you talk about the recommended server platform? Specifically, are there any benefits of using Windows Server vs. OSX Server and vice-versa?
Our Mac and Windows servers have parity of features.

What are the server system requirements? Can it run on OS X Server running 10.3.9 server?
We recommend to run on a Mac OS X Server 10.4 or 10.5

I read an article on Macnn.com that stated Universal Type Server will only be compatible with Apple G5 processor and above. Is this true? Do the Universal Type server and client not work on G4 machines?
We recommend using a G5 processor for much faster performance. I know some people who are using G4s with no problem, but it will be faster with a G5.

Font corruption and repair

How does Universal Type Server manage duplicate fonts in the vault and in the OS font folders to avoid duplicate font problems/messages?
Universal Type Server will not allow for true duplicates to enter the workflow. Name duplicates (same name, different font) are allowed, and a different Font Sense ID will be given to each font. Font Sense allows for exact autoactivation of the desired font. To learn more about Font Sense, see http://www.extensis.com/en/products/font_management/font-sense.jsp

Are there any limits to the types of fonts that may be added and managed? I assume universal fonts are fully supported?
Only clean and un-corrupt fonts will be added and managed. Windows only fonts will not preview or activate in a Mac client and vice versa. They will be listed in the workgroup, but a user will not be able to preview them because they’re not supported in the opposite operating system.

Are there built-in tools to check font integrity, like Font Doctor?
Yes, Universal Type Server comes with built-in font repair and font corruption checking. It will not add corrupt or orphaned fonts to the system.

Is there font duplication control?
Universal Type Server will only allow name duplicates into the system.  Name duplicates are fonts that share the same name, but have other distinct characteristics, such as different foundry, different version, etc.  True duplicates (same font in all characteristics) will not be allowed in Universal Type Server – it will only allow one of each font into the “vault” or central repository of fonts.

If a font is corrupt and causes a problem when syncing, will we be alerted to which font is troubled
Universal Type Server has a built-in font repair and font corruption checking.  It will not add corrupt or orphaned fonts to the system, so there will be no problem when synching.  However, when attempting to add fonts, if fonts are corrupt, it will give the user an error message.

Font caches

Where are the fonts downloaded on the local machine?
Fonts get downloaded in a special location in the Library folder of the client machine.

When activated, where are the fonts stored on the client? In cache as it is in Font Reserve Server or in the User Library?
Fonts get downloaded in a special location in the Library folder of the client machine.

Plug-ins and activation

Does this work with all software, such as Microsoft and Adobe products
Yes, the activation functionality in Universal Type Server will work with all software.  There are specific auto-activation plug-ins for even more precise font matching which are available for the most common creative applications: Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign and QuarkXPress.  For other programs, a user would need to manually activate/deactivate fonts in the Universal Type Client user interface.

There is no support for Photoshop?
In Photoshop- like in any application, you can activate fonts manually in Universal Type Server. Unfortunately the way Photoshop software is designed does not allow for stable auto-activation plug-ins.  However, a user can still manually activate the desired fonts and use them in Photoshop.  From Illustrator, InDesign or QuarkXPress, a user can also “create a document set” and use the selected fonts later in Photoshop.

How many fonts can one have activated at the same time?
There is no limitation on the number of fonts that can be activated at the same time.  However, because fonts are like software that runs active code, they do consume computer resources, so you may choose to activate only the fonts that are required for your project.

Can you comment on compatibility between older Panther/Tiger apps and UTS?
The Universal Type Client has been tested in both Mac OX X v10.4 and 10.5.  We recommend that it runs in either of these programs.

If you forget to turn on fonts for a program like flash . . . Will you have to quit the program start the fonts and reopen the program/software.
Programs for which we don’t have plug-ins will require manual activation.  Some applications you will need to close, while others you don’t.  A test that I did with Word, for example, I didn’t to close the program for the activated fonts to become visible; it displayed them in your font drop-down menu when you activate them in Universal Type Client.

Font licensing and compliance

Can Universal Type Server police the designer's workstation to prevent illegal fonts from being used in projects?
There are a couple of options in Universal Type Server that can help you achieve this.  You can restrict who is able to add fonts to the server (only a select few).  Corrupt or rogue fonts will not be added to Universal Type Server, because we have a built-in functionality for font corruption and repair.  You can also create your workgroups based on which designers have access to which fonts, and only give your designers the ability to use a subset of fonts.

How do you keep track of font licenses? Are there features that prevent fonts from being accessed when the number of licenses has been exceeded?
You can create font license attributes that contain the number of licensed fonts, vendor, cost, etc.  You can then add this license attributes to fonts, and lastly, add only those fonts to workgroups.  We currently do not prevent fonts from being accessed when the number of licenses has been exceeded.

Can you generate license reports in Type Server?
Currently, a user can create “smart sets” to track any fonts that meet certain criteria, such as license information.  A variety of license data can be entered and applied to fonts such as vendor, PO#, number of licenses, cost, etc.

Universal Type Windows client

Is there feature parity between the Mac and Windows clients for the Universal Type Client software?
Yes, both Windows and Mac Universal Type clients will have parity of features.

Pricing

We recommend that you contact your sales manager to obtain a pricing quote that is customized for your particular environment and current installation.  Sales contact information can be found at http://www.extensis.com/en/products/universaltypeserverpro/purchase.jsp

We currently have multiple copies of Extensis Suitcase Fusion... is there an upgrade option for Universal Type Server?
Yes, there is special pricing for upgrading from Suitcase Fusion to Universal Type Server.

Cost to add seats?
We have tier pricing for adding more seats.  The more you add, the more affordable it becomes.

Maintenance agreement options? 1/2/3-year?
Yes, we do have annual service agreement options for one, two and three years.

Is there an upgrade price plan from Suitcase server X1 to UTS?
If you’re under a current annual service agreement, your upgrade will be free of charge.  If not, there is special pricing available.

Connectivity

I'm a remote user who connects to my company's servers via VPN. Are there any special considerations that I need to have constant access to the company's fonts?
As long as you’re connected to the server, which you should be able to do via your VPN connection, you should have access to all the fonts.  You can also select to choose the “All” replication mode if you would like to have all the fonts locally in your system in case you lose your VPN connection or travel and cannot connect to the server.

Can an offsite remote user connect into this server database?
Yes, as long as the user has access to the server machine, he/she will be able to connect.

Would we be able to use this product over a wan connection?
Yes

General questions

Can fonts be viewed by family?
Yes, fonts can be viewed by family by going to “View”, then “Group fonts by family”.  You can also move fonts from one family to another.

Can you customize how often each user gets synchronized with the server?
Yes, each user can be synchronized differently according to his/her needs.  For example, a user whose fonts change often may want t synchronize with the server more frequently than a user who deals with the same set of fonts all the time.

How do you add fonts to the server?
Fonts are added in the Universal Type Client.  A user with permissions to add fonts to a workgroup can add fonts by dragging and dropping the fonts (or folder) into the desired workgroup.

From the looks of it, a role is assigned to a workgroup, and a user can have different roles in different workgroups... is this correct?
Yes, you create roles, create workgroups, and then assign a default role to each workgroup.  Users added to the workgroup will inherit the default role (this can be later manually customized).  And yes, a user can have different roles and permissions in different workgroups.

Do the USERS still have the option to determine when they want to sync to the server or is this now an ADMIN-determined setting for the users?
With Universal Type Server, the user can choose to manually sync with the server at any point in time.  However, the option to determine how often the automatic sync happens is a permission that the administrator sets for the users.

This is cross platform, yes?
Yes, Universal Type Server is a cross platform product on both the server and clients

Can you see the WYSIWYG sample of the font without activating them?
If by WYSIWYG you mean previewing the font, yes, you can preview the font without activating it.

When adding a particular font to 3 different workgroups,  would this mean that there would be three duplicate of the particular font on the font server?
No, a font will only exist once in the server, but a font can reside in multiple locations.  It would just refer to that same font. Think of this as an iTunes playlist. One song, 3 locations.

Installer format? pkg?
Yes, it is a packaged installer.

This is not specifically about Universal Type Server, but I have noticed at several customer locations that Helvetica and HelveticaNeue frequently cause a conflict with the OS 10.5 operating system. Do you have an easy method of detecting and resolving such conflicts? I read an online suggestion that Helvetica.dfont and HelveticaNeue.dfont could be replaced by another type of font with the same name, but attempts to do this have not been successful.
The best resource that I can give you is the Font Management Best Practices Guide, located at http://www.extensis.com/en/downloads/document_download.jsp?docId=5600039

Are changes by administrators real-time (clients see immediately?)
Yes, changes are real-time.  Depending on the extent of the changes, the client/server may take a few seconds/minutes to update.

Will this WebEx presentation be recorded for future download or to be shared with others within my corporation?
Yes, the recorded version of this webcast is available to share with your colleagues through this link - http://www.extensis.com/en/support/webcasts/on-demand-universal-type-server.jsp

How are the client to server syncing times compared to suitcase server for a font set 3000 fonts
Synching time is faster in Universal Type Server than it was with either Suitcase Server or Font Reserve Server.

Will this program be local to our servers or will we be pulling them from a server that you manage?
Universal Type Server gets installed in your environment – we do not host the solution for you.

Can you log in with the same username on multiple computers at the same time?
Yes, it is possible, but if a user on machine A does not “forget connection” to the server, then it will count as consuming two Universal Type Client licenses.