Troubleshooting problems getting fonts into Suitcase Fusion 3

Description

This article describes things to try if you’re having trouble getting fonts into Suitcase Fusion 3.

Solution

Verify the font’s integrity

Select the font in the Finder
In the Finder, choose File > Get Info
Check the font file’s size under “General”. If the Size field reads “0 bytes”, then the font’s resource fork been stripped and the font will need to be replaced.

Font files and resource forks
Several font formats for Mac OS X store the font’s data in the resource fork of the file. Transferring Mac OS X fonts over a network or using a storage medium which does not support data stored in a resource fork can strip required data out of the file. To protect your fonts when transferring from one machine to another, compress the fonts before transferring them.

Test the font by placing it into an OS font folder

Suitcase Fusion 3 can manage, preview, and activate any font file supported by Mac OS X. If you notice problems with a font in Suitcase Fusion 3, test the font file by copying it to an operating system font folder and see if the font is available to your applications.

Drag the font from the subfolder into /Users/[username]/Library/Fonts and restart the computer
After the computer restarts, quit Suitcase Fusion 3 and launch an application to see if the font is available and works correctly

If the font does not work when placed in an operating system font folder, it may be damaged or not compatible with Mac OS X.

Scan the fonts with FontDoctor

FontDoctor is bundled with Suitcase Fusion 3, but is not installed by default. If you have not installed FontDoctor, you can run the installer from your installation disc or download the installer here. In order for FontDoctor to be able to repair fonts, you must enter in a valid serial number. Otherwise, FontDoctor can only diagnose fonts and generate reports if run in Demo mode.

Launch FontDoctor (found in the Applications folder
Click the “Diagnose Options” button in the lower-left corner of the window.
Click “Reset Settings” then click “Save”
Drag and drop the font onto the main FontDoctor window

FontDoctor will raise warnings for different font problems; it is recommended to let FontDoctor try to repair any font that is reports as damaged. Once FontDoctor has completed its scan, it is recommended to let FontDoctor scan the fonts again, as some font corruption problems are not discovered until other problems have been repaired.

Note:
Some fonts may pass a scan in FontDoctor but still cannot be added to Suitcase Fusion 3. The latter uses a different corruption-checking algorithm than FontDoctor and may find problems that FontDoctor cannot identify. Although damaged fonts may appear to function normally, it is never recommended to use a font which has been identified as corrupt by either product.

If FontDoctor cannot repair a damaged font, it is recommended that the font be replaced with a known good copy. If a good copy of the font is not available, you may try the following methods to bypass Suitcase Fusion 3′s protective features:

Temporarily disable corruption checking:

Choose Suitcase Fusion > Preferences, select the General tab, and change the following preferences under “Scan for corrupt fonts”:
Uncheck “Before adding a font”
Uncheck “Attempt repair automatically”
Uncheck “Before previewing a font”
Try to add the font again; Fusion should now accept the font.

You should make sure to re-enable the corruption-checking features of Suitcase Fusion once your font is loaded, so corrupt fonts you encounter in the future can be detected.

Attempt to add the font “in place”

Disable the corruption-checking features of Suitcase Fusion as described above
Place your fonts where they will not be accidentally moved or renamed; a good place would be in a folder placed in /Users/Shared folder on your startup drive.
Option-drag the font onto the Fonts pane of Suitcase Fusion and drop it.

You should make sure to re-enable the corruption-checking features of Suitcase Fusion once your font is loaded, so corrupt fonts you encounter in the future can be detected.

Managing fonts “in place”

If a font that has been added “in place” is moved, renamed, or deleted, it will be marked as missing in Suitcase Fusion and will not be available for activation or previewing. You should ensure that fonts added “in place” are in a location where they will not be accidentally moved or deleted.

Bypass Suitcase Fusion and let the OS manage the font

If the font is recognized by the operating system but all attempts to add the font to Suitcase Fusion 3 fail, but the font cannot be discarded or worked around, you can always add it to an operating system font folder such as /Library/Fonts/. It will appear in Suitcase Fusion 3 as a system font, and will be active until you remove it from the operating system font folder. Keep in mind that the font could still be damaged, and may cause display or printing problems in the future.