Troubleshooting Auto-Activation in Suitcase Fusion 3

Description

This article explains how to troubleshoot Suitcase Fusion 3 auto-activation issues.

Solution

Install the latest version of Suitcase Fusion 3

We often release free product updates that add functionality, address compatibility issues, or provide bug fixes. You can check the version of Suitcase by choosing Suitcase Fusion 3 > About Suitcase Fusion. To download the latest version of Suitcase Fusion, visit our Product Support page.

Make sure the Suitcase Fusion 3 auto-activation plug-in is installed

Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InCopy, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Photoshop, and QuarkXPress require plug-ins to activate fonts automatically; if auto-activation is not working in these applications, make sure the Suitcase Fusion 3 plug-in is actually installed. Here’s a list of the different locations the SF3 plugins get installed into:

Adobe Illustrator CS 3: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS3/Plug-Ins/Extensions/ExtensisFontManagementAICS3.aip
Adobe Illustrator CS 4: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS4/Plug-Ins/Extensions/ExtensisFontManagementAICS4.aip
Adobe Illustrator CS 5: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS5/Plug-Ins/Extensions/ExtensisFontManagementAICS5.aip
Adobe Illustrator CS 5.5: /Applications/Adobe Illustrator CS5.1/Plug-Ins/Extensions/ExtensisFontManagementAICS5.aip
Adobe InCopy CS4: /Applications/Adobe InCopy CS4/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementICCS4.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InCopy CS5: /Applications/Adobe InCopy CS5/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementICCS5.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InCopy CS5.5: /Applications/Adobe InCopy CS5.5/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementICCS5.5.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InDesign CS3: /Applications/Adobe InDesign CS3/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementIDCS3.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InDesign CS4: /Applications/Adobe InDesign CS4/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementIDCS4.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InDesign CS5: /Applications/Adobe InDesign CS5/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementIDCS5.InDesignPlugin
Adobe InDesign CS5.5: /Applications/Adobe InDesign CS5.5/Plug-Ins/Font Activation/ExtensisFontManagementIDCS5.5.InDesignPlugin
Adobe Photoshop CS4: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS4/Plug-ins/Automate/ExtensisFontManagementPSCS4.plugin
Adobe Photoshop CS5: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS5/Plug-ins/Automate/ExtensisFontManagementPSCS5.plugin
Adobe Photoshop CS5.5: /Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS5.1/Plug-ins/Automate/ExtensisFontManagementPSCS5.plugin
QuarkXPress 7.x: /Applications/Quark XPress 7.x/XTensions/ExtensisFontManagementQXT7.xnt
QuarkXPress 8.x: /Applications/Quark XPress 8.x/XTensions/ExtensisFontManagementQXT8.xnt
QuarkXPress 9.x: /Applications/Quark XPress 9/XTensions/ExtensisFontManagementQXT9.xnt

If the plug-in is not present, you can install it using the Suitcase Fusion 3 Plug-in Manager.

In Suitcase, go to the Suitcase Fusion 3 menu and select “Manage Plug-ins…”
In the Suitcase Fusion 3 Plug-in Manager, install whatever plug-ins you require by clicking the “Enabled” checkbox on the left.
Click on the “Done” button to close the Plug-In Manager.

Make sure the Suitcase Fusion auto-activation plug-in is enabled

Adobe Illustrator CS4, CS5 andCS5.5
Within Adobe Illustrator, select Illustrator > Preferences > Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation Prefs… and make sure that “Enable Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation” is checked
Adobe InDesign CS4, CS5, or CS5.5
Within Adobe InDesign, select InDesign > Preferences > Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation Prefs… and make sure that “Enable Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation” is checked.
QuarkXPress 7, 8, or 9:
Within QuarkXpress, select Utilities > Suitcase Fusion XT Preferences…and make sure that “Enable Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation” is checked.

Clean the Mac OS X font cache

Corrupted font cache files can cause a range of problems including garbled onscreen text, system font conflict errors and incorrect fonts being displayed or activated.

Manually activate the fonts

Quit Suitcase Fusion
Open your document in the parent application and take note of the fonts required by the document
Close the document and application
Relaunch Suitcase Fusion and manually activate the fonts required by your document
Open your document again and see if the fonts are recognized.

If the documents do not recognize the fonts manually activated in Suitcase Fusion, there is a problem unrelated to auto-activation. See the Troubleshooting Suitcase Fusion knowledge base article for more suggestions.

Activating the fonts “on demand”

On-demand activation is a feature that allows the user to load a font temporarily into Suitcase Fusion and have it override any other active version of the font. This is especially useful for service bureaus and prepress facilities that need to ensure they are using the version of the font supplied by the customer, and can help troubleshoot whether or not the correct font is being used by Suitcase Fusion.
To activate a font “on demand”, Command-drag the font files from the Finder and drop it on the Fonts pane of Suitcase Fusion. It will appear with an orange “T” next to the font name.
To remove on-demand fonts and other temporary fonts you can quit and relaunch Suitcase Fusion, which removes temporary fonts from the database, or choose Edit > Remove Temporary Fonts to remove the fonts without having to relaunch the application.

Place the fonts into an operating system font folder

Suitcase Fusion can activate any font supported by the Mac OS X operating system. If the operating system is unable to activate a font, or if a font activated by the operating system does not appear in your parent application, the issue may be unrelated to Suitcase Fusion.

Place a copy of your font files directly into the /Users/[username]/Library/Fonts folder
Restart your computer
Once the computer has restarted, quit Suitcase Fusion and try opening your document.

If the parent application reports fonts missing from your document, there may be an issue related to either the fonts or the document.

Troubleshooting document-, font- or application-specific issues

A font problem could be limited to a specific document, application, or font. If the specific file or application that directly relates to the problem can be identified, the problem can usually be resolved by recreating the document, reinstalling the application, or replacing the font.

Try another document
Create a new document in the same application using the same font or fonts. If the font works correctly in the new document, the problem is most likely related to the original document. The original document can usually be repaired by using the application’s Save As command to create a new copy of the document based on the original, or by copying the contents from the original document by hand into a new document and saving the resulting document.
Try another application
Try using the font in another application, like TextEdit. If the font works correctly in another application, the original application may have a preference or setting that may be affecting the font in question. A preference file may also be corrupt or damaged; you may be able to resolve the issue by deleting a preferences file. In rare cases, the application itself may have been damaged; removing and reinstalling the application can resolve the issue. Check the documentation for the application, or contact the developer for technical support.
Try another font
If the document doesn’t display the correct font but the font is available to the application, the wrong version of a font could be active. Verify that you have the correct version of the font available and active in Suitcase Fusion. If the correct font is active, you may need to replace the missing font in the document with the font listed in the application’s font menu. Some applications have the ability to replace a font in a document with another font; consult your application’s documentation. Keep in mind that the text flow and layout of the document can be affected by using a different version of the original font.

Contact Extensis Technical Support

As a registered Suitcase Fusion user, you are entitled to free technical support. If you are still running into problems, or need assistance with this document, contact our technical support department. To help us respond to your support case, include any steps that you completed from this document when contacting support.