Visual QuickStart Guide [Electronic resources] : Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger

Font Locations

On a typical Mac OS X system, fonts can be installed in four or more places (Table 1 ). Where a font is installed determines who can use it.

User fonts are installed in a user's Fonts folder (Figure 1 ). Each user can install, control, and access his or her own fonts. Fonts installed in a user's Fonts folder are available only to that user.

Figure 1. User fonts are installed in the Fonts folder within the user's Library folder.

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Local fonts are installed in the Fonts folder for the startup disk (Figure 2 ). These fonts are accessible to all local users of the computer. Only an Admin user can modify the contents of this Fonts folder.

Figure 2. Local fonts are installed in the Fonts folder within the startup disk's Library folder.

System fonts are installed in the Fonts folder for the system (Figure 3 ). These fonts are installed by the Mac OS X installer and are used by the system. The contents of this Fonts folder should not be modified.

Figure 3. System fonts are installed in the Fonts folder within the System's Library folder.

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Classic fonts are installed in the Fonts folder within the Mac OS 9.x System Folder (if Mac OS 9.x is installed). These are the only fonts accessible by the Classic environment, although Mac OS X can use these fonts, even when the Classic environment is not running.

Network fonts are installed in the Fonts folder for the network. These fonts are accessible to all local area network users. This feature is normally used on network file servers, not the average user's computer. Only a network administrator can modify the contents of this Fonts folder.

Tips

Duplicate fonts are resolved based on where they are installed, in the following order: User, Local, Network, System, and Classic. For example, if the same font existed as both a User and System font, the User font would be used.

Changes to the Fonts folder take effect when an application is opened.

If you do not have the correct privileges to change a Fonts folder, a dialog like the one in

Figure 4 will appear. If you have an Admin password, you can click the Authenticate button and enter the password in the dialog that appears (Figure 5 ) to complete the change. Otherwise, click OK and ask a user with Admin privileges to do it for you.

Figure 4. A dialog like this appears if you try to change a Fonts folder and do not have enough privileges.

Figure 5. If you have an Admin password, you can enter it in this dialog to complete the change.

I cover Mac OS 9.x and the Classic environment in

Chapter 18 .

You can use Font Book to easily install or uninstall a font. I tell you about Font Book starting on the next page.

To manually install a font

Drag all files that are part of the font into the appropriate Fonts folder (Figure 6 ).

To manually uninstall a font

Drag all files that are part of the font out of the Fonts folder they were installed in (Figure 7 ).