Font issue in OS X... .dfont?

Posted:
in macOS edited January 2014
AmericanTypewriter.dfont



What the hell is that? I am working on a book with Quark in OS 9.2.2 and I need this font...but OS 9 doesn't recognize this file or whatever it is.



I tried Suitcase's Save for Output but that just copied this .dfont file. I tried even to place it in OS 9's System Folder and nothing happened. Just loaded it in the System Folder. OS 9's Finder Information has no clue what it is either. OS X calls it a "fork" font suitcase or something...



So, where really is this font suitcase? And how do I get it into and work in OS 9?



Thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 8
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    You don't.



    dfonts are MacOS X only.



    (Caveat: there may be a converter, much like the Mac<->Windows TrueType converters. Dunno.)
  • Reply 2 of 8
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    TrueBlue from Stone Design has some ability to convert .dfonts to PostScript fonts. I think the newest version has a better time of it, but I haven't really tested it. It's also an OS X-only app, so it might not be of any use to you anyway.



    BTW, a .dfont is a TrueType font that places all its metric/drawing info into the file's data fork:



    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25251



    TrueBlue:



    www.stone.com
  • Reply 3 of 8
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Thanks all. Hope more advice comes...



    "TrueBlue from Stone Design has some ability to convert .dfonts to PostScript fonts. I think the newest version has a better time of it, but I haven't really tested it. It's also an OS X-only app, so it might not be of any use to you anyway."



    TrueBlue (freeware) only seems to work if you have their PStill ($69) software installed.



    You know? Call me bitter (what artman, bitter? ), but what a rip off. I have fonts in OS X that I cannot use elsewhere? Only in OS X? No means of using them in OS 9 or when I will have to copy some .dfont to a print project CD (what about Windows or a service bureau using OS 9)? Pretty sure the price tag for OS X had these @#$*& fonts tallied into it.



    Stupid. Dumb. Frustrating.



    Whatever. I'll get the font I want off of a friend. ****it. So the cycle continues...get it for nothing somewhere else. Like I get all my @#$*& software.
  • Reply 4 of 8
    buonrottobuonrotto Posts: 6,368member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Artman @_@

    Thanks all. Hope more advice comes...



    TrueBlue (freeware) only seems to work if you have their PStill ($69) software installed.



    I have fonts in OS X that I cannot use elsewhere? Only in OS X?




    Download PStill. There's a 30 day free trial (fully functional) license. You can use it, and the resulting PostScript files are saved in their own folder in your Home Library ("Converted Fonts"). Then you can chuck PStill sil vous plais. A little under-handed, but I've paid my dues to Stone at least.



    I too find it a bit inexplicable why they didn't go with OpenType fonts or something like that. I can understand some confusion with PostScript stuff, plus it costs more. The .dfonts basically put the extra Mac-specific info into one fork to eliminate the extra forks that are tied to HFS. So it makes them more portable in the future for Apple at least. It's better than losing that data and being stuck with Windows TTF files, but it seems like Open Type is the way to go, and the type system does support it. Are OpenType fonts that much more expensive and difficult to manage for casual users like PostScript fonts can be?
  • Reply 5 of 8
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by BuonRotto

    Download PStill. There's a 30 day free trial (fully functional) license. You can use it, and the resulting PostScript files are saved in their own folder in your Home Library ("Converted Fonts"). Then you can chuck PStill sil vous plais. A little under-handed, but I've paid my dues to Stone at least.



    Ah. I didn't think of that. Frustrating day. I am working on a book design that has already gone through three other designers. Had to go to OS 9, files crashing everywhere, had to upgrade from Quark 4 to 5. Font issues, image issues and overall uckfuppedness from the other designers. Then this...



    Quote:

    I too find it a bit inexplicable why they didn't go with OpenType fonts or something like that. I can understand some confusion with PostScript stuff, plus it costs more. The .dfonts basically put the extra Mac-specific info into one fork to eliminate the extra forks that are tied to HFS. So it makes them more portable in the future for Apple at least. It's better than losing that data and being stuck with Windows TTF files, but it seems like Open Type is the way to go, and the type system does support it. Are OpenType fonts that much more expensive and difficult to manage for casual users like PostScript fonts can be?



    <jack benny imersonation>Well, there wouldn't be any money in it then would it?</jack benny imersonation>
  • Reply 6 of 8
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    TrueType is an open format, and was designed to be a portable file format as well... but from the beginning there was a problem. MacOS had forks, Windows didn't.



    So Mac TrueType fonts had a good portion of their info in the resource fork, and Windows .TTF files were all data. Instant non-portability. So much for that idea.



    With MacOS X, there was a move away from resource forks and towards increased interoperability, so the TrueType .dfont was born. It's *nearly* a Windows .TTF file, but with some oddities for the Mac. Much easier to convert back and forth, BTW. You may want to convert the .dfont to a .TTF, then to a Classic TrueType font. Should work just fine.



    There was talk of updating the font handler in MacOS 9.x to handle .dfonts, but ultimately, it didn't happen.



    OpenType is Yet Another Attempt To Get It Right, along with Adobe Master Fonts, PostScript fonts, and half a dozen other ideas. There is no right answer... right now, TrueType and PostScript rule the roost for most people.
  • Reply 7 of 8
    agent302agent302 Posts: 974member
    Using OS X fonts in OS 9



    edit: I have tried it, and it did work, because I wanted to use Optima in Word 2001.
  • Reply 8 of 8
    artman @_@artman @_@ Posts: 2,546member
    Thanks for all your help people! I'll try them both.
Sign In or Register to comment.