Quark and Zapf Dingbats problem

idave

I've got the strangest problem with Quark XPress 6.1 and any document that uses Zapf Dingbats. The dingbats are invisible on screen but print just fine after a warning that the font might be corrupted. The font views and prints just fine with Illustrator and other software. I've replaced the font with a fresh copy several times, trying it in the user library, the main library and outside the library, managed by Suitcase. Nothing seems to solve the problem. Please help!

karl kuehn

That means that this is a TrueType or Bitmap font and the screen font is screwed up. If the item is in a pdf (.ai files are now a form of PDF) or you did "collect for output at some point, the font could be tagging along in the file/folder and so you have not touched it.

idave

It's a Type 1 font. These are Quark files which have not been PDFed or collected for output. There are dozens of such files with which I have the same problem. Your suggestion that I haven't touched the font might bear some weight. Perhaps I need to do a more thorough search to be sure the (corrupt) font being used isn't hiding somewhere. Even if it is, it shouldn't be active if not in the library fonts folder, should it? I have the same problem when Suitcase isn't running.



By the way, this is a graphics station which has been used by various designers, who have literally put fonts EVERYWHERE. I thought I had isolated all the copies of Zapf Dingbats but will check again.



Thanks for the input.

karl kuehn

The main places to look for fonts are:



/Library/Fonts

/System/Library/Fonts

~/Library/Fonts (per user)

/System Folder/Fonts (or wherever your MacOS 9 system resides)



Plus applications can cause fonts to be loaded from anywhere else they choose. Quark is one of these culprits as it sometimes needs to load fonts in "collect for outputs", embedded files (such as PDF), or sometimes a font collection it carries with it. And it sounds like you have a font management program to give you even more possible locations... fun.



My advice: move to InDesign (not really a font thing... just makes life easier), get a font repair program to scan your fonts (it will find things like this) and start creating a "known good fonts" collection. You can also use this to figure out what fonts you actually have rights to... details... details... I used FontDoctor a while ago and liked it. It got me out of a bad hole with some corrupted TrueType fonts. I was able to swing a bat with it and get the boss to pop for a decent font package from a foundry that didn't crash the computer all the time.

idave

Karl,



Thanks much for your valuable advice! There's a ZapfDingbats.dfont in the OS X System Library Fonts folder which is now highly suspect. (As you suggest there may be something in the OS 9 System Folder as well.) I don't think my search would have found the (single) word ZapfDingbats and I'll bet you've solved my problem. When I get to the office tomorrow I'll check it out and report back.



I've had it in mind to try to get all these fonts under control. It's a daunting task when you have work to do. Sounds like FontDoctor might be the way to go.



BTW, I have InDesign CS but have been unable to get used to it.

idave

Hmm, well no luck as of yet. Might have to get the FontDoctor to diagnose this one.

karl kuehn

Oh.. and of all the location, the one least suspect should be the /System/Library/Fonts folder... that one should be the safest.

idave

Removing the Type 1 version of Zapf Dingbats turned out to be a temporary solution. Now, when opening a document that includes Zapf Dingbats and getting the warning that it's not installed, I immediately do a replacement with the System TrueType version which resides in the System/Library/Fonts folder. This probably isn't the ideal solution but it got me working again. I think there must be an issue with Quark 6.1, OS 10.3.5 and that particular Type 1 font.



Thanks again for the help.

jtmac

This is a known issue with 10.3.5, Quark, and Zapf Dingbats. Do a search on the Apple or Quark support forums and you'll find a number of discussions, but not much in the way of solid solutions.



Here's a Quark forum discussion.

karl kuehn

I guess I had the solution all along... switch to InDesign... *grin*

idave

Quote:

Originally posted by JTMac

This is a known issue with 10.3.5, Quark, and Zapf Dingbats. Do a search on the Apple or Quark support forums and you'll find a number of discussions, but not much in the way of solid solutions.



Here's a Quark forum discussion.

Thanks for the link! Whew, what a mess.

idave

I just got FontAgent Pro which does a great job of tidying up all your fonts. Also got the Quark XPress 6.5 upgrade which Quark claims fixes the printing problem with Zapf Dingbats. Well, I'm sad to report that I'm now having even more problems with many different fonts. Apparently it's not really a font or Quark problem but an OS X problem. I wish Apple would hurry up and fix it. I'm tearing my hair out, and there's not much left!

new

Quote:

Originally posted by iDave

I just got FontAgent Pro which does a great job of tidying up all your fonts. Also got the Quark XPress 6.5 upgrade which Quark claims fixes the printing problem with Zapf Dingbats. Well, I'm sad to report that I'm now having even more problems with many different fonts. Apparently it's not really a font or Quark problem but an OS X problem. I wish Apple would hurry up and fix it. I'm tearing my hair out, and there's not much left!

how does fontagent pro perform compared to suitcase?

idave

Quote:

Originally posted by New

how does fontagent pro perform compared to suitcase?

You know, I really haven't been able to determine that since I'm having so many font problems related to OS 10.3.5. I will say that it does a fabulous job of organizing all the fonts into alphabetical folders. My initial impression is that it's kind of slow but I have way too many fonts and perhaps it'll work better once I have time to organize them into sets, or just eliminate a bunch of them.