The publisher wants a PDF version of my manuscript but says MAC fonts (skia and Hoefler Text) and may not be TTF (true type font files) "are tricky because they are in more than one location" and therefore, he wants me to send him MAC's version of those two fonts in order to create a PDF version of the manuscript. How do I walk him through this process?
Optional Information: OS: Mac OS X Already Tried: searching...searching...In order to view your file properly, we would need the fonts I noted in the email below. Without these fonts, we cannot embed them properly when creating the PDF, which would cause a rejection of the file on the printer end. MAC fonts are tricky because they are in more than one location, so it's more difficult for us to walk clients through how to find them in order to send them to us. Do you have technical support on your end that might help you to access these fonts? THIS IS THE ISSUE. DO YOU KNOW A SERVICE THAT WILL CONVERT MY 155MB MANUSCRIPT TO A PDF WITH SKIA AND HOEFLER TEXT FONTS PLUS JPEG, PHOTOS ETC?
Hello! Dave Huber here to help.If I understand you correctly, your publisher wants you to send Skia and Hoefler Text to him. I hope this is correct, as the folowing should solve your issue. If you are actually asking something else, please reply with as much detail about what you are trying to accomplish.By the way, these 2 fonts are .dfonts, a TrueType font suitcase for OS X. Assuming your publisher is using Windows, I think this is going to be more problematic than his statement that "they are in more than one location." I am going to provide instructions to convert these prior to sending them. There are a few places that fonts can live on your Mac; inside your home folder and inside the main Library/Fonts folder. Hoefler Text and Skia will most likely be in the main Library. Do the following• click on your desktop, press cmmd-shift-N for a new folder• name it something like "fonts for manuscript"• double-click your hard drive• open the "Library" folder• open the "Fonts" folder• look for Skia and Hoefler (this is where they will most likely be. If not, press cmmnd-N for a new window, then look inside Library->Fonts within your home folder)• click on one font, then press & hold cmmd while you click the other font. They are now both selected.• Press cmmd-C to copy these fonts• open the folder you made on your desktop ("fonts for manuscript), then press cmmnd-V to paste the fonts.At this point, you'd be ready to zip the folder and send it, but I am going to provide you with instructions for converting the .dfonts. You can send both types just in case.• Download and install a free open-source program called Fondu. It is available at http://fondu.sourceforge.net/ • Open the Terminal program from Applications->Utilities. • type "fondu path-to-font/font-name.dfont and press return One easy way to do this is to type "fondu" - press space - drag the first font onto the Terminal window and press return. Dragging the font onto the Terminal window will fill in the path name. Assuming you put the fonts into a folder on your Desktop called "fonts for manuscript," the text in the Terminal will be:fondu /Users/yourusername/Desktop/fonts\ for\ manuscript/Hoefler\ Text.dfont• When you press return, a .ttf font will be created in the same folder. This should work fine for you Windows-using publisher.• repeat the process for Skia. The text in the terminal will be fondu /Users/yourusername/Desktop/fonts\ for\ manuscript/Skia.dfont(just to be clear, "yourusername" will be YOUR user name) • Close the folder, make sure it is still highlighted, then go to the "File" menu and choose "Compress 2 items" (in OS X 10.5) or "Create Archive of folder_name" (pre-OS X 10.5)You will now have a zip file containing the fonts your publisher needs, both the original .dfont type as well as .ttf type.Good luck! Please press "accept" if this has helped you, and make sure to reply if you need further assistance.Take care,Dave HuberDave Huber39843.9985199421
Experience: Mac user since 1984, Mac Support Specialist since 1999. In charge of over 700 Macs at current job.
I'm glad to have helped! I left some feedback for you, and I'd appreciate it if you could do the same. Good luck on your manuscript!-Dave
I downloaded the MAC OS/X version of fondu to the hard drive - that was the option fondu gave me - then opened it and tried dragging .dfont versions of Hoefler Text onto the Terminal page with the following results. I am doing something wrong. Please advise.Last login: Wed Feb 4 15:50:00 on ttys000macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ fondu path-to-font/Hoefler Text.dfont Can't find an appropriate resource fork in path-to-font/Hoefler Can't find an appropriate resource fork in Text.dfont macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ fondu path-to-font/Skia.dfont Can't find an appropriate resource fork in path-to-font/Skia.dfont macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ fondu/Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler\ manuscript\ fonts/Hoefler\ Text.dfont -bash: fondu/Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler manuscript fonts/Hoefler Text.dfont: No such file or directory macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ fondu/Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler\ manuscript\ fonts/Hoefler\ Text.dfont -bash: fondu/Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler manuscript fonts/Hoefler Text.dfont: No such file or directory macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ fondu /Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler\ manuscript\ fonts/Skia.dfont macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$ /Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler\ manuscript\ fonts/Hoefler\ Text.dfont -bash: /Users/robertdollar/Desktop/skia:Hoefler manuscript fonts/Hoefler Text.dfont: Permission denied macintosh-2:~ robertdollar$
Robert,Sorry for your trouble. First of all, I have the fonts converted for you. You can get them here:http://www.box.net/shared/zxhl20rvcdAs for converting the fonts on your own, I should have just presumed that the fonts you needed to convert were in the place I expected them to be. That way, I could have given you the exact text you needed. You just had a bit of trouble with some of the syntax. No biggie.To try this on your own again (for the future...you can still just grab the converted fonts from me), try this:Let's assume that Hoefler Text and Skia are going to be in the main fonts folder. I am 99% sure that's where they will be. In this case, this is what gets put into the Terminal:fondu sfnt /Library/Fonts/Hoefler\ Text.dfontfondu sfnt /Library/Fonts/Skia.dfontYou will still get the "Can't find an appropriate resource fork" message after each one. Now go to the Finder, press Apple-N for a new window, and right in your home folder you will see these files:SkiaRegular.ttfHoeflerTextOrnaments.ttfHoeflerTextItalic.ttfHoeflerTextBlackItalic.ttfHoeflerTextBlack.ttfHoeflerText.ttfThese are truetype/opentype version of your dfonts that can be sent to your publisher.For speed, feel free to grab the ones I posted for you at http://www.box.net/shared/zxhl20rvcdTake care!-Dave
Dave Huber: As I struggle - we struggle - to convert Apple .dfonts to .ttf fonts I begin to wonder if you know of a service capable of actually dealing with MAC OS X besides this PC oriented outfit. Without making political analogies even the blindest amongst us (myself) is beginning to smell the odor of futility. Check out this message: "I have downloaded the new fonts, and I'm getting the same error message. Was your friend able to test these out on a PC to make sure that they are viewable on his end? For some reason, we continue to get the message that they are "not a valid font file." (Although they do show up as .ttf.) If it's not something on our end, then it might have to do with the conversion of the font. Are they being converted from another font type?" XXX@XXXXXX.XXX wrote: Stephanee Killen: Thanks for sharing phone time. Clean versions in zip file form of the two fonts critical to your PDF convert of my manuscript are at www.box.net/shared/zxhl20rvcd (fonts-for-robert) From the half dozen shown only two are in my manuscript: HoeflerText.ttf (upper LH corner) and SkiaRegular.ttf (lower RH corner) Please see if these are useable. Thanks, Dollar
Hello again,Are you asking me if I know a pint shop that deals natively with OS X files? If so, I have been very pleased with a company called Haapanen/Burkett Inc. They do all of my work for the school (business cards, District Newsletters, yearbooks), and their prices were the best out of the five companies that we got bids from. I work with a man named Jerome Farr. You can shoot him an email and tell him I sent you. Specify what it is you are trying to accomplish, or ask him what details he needs from you.You can reach him XXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX or by phone at eight four seven six six two two two three three.Good luck!-Dave
No Dave, I don't need a "pint" (print?) shop. I must convert my manuscript into a PDF file which is why I XXXXXXXXXXXX@XXXXXX.XXX in the first place. They are just having difficulty downloading these two fonts (HoeflerText.ttf and SkiaRegular.ttf) from us. Can you "test these out on a PC to make sure they are viewable" as Ms. Stephanee Killen asks? How do we do this? Please advise. Thanks, Dollar
Pint, huh? You can tell where my brain was at...A few things:1) May I ask what program your manuscript is in? Is there a reason you cannot use the built-in PDF generation tools within OS X to do this?2) I downloaded the fonts I convereted for you and installed them on a Windows machine. They show up as TrueType font, install fine, work fine.3) Do you just want to have assistance converting your manuscript into a PDF? Maybe there is something you are trying to do that makes this more complex than I realize, but generating PDF files in OS X is easy to do, and you do not need Acrobat to do it. Depending on the program, you may have an export to PDF choice. For everything else, though, you simply choose "print" like you are going to send the job to a printer, but then click on the "PDF" button in the lower left corner of the print dialog box, and choose "Save as PDF." Give it a name and a location to save, and you've got a PDF file.Please tell me if this helps.-Dave
Dave: IF you want to see what I'm up against go to DANGEROUS URL REMOVED Trying to compensate for composing a manuscript on MAC pages may not be worth it when the rest of the world is stuck in a PC groove. Apple must be oblivious to the conundrum of creating in Pages when printers/publishers can't/are unable to read it. This could be a good business for you: convert unreadable Pages manuscripts into readable PDF for high speed printers -- the on demand publishing business is exploding. Meanwhile, back at the ranch I'm about to go the "make a postscript file with embedded fonts" route though its as intimidating as a 6'4" Negress standing in my doorway dressed for some S&M with my kids watching from the patio. Wish me luck...on the Postscript shit not the Negress. Thanks, Dollar