David,

Font Reserve from DiamondSoft is currently the best font manager for Windows. See, for example:

Competitive Analysis: Font Managers for Windows < http://www.fontreserve.com/pdf/products/Comp_Analysis_Win_2. 6.5.2.pdf>

DiamondSoft has recently been acquired by Extensis, who are working on combining Font Reserve and SuitCase into a new better product, yet to be released. For more information on that, see:

SuitCase & Font Reserve Q&A < http://www.extensis.com/suitcase/fontreservesuitcase_q_a.htm l>

In the meantime, the best product is Font Reserve. You can download a free demo version that is good indefinitely, but is limited to managing only 100 fonts at a time. That is the version I have been using this last year. I have way more than 100 fonts on my system, but I have selected the 100 that I like best for management. Occasionally I replace one of the managed fonts with another, staying within the 100-font limit. I probably will purchase the present version of Font Reserve for Windows (version 2.6.5) as insurance against Extensis screwing it up, and also so I can manage an unlimited number of fonts. Hopefully Extensis really will improve it in the new yet to be named product and I will get a decent upgrade price to acquire it. You can download the trial version of Font Reserve at:

Download free trial Font Reserve < http://www.extensis.com/cgi-bin/dldl.cgi?trialsoft=fontreser ve&operatingsystem=1&language=1>

Font Reserve lets you activate and deactivate fonts and sets on-demand either temporarily (until system shut down) or permanently. Font Reserve automatically handles font name conflicts. Font Reserve lets you customize your font sets any way you like. My personal font sets currently are: Graphics, Publishing, Script, Video Art, Video Bold, Video Bold Art, Video Comic, Video Kids, Video Mono, Video Ren, Video Script, Video Thin, and Web. There are also a couple of mandatory font sets, System and Activated by Others. I am a desktop video enthusiast, hence several font sets with fonts that look good on a TV set (many fonts do not.)

Font Reserve supports all popular Windows font formats including Postscript, TrueType, OpenType, and Multiple Master. You can create custom font sets by job, client, or any method you prefer using drag & drop from within Font Reserve's font browser. Font Reserve lets you explore all the fonts on your system from right within the Font Browser window. You can find fonts anywhere on your system using the Font Reserve explorer feature that allows you to search for and preview fonts before adding them to Font Reserve. You can find out more about Font Reserve for Windows at:

Font Reserve for Windows <http://www.fontreserve.com/products/frwin.html >

-- Burton -- (not associated with Extensis or DiamondSoft)

David Araiza

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Font Management