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DESCRIPTION
FontExplorer X Pro... Optimized for professional use, the FontExplorer X Pro solution gives you the power you need to manage all your fonts.
Now you can more easily manage, activate and organize your existing font collection as well as find and experiment with new fonts. Whether you've got a hard drive full of typefaces or a few cherished families, FontExplorer X Pro handles your font library quickly, efficiently and reliably. And when you're ready to add to your collection, you can view thousands of classic designs and the latest releases from independent foundries using the integrated store.
FontExplorer X Pro features an enhanced user interface with a configurable toolbar, activation control, comprehensive font information at your fingertips, customizable font previews, back-up functionality and access to FontExplorer X Server. Used together, FontExplorer X Pro and FontExplorer X Server are your complete solution for organizing, exploring and buying fonts and managing font licenses.
- Kerning pairs
- Customizable list view
- Configurable toolbar
- Activation control with application based sets and font request view
- Font store can be hidden by user or server
- Backup functionality
- Quick Install functionality-Integrated PDF manual
- Adobe InDesign CS4 plug-in
- Adobe Illustrator CS4 plug-in
- Adobe Photoshop CS3 plug-in
- Adobe Photoshop CS4 plug-in
- QuarkXPress 8 plug-ins
- Connects to the all new FontExplorer X Server
- Support included
WHAT'S NEW
Version 2.0.2:
- An issue where the Plugin Manager would sporadically show the incorrect path to a plugin, usually on multi-partition machines.
- An issue where sets and smartsets were missing after upgrading from Linotype FontExplorer® X 1.2.3 to FontExplorer X Pro. The database will automatically repair itself when FontExplorer X Pro 2.0.2 is started.
An issue where activated fonts were not reactivated after restarting the system.
- An issue where under Mac OS® X 10.4 the setup assistant would activate each time FontExplorer X Pro started.
- An issue where auto font activation in Adobe® InDesign® via plugIn would occasionally hang.
- An occasional crash during font import.
- An issue where FontExplorer X Pro would sporadically hang when opening the authentication dialog, e.g. when attempting to clean the font caches.
- An issue where fonts that were automatically activated on import were not active after the user logged out and logged in to the mac although the preference setting under "Advanced" was set to "never deactivate".
- Updating from Mac OS X 10.5.x to Mac OS X 10.5.7 resolves a problem where "Rare Ligatures" did not display. The Mac OS update resolves this problem in all FontExplorer X Pro versions (1.2.3, 2.0 and 2.0.1).
REQUIREMENTS
Mac OS X 10.4 or later.
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SCREENSHOT
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| FontExplorer X Pro User Reviews (136 posts) | Write A Review |
 | Jun 14 2009 |
CORPSECORPS Apologies for not exploring the software in more depth before posting my original review and including this there, but it gets worse! FontExplorer Pro does a lousy job of recognizing duplicates or aiding the user in doing so. After importing various folders of fonts, multiple versions of the same font in different folders, from different foundries, different vendors, or in different formats may exist in the library and not be recognized as duplicates. The following can all coexist in the FEXP database without sending up any red flags: /Library/Fonts/Ariel Narrow.ttf /FEX_Folder/A/Ariel Narrow Family/ArialNar /FEX_Folder/A/Ariel Narrow MT/ArielNarMT /FEX_Folder/A/Ariel Narrow/Ariel Narrow.ttf /FEX_Folder/A/Ariel Narrow 2/Ariel Narrow.ttf /FEX_Folder/F/FF Ariel Narrow/ArielNar I began from scratch and it seems these can all come to exist while prefs are set to skip importing duplicates, and no good way is provided for handling such situations, requiring the user to carefully screen for possibilities before importing, or browsing & searching the FEXP library and deleting by hand. Without very careful comparison, one may never notice whether any one is better quality, has more or less glyphs, or has other differing properties. Though one is OpenType (TrueType flavor) and the other PostScript Type 1, FEXP doesn't separate the following, showing all 8 (4 variations of each) under just the one family name "Ariel Narrow". /Library/Fonts/Ariel Narrow.ttf /FEX_Folder/A/Ariel Narrow Family/ArialNar Seems like pretty poor form for Linotype.
(Version 2.0.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Jun 14 2009 |
CORPSECORPS Got some other problems with this. When importing, it doesn't make any distinction between versions of the exact font if there's the slightest difference in the name. Via the above, and other problems, when importing i tend to wind up with a lot of font conflicts of sorts it won't handle, missing files, etc. Also, i get a lot of crashes when trying to import large numbers of fonts. Even though it's set to skip duplicates and the like, if it hits one bad font, instead of reporting an error IT CRASHES!
(Version 2.0.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
 | Jun 13 2009 |
CORPSECORPS FontExplorer Pro seems like easily the best font handling/viewing application i've seen. I used the free non-pro version for quite a long time. I'm finding that unfortunately it does have 2 serious problems. Try to move a font from a system set under the wrong circumstance; it crashes. Try to add a font to a system set that already contains it; it crashes. Sometimes i've no idea why. It's just not very robust at all on my Mac Pro under 10.5.7. I still haven't ever seen a font handling app that has a really good way of sorting fonts with similar properties. Perhaps it needs to be worked into the font technology.
(Version 2.0.2) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| May 21 2009 |
XENOPHILE The free version is still available here. I knew something this great wouldn't be free forever. FontExplorer is an awesome solution for those with enormous font collections, who've already dropped big money on fonts and wont mind paying for something to manage them. Those complaining about the price probably haven't bought enough fonts to actually need something so powerful as FontExplorer.
(Version 2.0.1) | |
| [ 1 Reply - Reply ] | |
Replies:
| Jun 12 2009 |
GARY30 I agree completely. i used to have a huge and expensive font collection to manage but don't do that kind of work any more. I like auto-activation but FontExplorer X had become a hit or miss proposition on that front and from posts here and there it looks like there are problems with CS4 and the FontExplorer X Pro version. Meanwhile, Apple's own Font Book has quietly matured into a very useable product for "the rest of us." You get to keep the font files where you want them, to group them for convenience and auto-activation is quite good.
(Version 2.0.2) | |
| May 8 2009 |
BLUESTAR I switched from Suitcase. Got too annoyed. Great all around and seems much better than Suitcase. BUT! I don't get auto-activation.... It only works if I have the application open. Then you also have a background application running separately. What's the point of that if the auto-activation doesn't work? You also have a CS4 Photoshop plug-in AND a background app running YET when I open Photoshop file and it asks for a font it doesn't activate! So what's the point of it all? If this is the way it works just have the requirement to have the main application open for auto-activation to work OR fix the situation and have it REALLY work with the background app and the plug-in (just like it works in Suitcase.) Also, it still opens on its own occasionally when I simply open a file in Photoshop for no apparent reason, so this has NOT been 100% fixed. cheers
(Version 2.0.1) | |
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| Feb 28 2009 |
KINGADROCK Nobody likes to pay for software, especially software that was once free. Put this in perspective though, FontExplorer X is the best overall font management software on the market, do you really blame them for charging? I don't; I just bought my license today.
(Version 2.0.1) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Feb 26 2009 |
SPECTRAL7 Overall 2-3 years of free software for essentially a great product is good going. I still have old version installed on at least 50 machines and works fine IMHO in QXP7/CS2/CS3 environments. Pro software & support costs money.....you only need FEXPro if you have spent loads of money on Quark 8 or CS4 so a small extra cost for proper font management on top is not a big deal. It also opens up the possibility for centralised font management at a large cost but that is the way it is ! Please stop moaning about it, at least their is some competition in the market which should lead to proper development.
(Version 2.0.1) | |
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| Feb 2 2009 |
XPLICIT This app look really made-by-pros to me. A good app I can preview all my fonts with and more. Great.
(Version 2.0) | |
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| Jan 23 2009 |
HOBOJOE Man, people really need to stop overreacting. One of the commenters below is basically comparing the Linotype people to drug dealers! "They give ya the first taste for free, but once yer hooked, it's gonna cost ya!" It's obvious Linotype's business model didn't work. FontExplorer was supposed to be like iTunes, where you use its organizational and browsing features, but also its "Font Store" feature as well. Well, we all know that fonts are probably just as pirated as music tracks are, so the income Linotype was hoping for didn't happen. So should they throw away this perfectly good app and stop developing it? Or should they try to leverage it into a new business model? You can buy FontExplorer Pro for $39 now until the end of February. That's a very reasonable price, much cheaper than the other options out there. I am in no way affiliated with Linotype. In fact, I'll even say that Fontcase looks really good too, and holds lots of promise for a 1.0 app. And it's only $45. But let's take the drama down a notch, okay? Save your indignation for something that really deserves it.
(Version 2.0) | |
| [ Reply ] | |
| Jan 21 2009 |
STUFFTECH Well, it was bound to happen. Free software isn't the easiest thing to maintain. It's cheap for now, but will eventually cost pretty much what all of the other font managers on the market. I think that I'll just stick to what I've got right now. No need to switch to this new pay-to-play version.
(Version 2.0) | |
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