Show font names

[ElayneR]

Over the years, we have accumulated a lot of fonts. In Windows XP, it was easy to load a font from elsewhere on my hard drive since I could see the FONT name (vs FILE name). However, in Windows 10, all we see in those folders are the filenames. Is there a way to display the font name? In other words, if I open an old InDesign file and it asks for Engravers Old English BT, I want to be able to see that name instead of engrolen.ttf.

[JonathanArias · Accepted solution]

You need to use a font manager. Suitcase fusion 7 is fantastic at allowing you to view and organize all of your fonts.

It is not good to let the font manager that comes with your computer handle the font management. Not all typefaces are created equal and the font manager that comes with your computer will not see corrupted or bad fonts. Also, the basic font manager that comes with a computer will not be able to tell the difference between fonts ( Opentype, TT or PostScript) like suitcase fusion will. For professional/commercial graphic design it is super important to invest on a font manager.

I don't work on a window computer. But on a mac, if you don't use a font manager, you will begin to have font issues that can cause the computer to go bunkers.  Only your font manager will auto activate the correct font that goes with a job. The font manager that comes in your computer will just read "helvetica" and load whatever it finds.

Get a font manager and your will have full control over your typefaces and be able to load the correct fonts into your design projects.

it works fantastic with google fonts and adobe typekit.

[ElayneR]

Thanks, but I don't want to have to pay for a font manager when all I want to do is view font names in Win10 like WinXP used to do.

[Jeff Witchel, ACI]

Suitcase does a lot more than that. Check it out: http://doc.extensis.com.s3.amazonaws.com/SF7-Fly-Overview-20160112-US.pdf

My favorite feature is auto-activation. If you open an InDesign, Illustrator or Photoshop file, and the fonts in the document are not currently open, Suitcase opens the fonts automatically (if the fonts are on your computer). Great timesaver!

[BobLevine]

This is not an InDesign question, it’s a Windows question. But to answer it, I see the Font names in Windows 10 by just looking in the Windows / Font folder.

[Jongware]

BobLevine  wrote

This is not an InDesign question, it’s a Windows question. But to answer it, I see the Font names in Windows 10 by just looking in the Windows / Font folder.

I cannot recall any previous version of Windows since '95 where that was not the case. Also, there is no standard way to get the inverse (seeing fonts displayed by name in any other folder "elsewhere on [my] hard drive", so if the OP remembers seeing that, it must have been some custom font management software, installed unwittingly by someone else.

[BobLevine]

Wouldn't surprise me but I have no idea what the OP is seeing without a screenshot.