Existing users, 
 FontExplorer X Pro - 2.0.3Professional font management utility. |
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Feedback Summary:
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| Overall Rating: | Not rated (0.0) | Features: | Not rated (0.0) | Support: | Not rated (0.0) |
| Ease of Use: | Not rated (0.0) | Quality / Stability: | Not rated (0.0) | Price: | Not rated (0.0) |
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Featured Reviews
Buggy but indispensable 
- Version: 2.0.2, 9/17/2009 04:42PM PST
(5 of 5 users found this comment useful)
rjc70
Being a graphic designer, having some sort of font management tool is a must for me. I started using FEX back in the free days, and bought it when it went Pro, mainly because I didn't want to start over from scratch, and because I wanted to thank the developers for keeping it free for so long. I was expecting that the program would then grow and get better. I was wrong.
Unfortunately, I've had issues with crashing when trying to delete or remove fonts (it happens about 90% of the time), none of which have been resolved by communicating with the developers. I'm stubborn, so I just relaunch and keep trying until I wipe them out.
Other issues: painstakingly slow to activate/deactivate fonts when you have many in the library (and I have a monstrous load of them), no printing options, doesn't recognize duplicates unless certain information is exactly the same, occasionally all fonts (except system fonts) are deactivated after a crash, and so on. I've also run into some problems using the InDesign plug-in, which I just leave off now.
On the plus side, auto-activation is nice (aside from InDesign issues), it's easy to browse through a preview of all your fonts, and you can view all the font characters and font information.
I've tried so hard to like this for so long, but I'm thinking it will be time to try out other options soon.
Unfortunately, I've had issues with crashing when trying to delete or remove fonts (it happens about 90% of the time), none of which have been resolved by communicating with the developers. I'm stubborn, so I just relaunch and keep trying until I wipe them out.
Other issues: painstakingly slow to activate/deactivate fonts when you have many in the library (and I have a monstrous load of them), no printing options, doesn't recognize duplicates unless certain information is exactly the same, occasionally all fonts (except system fonts) are deactivated after a crash, and so on. I've also run into some problems using the InDesign plug-in, which I just leave off now.
On the plus side, auto-activation is nice (aside from InDesign issues), it's easy to browse through a preview of all your fonts, and you can view all the font characters and font information.
I've tried so hard to like this for so long, but I'm thinking it will be time to try out other options soon.
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- Buggy but indispensable (1 replies)
Bummer - Version: 2.0.2, 7/23/2009 08:27PM PST
(5 of 8 users found this comment useful)
dressed2kell
I'm not quite sure where or when it was that FontExplorer took a turn for the worse, but it definitely has and this version definitely blows. This application is now officially a pain in the rear to use.
Best font management Program for the Mac - Version: 2.0.2, 6/2/2009 11:53AM PST
(3 of 6 users found this comment useful)
darylalt
I have installed FontExplorer X Pro on all of our 50 some production computers and it has been running great. No Licensing issues, and full support for CS4. After having several major issues with Suitcase, FontExplorer X Pro has been a much more effective program. The only thing that I wish it could have done is import our old font sets from Fusion.
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Balancing the ratings. - Version: 2.0.1, 4/16/2009 05:45AM PST
(3 of 9 users found this comment useful)
Jefferis Peterson
I'm looking back at my previous rating, and the more I think about how frustrating the activation problem is, the more I should have downgraded this version. Compared to the previous free version, this one is a 1 or 2 star. I am currently testing Fusion 2, which I dropped in version 1 years ago. The good news: I'm encountering no glitches at all in Fusion 2. The only problem is that I have to reorganize all my smart suitcases again, and with 1000 fonts, that is a beast of a task. I hope FEX fixes theirs before my demo period runs out or I'll be forced to switch permanently.
Sorry I upgraded... - Version: 2.0.1, 4/6/2009 08:52AM PST
(7 of 11 users found this comment useful)
Jefferis Peterson
I never had problems with the free version of FontExplorer X, but I've had enough troubles with the pro version that I'm actually thinking of switching back to Fusion. What's the problem?
The benefit of FEX is that it activates requested fonts by applications. The problem is that it starts requesting erroneous fonts. The problem seems to be with Word and most Adobe Suite applications. FEX requests to activate "fonts" it cannot find on your system which are nothing but long strings of numbers like:
48958679291
Or when choosing a font already open within the application (like Adobe Caslon Bold) it requests the same font but then adds some extraneous characters to it and wants to open it as
Adobe Caslon- ASynthCaslonBold...
The advice from tech support it is to disable font request in all applications that give you trouble! Right now, every art application – for which I have the real need for font activation– is giving me trouble: Fireworks, Word, and Photoshop seem to be the worst offenders.
Funny this was never a problem with the free version.
I welcome any solution...
The benefit of FEX is that it activates requested fonts by applications. The problem is that it starts requesting erroneous fonts. The problem seems to be with Word and most Adobe Suite applications. FEX requests to activate "fonts" it cannot find on your system which are nothing but long strings of numbers like:
48958679291
Or when choosing a font already open within the application (like Adobe Caslon Bold) it requests the same font but then adds some extraneous characters to it and wants to open it as
Adobe Caslon- ASynthCaslonBold...
The advice from tech support it is to disable font request in all applications that give you trouble! Right now, every art application – for which I have the real need for font activation– is giving me trouble: Fireworks, Word, and Photoshop seem to be the worst offenders.
Funny this was never a problem with the free version.
I welcome any solution...
Linotype online store? - Version: 2.0.1, 2/26/2009 08:41PM PST
(2 of 4 users found this comment useful)
hkim
Every time I try to buy fonts through FE, my card is never accepted. I always need to log into their website and complete the purchase there. We need stability and reliability, not tricks.
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Font Explorer Revisited - Version: 2.0, 2/26/2009 02:50PM PST
(0 of 3 users found this comment useful)
peterpica
Font Agent Pro is comparatively expensive, about $100, but at least it works as advertised.
Well, that was fun... - Version: 2.0, 2/23/2009 02:30AM PST
(6 of 6 users found this comment useful)
subs11
Ok, so the free version im sure we can agree was amazing. Now, i would quite happily have KEPT the free version but just paid Linotype for the new plugins :-) after all, i didnt need new features or updates, just CS4 plugins....and i have no problem paying for those.
Instead i get a PAID app version that feels like a beta, is worse than the predecessor (soo many system font and activation quirks as well as caching quirks), has features i dont need and ones i do that dont work, and generally in metaphorical terms is an attention seeking cry baby piece of software -example after extended use, ALL fonts in Firebox / Safari / Apple Mail are Arial Bold 14 for EVERYTHING - until restart that is...presumably its messing with system fonts and not doing it properly.
Now i have no doubt they can sort this out, and it can be brilliant, and i would hate to see Linotype going the same way as Extensis with Suitcase a few years ago (ie down down down and in the toilet - apparently Fusion isnt so horrible thoough...wouldnt know personally), but can someone explain to me how they can produce such an amazing free app and then make this paid one so terrible?
Instead i get a PAID app version that feels like a beta, is worse than the predecessor (soo many system font and activation quirks as well as caching quirks), has features i dont need and ones i do that dont work, and generally in metaphorical terms is an attention seeking cry baby piece of software -example after extended use, ALL fonts in Firebox / Safari / Apple Mail are Arial Bold 14 for EVERYTHING - until restart that is...presumably its messing with system fonts and not doing it properly.
Now i have no doubt they can sort this out, and it can be brilliant, and i would hate to see Linotype going the same way as Extensis with Suitcase a few years ago (ie down down down and in the toilet - apparently Fusion isnt so horrible thoough...wouldnt know personally), but can someone explain to me how they can produce such an amazing free app and then make this paid one so terrible?
be careful: lost all my sets - Version: 2.0, 2/18/2009 11:07AM PST
(1 of 1 users found this comment useful)
garbanzito-real
i downloaded the trial, prepared to pay for the application if it appeared to be well supported, stable, and to have worthwhile new functionality; so far not so good, but this will be a good test of the "well supported" aspect
for now, i do not recommend this software; here's my bug report to Linotype; i will add a comment with the reply:
the promised upward compatibility seems to have failed; is there any way to recover from this?
i am on Mac OS X 10.4.11 on an MacBook Pro Core2Duo
i have been using FontExplorerX (1.2.3) for some time, and had quite a few sets defined
i installed the trial of Font ExplorerX Pro by copying the application to my hard drive, quitting all other apps, quitting FontExplorerX (1.2.3), and launching FontExplorerX Pro
at this point, i was pleased to see that all my sets and activation statuses were preserved
next i removed FontExplorerX items from System Prefs/Account/Login Items (assuming these were for version 1.2.3) and opened the prefs for FontExplorerX Pro; i noted that the preference was already set to launch at startup; i had to toggle this preference off and back on to get the FontExplorerX Pro item to appear in my Login Items
then i restarted my computer; when restart was complete, i looked in FontExplorerX Pro and observed that all of my sets were completely gone; the "SETS" item in the left pane has a disclosure triangle to its left, however toggling it does not disclose anything; this is a very big problem for me
for now, i do not recommend this software; here's my bug report to Linotype; i will add a comment with the reply:
the promised upward compatibility seems to have failed; is there any way to recover from this?
i am on Mac OS X 10.4.11 on an MacBook Pro Core2Duo
i have been using FontExplorerX (1.2.3) for some time, and had quite a few sets defined
i installed the trial of Font ExplorerX Pro by copying the application to my hard drive, quitting all other apps, quitting FontExplorerX (1.2.3), and launching FontExplorerX Pro
at this point, i was pleased to see that all my sets and activation statuses were preserved
next i removed FontExplorerX items from System Prefs/Account/Login Items (assuming these were for version 1.2.3) and opened the prefs for FontExplorerX Pro; i noted that the preference was already set to launch at startup; i had to toggle this preference off and back on to get the FontExplorerX Pro item to appear in my Login Items
then i restarted my computer; when restart was complete, i looked in FontExplorerX Pro and observed that all of my sets were completely gone; the "SETS" item in the left pane has a disclosure triangle to its left, however toggling it does not disclose anything; this is a very big problem for me
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For me, this is a big minus for using this current version of explorer.