Suitcase Fusion - 2.0

I have a bunch of fonts, with different versions of each. And I've put both LinoType's Font Explorer X and OSX's FontBook through their paces. And, in a nutshell, I think that this program, Extensis Suitcase Fusion 2, IS the best font testing, importing and activation tool out there. Hands down.

But it is NOT the best font "organization" tool. And that's the problem.

In short, the file "system" is broken. Sure, it's simple, and clean (unlike FEX) but it doesn't behave like every other folder system on Earth. For instance, you can make "smart sets" but you can't put those into folders, so your root level is littered with smart sets. And when you import fonts, it automatically makes sets for you... but because of some buggy coding, sometimes you simply can't delete sets. Seriously. And if you make another library, and drag fonts to it, SF2 *copies* the fonts, instead of aliasing them, creating duplicates and enlarging the "vault". Also, although SF2 looks like it's "protecting" system fonts (a big deal in OSX), and even automatically gives them their own folder, those SAME fonts show up in your main library, without indicating that they are "system" fonts. So if you're doing some "duplicate maintenance" you can still delete them! I'm not kidding. I just did that and had to revert back to my old vault.

Also, the "font info" you get isn't always what you need. For instance, in the "show glyphs" window, it doesn't tell you the version, or font ID, of the font. So, if you have 5 versions of TT "Times", and want to delete or otherwise organize them, you have to check the glyph count separately for each one, when just providing the more detailed info in that window would be an easy thing to do. There's also not as many "column" info choices as there are in, say, FEX. Overall the interface is "simple-good", and "simple-bad" at the same time.

There are still some other dumb things it does, too. But I wont' go into everything... no program's perfect.

That said, there's a lot that SF2 does well. And, more importantly, it does these things a lot better than the other choices I've tried.

Mainly, the auto-activation is muy bueno. It's quick, and it works in the BACKGROUND. Although –sometimes– (for huge docs with a ton of fonts) it doesn't turn on all of them on the first try (weirdly). But regardless, it just seems more stable and reliable than the other's I've experienced.

Also, the "font filtering" is very strict. VERY strict. Even after you sift everything through Font Doctor (which you should, before importing), SF2 still doesn't import everything, and tells you there were "problems", and then gives you the option of adding them or not. Because if you've ever had a corrupt font, you know how crazy everything gets. And the "duplicate" finding is better, and after you've located the dupes they're easier to keep and organize, or just get rid of. It makes dealing with a decades-old font collection something that seems actually do-able. Whereas with FEX and dupes you just want to kill yourself.

I hate to be so hard on SF2, but it's just... so darn close to being the de facto, hands down, bar none choice for font management. All they have to do is address these few, annoying little issues, and they'd have a home run. A no brainer.

Also, of course, it's $100. Which raises the bar significantly.

Anyway, that's my 3 cents. And I hope it helps :)

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PS, they recently released 13.2, but when I tried to upgrade it wouldn't recognize my vault (a common problem, apparently), so I went back to 13.02. Apparently, along w/ Tiger support, 13.1 gives a better explanation of why fonts were "rejected", and another column view option (library). But I don't know if any of these other problems were addressed.

PPS, Extensis' support is top-notch, btw. Some of the best I've experienced... even for the demo, which is very respectable.