FontVista is a professional font catalog and inspection tool that will create a type specimen book (or "font catalog") to be used as a desk reference for design professionals who need a quick way to locate just the right typeface for a given project.
This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />This program is a nice try at getting it right....
I just purchased this program (against my better judgement-esp after reading all the BAD reviews it has received), but since all of our fonts are licensed and kept in immaculate condition, I purchased your software.
WHAT A MISTAKE!
Just like everyone else says, FontVista SUCKS!
Thanks for wasting my time trying to print out 4000 fonts. Crashes everytime. NICE WORK!
Unworkable
DanRobinson
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I wanted FontVista to work. I really did.
I have over ten gigabytes in my Font Resource Folder. Linotype Font Explorer says 10,000+
By the time FontVista got to 3,000 fonts, it had slowed to a crawl.
Cancel.
Lets Drop subfolders in. With the second folder, 1,400 fonts.
Print to pdf.
Froze at page 2
Forget it.
Finally! It's alive!
VersionTrackerUserOpinion
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />So, after a good long while of hating this software, I decided to take another crack at it. I downloaded the latest versions of FontVista and FontDoctor. FontDoctor found nothing wrong with my library, so I gave FontVista a go. Still locks hard. So I decided to do some digging. Console turned up font subsystem rendering errors with a bitmap-only font I've had since the System 7 days. Pulled it, ran again. Repeated this process 4 times.
Now that all of my corrupted fonts are gone (no thanks to FontDoctor), FontVista works pretty damn well. I don't organize into subfolders or use any font management software. I just have 1300 fonts in my /Library/Fonts folder, and it prints to printers and saves as a PDF wonderfully. In the time I could not get FV to work, I couldn't find anything comparable, and now that it is working, I'm extremely happy at the functionality of the program.
My suggestion to ANYONE with FV issues is to check the Console for log entries that may indicate font issues that FontDoctor can't detect. Once you get past that point, it seems to me smooth sailing.
Has some possibility, but not professional grade...
scaissie--2008
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...yet.<br />This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I agree with the anonymous poster - if there's no way to inspect fonts other than by printing them, I can't see much use for the software. What I'd really like is a utility that will preview any font on screen, installed or not, and allow me to delete a font I don't like from within the program. Suitcase comes closest to the ideal, especially with its ability to preview multipe fonts at once. But it still requires the font to be added to its database before it will allow you to preview.
Keep working at it.
_
full_of_bugs
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I don't see a font catalog, I just see a font sample print software. Or it's the demo limitation. Anyway that doesn't look really good.
I also got SCREWED...
Jeff Williams
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I thought something funny was up when the demo version of this program really didn't allow access to any of the key features. However, it's something I needed for a pressing project, so I elected to spend the money and buy the full version.
BOY I WISH I HAD READ THESE COMMENTS FIRST!
For those who would gve two stars just because it's a good idea, just so you know - there WAS a program called FontBook that did many of the same things, but it died out a while back so while it might be a good idea, it is not an original one. Besides, we're not reviewing the CONCEPT here, we're supposed to be reviewing the EXECUTION, e.g. the final software.
Let me just say this... if you read these reviews and you are stupid enough to spend your money on this product, then I guess you get what you pay for. Now I gotta go call visa and see if I can somehow stop payment ot reverse the charges or something. They DO NOT answer their telephone or email, slick packaging - terrible product - BUYERS BEWARE!
Paul33
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I recently purchased this program only to find out the program does NOT work as indicated and the company NEVER returns emails or phone calls.
nerfherder
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />I asked them about when this would be 10.2 compatible. They said they were working on it. Well, they need to keep working on it
phred2k1
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This review was originally posted on VersionTracker.com.<br />Finally someone puts out a utility that can view offline/inactive fonts... well if it worked. Using the demo, ANYTIME I add a font it immediately