Organize Your Fonts Your Way
Review by Dave Creamer
One of the main changes you’ll notice in Suitcase Fusion version 8 is the slightly different interface. The screen isn’t in the previous split view between the font preview and list-based font libraries; the default is now Tile view that changes depending on the selected library. This view can be changed easily to a custom text display, the waterfall, and an alphanumeric view.
Information about each font is quickly visible by clicking on the Info button of each tile; from there, the font’s metadata, preview, glyphs, and QuickMatch are immediately available. (QuickMatch shows fonts similar to the selected one.) On its own, the slightly different screen view isn’t enough to upgrade; however, one seemingly minor change is a Temporary Fonts library, which means no more viewing the entire library and sorting by activation.
Of course, the primary reason most users upgrade is to maintain compatibility with the latest Adobe and Quark software. The auto-activation plug-in includes a panel that allows activation directly from the program. No new software has been added to the plug-in list. This unfortunately means that Premiere Pro is not supported (but After Effects is).
As before, Suitcase includes the latest FontDoctor from FontGear—a $70 value. Those folks who use fonts on an iOS device can download the Suitcase app to manage fonts on the device.
There are so many other features in Suitcase that, although not new, are very important additions to font management, such as Adobe Typekit and Google Fonts control. All of these features make Suitcase one of the best, if not the best, font-management program available for large font collections.
Suitcase is for individual users, but does allow users to sync fonts between the user’s installations. For small groups, Extensis offers Suitcase TeamSync, and for large groups, Universal Type Server. ■
