I have had a bug in DfontSplitter for Windows reported to me, which I have been able to confirm. On at least the following systems, the resulting TTF files that the program converts are reported as corrupted by Windows:
- Windows XP Professional SP3
- Windows Vista Business SP1
On my original development system, which was Windows XP Gold (unpatched – and also not connected to the internet), I had no problems.
This issue does not affect the Mac version of the software.
I am looking for anyone with access to Windows XP SP2 (or SP1, or XP Gold) to see if the problem is present there and hopefully from there I can work out if anything can be done, or how to potentially resolve it.
If you can help me out and you run or can run on one of these systems, please let me know by commenting below or email me.
For the time being, I can’t be sure which versions of Windows DfontSplitter will run on correctly. Sorry if you did download it and it didn’t work. 🙁
Give me a few days (when I get home) and I’ll have access to a SP2 computer.
I’ve got access to SP3 at the moment, and will have SP2 in about a week (planning on using boot camp with my MB, just want to see what performance is like). Drop me an email if this is any use to you.
Lee
Hi Peter,
Great little App. I had the same problem with XP SP2. The App installs beautifully runs fine, splits all the fonts, but when you click on any font file it says “not valid font file”. The icon is present, the details tell me, say, it’s a TrueType font, but won’t open. The information within the file is fine, because when I open the font in FontLab, all glyphs are present and I can generate the font using the same name, and the font then works.
It’s not a windows/file naming issue, because the files I’ve tested are just all lowercase.
Maybe it’s a Properties issue?
Will get back to you.
Cheers
Jack
Hi Peter, back again.
Listen to this for crazy.
(1) We know the split font won’t open when placed on my XP SP2 Desktop…..’Invalid Font’ is the reading.
(2) When I drag a copy of the file from my desktop to my removable USB Drive, an extra check box, ‘Archive’ is now present and ticked(checked) in the ‘Properties’ section of the file.
(3) When I uncheck the ‘Archive’ box of the file on the USB, the file is now able to be viewed internally (a sample view).
(4) When I drag the font file back from the USB and drop it into my Fonts Folder, the font is now fully functional in Word 2007 and will be throughout the system. Bingo!
So it is a Properties naming issue.
But Why? lol
Cheers
Jack,
Thanks ever so much for your feedback.
I can’t reproduce what you mention on XP (SP3), but then I am using a virtual machine so that could be a factor.
I have been able to successfully work around the bug on Vista, at least for several fonts.
Could you let me know further details of the font you successfully converted on XP?
Peter,
It was Helvetica Neue. (Normally, a Mac based font).
It was more the testing of your App than the need for the font on my PC.
So, I believe your App is 100% sound.
Installs like a breeze. Simple. Looks great in operation!
The problem is trying to work out why that check-box disappears on a PC based font file, then appears once put on another drive.
Surely a more PC wise user will provide the Final Solution.
If the check box was evident and easy to uncheck while the file was ON your PC, then the split font files wouldn’t give the appearance of being corrupt, when in fact they are not.
Pete, you’ve done everything in your power to create a great App for a crazy file process that Apple has created.
I am a Mac and PC user, a Mac and PC lover, and a fontophile, so I still can’t understand Apple’s introduction of dfonts. I’ve used Macs since OS 8. It just closes the world of fonts for everyone not using Macs.
Thanks for providing a solution.
Kind Regards
Jack
The Archive Property thing fixed some fonts, but not others…
Of the 6 fonts I tried, 3 were OK – once copied to USB, the archive property was removed, then dragged to the Windows/Fonts directory.
The other 3 (including the one that I really wanted) did not work…
Any more workarounds/ideas?
I’ve just converted some dfonts from MacOS 10.5 on the 10.5 laptop, then copied the resulting TTFs to Windows XP SP3. Some of the files still report they are invalid:
Cracked
Futura
Geneva
Helvetica
Hoefler Text
Lucida Grande
Monaco
Palatino
Party LET
Skia
Some work fine, though:
Big Caslon
Didot
Gill Sans
Helvetica Neue
Herculanum
Optima
Papyrus
Portago ITC
Princetown LET
Not having used Fondu before, I’m not sure whether this could be an issue with it.
Solved, after a load of Googling! (At least, my manifestation of the bug…)
Mac OS and Windows have two different internal formats for TTF files. Mac OS will happily open a Windows-based file, since there are so many out there, but Windows won’t touch a Mac one in many cases (like the font viewer).
All the fonts that didn’t work have Mac OS structures inside them. Fondu discards the really Mac-specific stuff, thus making it difficult to identify which is which type in a hex editor, but using a Mac-to-Windows font utility (http://www.asy.com/scrcf.htm), I converted the files successfully and all now open in Windows font viewer.
From the point of view of Mac OS, the TTF files that are the end result of DFontSplitter look like Windows fonts, because they are missing crucial bits that would be understood by the Apple rendering software, but from the point of view of Windows, they’re just corrupt. (Neither properly Mac-based nor properly Windows-based.) Whether this means that Fondu should be leaving the Mac-specific data in the TTF files, or whether Windows wouldn’t know what to do even if they were complete, I’m not sure. Presumably, someone with a bona-fide Mac TTF should try to open it under Windows XP/Vista and see what happens.
Anyway; I think your tool is in the clear. Might be worth checking the documentation on showfond in the Fondu package to see what options it has.
– Iain.
I tried this workaround and it didn’t work for “Lucida Grande” and “Monaco” !?
ProfessorX,
Unfortunately the workaround is a bit hit-and-miss. I don’t know of a better solution at the moment.
Have there been any new updates to this application?
Need to have Helvetica on my work PC – have been working on projects using my personal Mac but need to transfer some of the files. Was wondering if there was a way to make this particular file work on PC without buying Helvetica outright?
Stacy,
I have to admit I really don’t know. If DfontSplitter produces a TTF that Windows doesn’t like, I’m pretty much powerless at this point (all DfontSplitter itself does is wrap around another program, so I don’t actually know how the formats work myself).
Certain applications under Windows may accept the TTF (I’d imagine more pro-level apps such as the Adobe ones wouldn’t be quite so fussy, but I can’t verify), but that’s as far as I can guess really.
If you’re willing to get your hands dirty somewhat, you could try running the TTF output of DfontSplitter through the open source FontForge. Apparently there’s a way to convert a Mac-specific TTF to one that Windows will play with, although again I haven’t done this myself.