Working with Auto-Activation Plug-ins. Extensis Suitcase Fusion 4

Working with Auto-Activation

Plug-ins

To automatically activate precisely the correct fonts used in documents, Suitcase Fusion includes plug-in software modules that use the Extensis Font Sense technology.

The plug-ins save Font Sense metadata—information that uniquely identifies fonts—with documents, and then use that metadata to automatically activate the correct fonts when you open a document.

In addition, to enable precise font identification and activation, the plug-ins can identify all the fonts used in a document, and then create a set or collect the fonts for delivery to a service bureau. The

Create Document Set feature and the

Collect Fonts for Output feature both streamline the process of locating all of the diverse fonts used in documents.

NOTE

Adobe Photoshop provides a single panel with buttons and menus to access the Extensis plug-in features.

These differences are specifically identified in this documentation.

Understanding Font Sense Technology

As most publishers know, when you open a document and it requires a specific font, activating any font with that name is not an option. In the font world, Helvetica is not Helvetica is not Helvetica. Even fonts from the same foundry, such as Adobe Garamond, exist in multiple versions. Using the wrong fonts can result in text reflow, which can alter line breaks, affect the design, cut off text, etc. To ensure that you’re always using the correct fonts, Suitcase Fusion and Font Sense provide unique font identification and automatic activation.

Font Sense technology is designed to overcome the limitations of font names. Most applications record the names and sometimes the types (OpenType, PostScript, etc.) of fonts used in documents. But with the various types of fonts, vendors, and versions that exist, font names are not unique identifiers. Most users have multiple versions of many fonts on their computers—particularly common fonts such as Helvetica and Times—and the applications they use cannot identify which versions are used in their documents. Font Sense solves this by saving complete font metadata into documents.

The font metadata generated by Font Sense starts with the name, type, foundry, and version number of the fonts. Then, for truly unique font identification, the metadata includes additional items such as checksum values.

The final result is the Font Sense identification number, which you can view in Suitcase Fusion (

View > Columns

> Font Sense).

Each time you save a document in a supported application, the plug-in records updated Font Sense metadata with the document. The documents no longer rely solely on names to identify the fonts used in them.

When you open documents containing Font Sense specifications, the plug-ins use the Font Sense data to determine and activate precisely the right fonts. Since the font metadata is saved within the document, detailed font information travels with it. No matter where the document is opened, Font Sense knows precisely which fonts to activate.

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Preparing Documents and Libraries

The ultimate goal of using Font Sense is that you—and the people in your workflow—never encounter missing fonts, font conflicts, or issues with multiple versions of the same font. To make this happen, you need to:

•

Make sure documents have Font Sense metadata saved with them. If the documents were previously

opened with the plug-ins from Font Reserve, Font Reserve Server, Universal Type Client or a previous version of Suitcase Fusion, they will already contain this data.

• Make sure users in your workflow have all the fonts that they need and have added those fonts to

Suitcase Fusion.

• Users should select the appropriate library from which to activate fonts from the plug-in options in the design application.



In Adobe Photoshop, choose File > Automate > Extensis to open the Extensis dialog, then choose a library or

All Libraries

from the

Select Library

drop-down menu.



In Adobe Illustrator, InCopy, or InDesign, choose Type > Suitcase Fusion > Library, then select a specific library or

All Libraries

.



In QuarkXPress, choose Utilities > Suitcase Fusion > Library, then select a specific library or

All

.

Unless you select the

All Libraries

option, the plug-ins only auto-activate and create sets from fonts in one library.

Libraries

Saving Font Sense Metadata with Documents

Font Sense is designed to ensure that the precise fonts used in a document are auto-activated each time the document is opened, revised, and printed. If you use Font Sense consistently—and make the appropriate fonts available to other users—you should never encounter missing fonts, font conflicts, or confusion regarding multiple versions of the same font.

When you get started using the plug-ins, however, many documents will not have Font Sense information in them. In a service bureau or agency environment, in which you receive many documents and fonts from the outside, it is worth your time to save Font Sense data within your documents. To do this:

1.

Set up a “preflight” workstation to handle all incoming documents.

NOTE: The workstation should have a copy of Suitcase Fusion, all the applications you support with the auto-activation plug-ins enabled (QuarkXPress, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, InCopy), and

Use Font

Sense

enabled in the

Auto-Activation Preferences for each application.

2.

In Suitcase Fusion, manually create or add a set containing only the document’s fonts. Activate only that set; be sure that no other fonts are active through Suitcase Fusion.

3.

Start the design application, make sure the plug-in is enabled, then open the document.

4.

Make a small change to the document and save it. This records the Font Sense metadata within the document.

NOTE: If you are hesitant to make a change in a document, you can use Save As to save the file in the same location with the same name, replacing the original when prompted. This will also add the Font

Sense metadata to the file.

5.

Use the

Make Document Set

command to create a set for the document.

Make Document Set

is available from the

Type > Suitcase Fusion menu in Adobe Illustrator, InCopy, and

InDesign, and from the

Utilities > Suitcase Fusion menu in QuarkXPress.

In Adobe Photoshop, the

Make Document Set

command is accessed from the Extensis dialog; choose

File

> Automate > Extensis to open the dialog.

6.

Collect all of the fonts in the active set and be sure that all users in the workflow add those fonts to

Suitcase Fusion before opening the document.

NOTE: You can also preflight any existing documents that do not have Font Sense data. Let the plug-ins automatically activate the “best” fonts or choose the fonts yourself. Then save the documents to record Font

Sense metadata with them.

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Installing and Removing Auto-activation Plug-ins

Suitcase Fusion includes plug-ins for Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, InCopy, and QuarkXPress. After installing Suitcase Fusion, you’ll want to install the auto-activation plug-ins to take advantage of precise Font

Sense-powered activation.

NOTE: The plug-ins for Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign also include the Extensis Font Panel.

Auto-activation plug-ins are installed and removed with the Suitcase Fusion Plug-in Manager. The Plug-in

Manager adds and removes plug-ins from the appropriate Plug-ins and XTensions folders as required.

To install or remove auto-activation plug-ins:

1.

Close the target application (Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, InCopy, Illustrator or QuarkXPress) for which you want to manage plug-ins.

2.

Choose Suitcase Fusion 4 > Manage Plug-ins.

3.

In the Plug-in Manager window, check the box next to a plug-in to install it, or clear the box to remove it.

Plug-in status changes take effect the next time you launch the application.

NOTE: You must have administrative privileges on the computer to install or remove plug-ins.

When new versions of the design applications are released, Extensis typically creates a new plug-in that is

compatible with the new version. Stay up-to-date by using the Check for Updates feature of Suitcase Fusion.

Automatically Activating Fonts

When you open a document with a Font Sense metadata, the plug-in auto-activates the precise fonts used in the document—provided the fonts are present in the selected library. Each time you save the file, the plug-ins update the Font Sense data as necessary.

When you open documents with Font Sense data and the fonts are available, you should never experience missing fonts, font conflicts, or issues with multiple versions of the same font. In general, the plug-ins work seamlessly in the background. Once you choose a library, you can begin opening documents with confidence that all the right fonts will be auto-activated.

Choosing a Library

When you launch an application, you are prompted to choose a library.

The libraries function as follows:

• When you open documents, the plug-ins auto-activate fonts within the selected library.

• You can change libraries at any time, even while a document is open and fonts are active.

• If you open a document and all the fonts are reported as missing, you may have the wrong library selected. Switch libraries and then check the document’s fonts. To select a different library:



In Adobe Photoshop, access the

Select Library

drop-down menu and other commands from the

Extensis dialog. Choose

File > Automate > Extensis to open the dialog.



In Adobe InDesign, InCopy, or Illustrator, choose Type > Suitcase Fusion to access the

Library

submenu and other commands.



In QuarkXPress, choose Utilities > Suitcase Fusion to access the

Library

submenu and other commands.

NOTE

Extensis plug-ins auto-activate fonts from a single library. For best results, we recommend that you design your documents using fonts from a single library.

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Scanning Documents for Fonts

When you open a document that contains Font Sense metadata, the auto-activation plug-in scans the document to see what fonts are used in it, and then automatically activates precisely those fonts (provided the fonts reside in the selected library). The following fonts are considered to be “used” in a document:

• Fonts applied to text.

• The font specified in the application’s Normal style sheet.

• Fonts applied to text on master pages, whether or not the master pages are applied to document pages.

NOTE

By default, the auto-activation plug-ins activate individual instances of fonts rather than all the fonts in entire typeface families. For example, if a document requires Minion-Bold, a plug-in would activate only Minion-Bold, not the entire Minion family. You can, however, choose to activate entire families by selecting the

Activate entire font families

option in

Auto-Activation Preferences.

Scanning Graphics for Fonts

For complete automatic font activation, the auto-activation plug-ins can scan graphic files imported into documents and activate the fonts used in them. The plug-ins will consult any Font Sense metadata saved with graphic files for the most accurate automatic activation. If Font Sense data is not available for a graphic file, the plug-ins identify fonts by name.

NOTE: Currently, Font Sense metadata is saved with EPS files exported from Illustrator and Photoshop documents with unrasterized text layers.

Handling Missing Fonts

If you open a document and a

Missing Fonts dialog is displayed, first make sure you have the appropriate library selected in the plug-in. If switching libraries doesn’t solve the problem, note the details about the missing fonts.

If a font is missing, it may have not been added to Suitcase Fusion, and thus can’t be automatically activated.

Confirm that all of the necessary fonts have been added to Suitcase Fusion and open the document again.

Picking the “Best” Fonts

If you open documents that contain Font Sense metadata—and the appropriate library is selected—you should rarely encounter missing fonts. In some cases, however, you may be missing the precise font. If other fonts are available with the same name, the plug-ins can auto-activate the “best” font for you to use (provided that

Pick best match when original is missing

is enabled in

Auto-Activation Preferences

, as it is by default). The best font will be used in the document and its information will be recorded in the Font Sense metadata for future use.

In determining the “best” font, the plug-ins prefer (in order of importance):

• An active font over an inactive font (except for active system fonts);

• The Type in the Font Sense metadata; if that does not exist, OpenType fonts are preferred over PostScript fonts, and PostScript fonts are preferred over TrueType fonts;

• The Foundry in the Font Sense metadata; if that does not exist, Adobe is preferred over other foundries;

• Higher versions are preferred over lower versions.

NOTE

Although it’s convenient to have Suitcase Fusion select fonts for you, keep in mind that the “best” font is not always the correct font. This is particularly true when you consider that Suitcase Fusion’s first preference is for active fonts over inactive fonts. For example, if you keep a TrueType version of Helvetica permanently active, and a document requires a PostScript version of Helvetica, Suitcase Fusion will opt for the active TrueType version—even if you have other PostScript versions of Helvetica.

Deactivating Automatically Activated Fonts

When you quit an application, any fonts that were auto-activated by a plug-in for that application are deactivated. You can change this so auto-activated fonts are deactivated when you close documents or shut down your computer.

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Checking Document Fonts

Any time you want to ensure that all the fonts used in a document are active, you can use the

Check Document

Fonts

command. For example, if you drag an InDesign snippet onto a page or update a QuarkXPress composition zone, the fonts used in those items may not be active. Or, if you apply a previously unused style sheet to text, the font specified in it may not be active.

To check document fonts:

• In Adobe Photoshop, choose File > Automate > Extensis, then click

Check Document Fonts

.

• In Adobe Illustrator, InDesign, or InCopy, choose Type > Suitcase Fusion > Check Document Fonts.

• In QuarkXPress, choose Utilities > Suitcase Fusion > Check Document Fonts.

Changing Auto-Activation Preferences

Each plug-in has its own Auto-Activation Preferences that control how it works. Before you begin using the plugin, you may wish to confirm that the default preferences will work for you. Or, as you use a plug-in, you may find that a default setting is not appropriate for your workflow and need to change it.

By default, the plug-ins auto-activate fonts according to Font Sense metadata when documents are opened, save detailed Font Sense data within documents, and deactivate auto-activated fonts when you close documents. You must change preferences separately in each application (Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign,

InCopy, and QuarkXPress).

To change any of these defaults for a plug-in, use the

Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation Preferences dialog.

In Adobe Photoshop, choose

File > Automate > Extensis to open the Extensis dialog, then click

Suitcase Fusion

Auto-Activation Preferences

.

In Adobe Illustrator, InCopy, and InDesign, choose

Type > Suitcase Fusion > Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation

Preferences.

In QuarkXPress, choose

Utilities > Suitcase Fusion > Suitcase Fusion Auto-Activation Preferences.

Enabling Auto-Activation

When the

Enable Auto-Activation

plug-in preference is enabled, the plug-ins scan documents as you open them to determine the necessary fonts. The plug-ins identify fonts by looking at the document’s Font Sense data, if available, or looking at the fonts by name where they are used in the document.

Enable Auto-Activation

is checked by default; to disable automatic activation, uncheck it.

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Enable Font Sense support

By default, the plug-ins save detailed Font Sense data within documents, and then use that information to autoactivate fonts in documents as you open them. Font Sense technology generates the metadata, which includes the font’s name and other information such as its type, foundry, version, and other important font information. In general, use Font Sense for superior automatic font activation. To disable it, uncheck the

Enable Font Sense support

option.

Pick Best Match When Original Is Missing

By default, when you’re using automatic activation and a font conflict occurs, the plug-ins automatically pick the

“best” font. Font conflicts may arise if more than one font in the selected library has the same name, such as

Helvetica or Times, and the plug-in is unable to determine which font was used to create the document. If you prefer to resolve conflicts yourself, disable

Pick best match when original is missing

.

Activating Fonts in Embedded Objects

When

Activate fonts in embedded objects

is enabled, the plug-ins look at the Font Sense metadata saved with

Illustrator EPS and Photoshop PSD documents to auto-activate fonts. When this feature is disabled, as it is by default, the plug-ins still scan graphics for fonts, but will only identify fonts by name.

NOTE: Currently, only Adobe Illustrator EPS files and Adobe Photoshop PSD files with unrasterized text layers are saved with Font Sense metadata.

Activating Entire Font Families

By default, the Suitcase Fusion auto-activation plug-ins activate individual font faces rather than all the fonts in entire typeface families. For example, if a document requires Minion-Bold, a plug-in would activate only Minion-

Bold, not the entire Minion typeface family.

You can, however, choose to activate entire families by enabling the

Activate entire font families

plug-in preference. This can be helpful if, for example, you decide to apply bold or italics to body text—those instances of the base font will already be active. To see all the fonts in a family in Suitcase Fusion, choose

View > Group

Fonts by Family, or press Command-E.

Close Opened Fonts

You can specify when auto­activated fonts are deactivated: when you quit the application, or when you close the document. By default, the plug-ins deactivate fonts when you quit an application. To change this setting, click an option in the

Close opened fonts

area.

•

When [ application ] quits

: Quitting the design application deactivates all the fonts that were auto-activated since the last time you launched the application. This is the default setting.

•

On document close

: Closing the document deactivates auto-activated fonts when you close a document

(provided the fonts aren’t required by other open documents). Click this option if you need to keep a minimum of fonts active and if most of your documents use different fonts. Because Suitcase Fusion scans each document as you close it, this setting can get tedious if you open and close documents often.

NOTE: If you change this setting while documents are open, the change will apply to documents subsequently opened or created.

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