Although, Font Book ships with Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, it does little more than provide users with easier access to the font sets contained in their Mac system. From adding/removing fonts to turning fonts on or off but that’s about it. Font Book may suffice the average consumer but is hardly an industry standard tool that will bring smiles to the creative community.
To date, the de facto, font management app is Extensis Suitcase, which has recently been bumped up to Extensis Suitcase Fusion. Boasting a more evolved and intuitive management of fonts and font sets but sporting a hefty price tag of USD$99.95 a pop. The problem?
Not all of us are knee deep in the creative industry but would still like better access and management of our system fonts. At USD$99.95, its a difficult purchase to justify.
At press time, a plausible, free, alternative is Linotype’s Font Explorer X.
For a free app, Font Explorer X comes in feature rich; making it altogether easier to install, manage, maintain and even buy fonts. Font Explorer X, allows you to browse and purchase fonts within the app itself, sporting an iTunes Music Store-like interface. You can quickly browse and preview fonts online, which can be especially useful for those last minute rush jobs where no system font seems to fit the mood of the job.
Even if you’re not meandering in the creative industry, Font Explorer X is still a great app to have on your Mac. Giving you a better overall perspective of the fonts available to you on your Mac, as well as, giving you access to some fonts, you may never have known you had.
Visit Linotype for more details and download your free copy today.