Jump to content
  • 0

Custom fonts w/ Cloud publish


Peter W Flint

Question

I have custom fonts used for branding that are not being properly mapped to title blocks when using cloud publish. First screen shot is local, second is cloud. The differences seem to be either in size or line weight. What are best practices/things to keep in mind when using custom fonts or other custom settings in cloud publish?

 

Cheers

 

PWF

Screen Shot 2022-11-16 at 16.23.00.png

Screen Shot 2022-11-16 at 16.21.57.png

Link to comment

14 answers to this question

Recommended Posts

  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@Peter W Flint

 

If you are on Mac, there is a known issue observed when a file created by a Mac version of Vectorworks is opened and Published by a Windows version of Vectorworks. Since the Vectorworks running on the Cloud is Windows-based, the issue is seen. I would recoomend you use an image, to ensure the Cloud will produce the correct results in the title block. However, I would also recommend you keep an eye on other scaling issues like that in other elements of your pages. The isssue is not specific to title blocks. You can also try using another font with a similar appearance to see if that helps in any way.

Also, check your email to see if you get an email that custom fonts were mapped to Arial. It does look to me like your original font is getting mapped to Arial. If you have used a font converter to convert a Mac font family into idividual fonts (.otf and .ttf) it is possible that the Vectorworks on the cloud can't recognize your custom font. In the past, I have been able to fix custom fonts like this by using a free font editing tool called FontForge. If you need further help, plese don't hesitate to send me a personal message and let me know about specific fonts that are not working and I will try to help you.

 

Best regards,

Iskra Nikolova

  • Like 3
Link to comment
  • 0
17 hours ago, E|FA said:

Have you made sure the version of the font uploaded to your VW cloud folder matches

The fonts are pulled from the same folder VW uses to call fonts locally. I began exploring this after receiving the email Iskra mentioned about missing fonts.

 

18 hours ago, Pat Stanford said:

what about converting it to an image instead of fighting with the text of Cloud Publish

Practically, I'm not opposed to this, the current set up was the result of being very new to the software and running into resolution issues between exporting from gd software, drawing, web publish, and printing that I have probably grown out of. This however, only resolves the issue illustrated with the logo, and not the alignment and/or wrapping issues in the other fields

 

Philosophically, I think a product that asks for a significant investment from its users should work as it is advertised.

 

@inikolova Thank you for the detailed response, I agree the font looks like it is being mapped to Arial but I am not getting a notification about missing fonts. I did receive those emails in my initial experiments and have since included fonts in my cloud folder per VW Cloud docs: "Place the font file anywhere in Vectorworks Cloud Services". Based on re-reading, I can confirm they are .ttf files but I am unsure if they were converted in the process of uploading to cloud folder. One is custom that I built using a tool similar to fontForge and the other imported from Google fonts, then both installed as system fonts. I am pretty sure I pulled them directly from Font Book to upload to cloud. 

 

I will explore a little more as time allows and reach out if I discover anything.

 

PWF

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

The "bug" Iskra's post refers to is that Fonts of the same name might have different appearance (different font metrics) across the different platforms. (As an example, this article.) Not just VW, but Word, web pages, or any kind of document can suffer from this issue. In Peter's case, we need someone to investigate why Arial is getting substituted on the cloud in this particular case.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee
3 hours ago, Peter W Flint said:

Philosophically, I think a product that asks for a significant investment from its users should work as it is advertised.

I agree with you. The issue you are seeing is likely due to some specific properties of the font you are using. I will do more research and try to help with your specific situation.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@Peter W Flint,

I investigated this in more detail and here is what I think is the cause of your problem.

During file generation, the cloud server searches for fonts using the following priority:

1. Cloud server system fonts

2. Current font mappings in your cloud preferences

3. Custom fonts that you have uploaded to cloud storage

 

It looks like the Yantramanav font you are using is currently mapped to Arial in your cloud font mappings.Screenshot 2022-11-17 at 8.27.55 PM.png

 

To fix this, you need to delete these font mappings from your Vectorworks. In the Vectorworks preferences; on the Display tab, click the Edit Font Mappings button, and delete these mappings. Quit Vectorworks to save the font mapping preferences. After this, open the Vectorworks Cloud Services settings and click the SYNC button to sync your local mappings to the cloud.

 

Screenshot 2022-11-17 at 8.23.24 PM.png

Go to https://cloud.vectorworks.net/portal/account/ and make sure these font mappings have disappeared.

Screenshot 2022-11-17 at 8.25.50 PM.png

After this, the Cloud Publish should be able to give you the expected result.

 

Please let me know if this doesn't help.

 

Best regards,

Iskra Nikolova

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
  • 0
  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

@Peter W Flint,

 

I am glad you are now getting the proper result! Yay!!!

I think the reason why you had these mappings on the Cloud was that you had them in your local Vectorworks mappings. You probably opened a file that contained these fonts before you had them installed on your machine. And when you submit a job to the cloud, your local mappings are automatically synced to the Cloud.

 

Best regards,

Iskra Nikolova

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Answer this question...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...