Improvements to Font Mapping

[rDesign]

Wish #1. Ability to set a default replacement font:

For me the Font Mapping dialogue box always defaults to 'Arial' (which personally, I find abhorrent). I would like to be able to set a Vectorworks preference so that it defaults to Helvetica or whatever (anything but Arial).

 

Wish #2. Ability to permanently replace a missing font in a file:

Currently, the Font Mapping replacement is only temporary in that when you set your font mapping to replace a missing font (Helvetica for the missing Bell Gothic Light, for example), it appears that the missing font is no longer in that file, as everything is now showing up as Helvetica even on the Text OIP. There is no indication that what you are seeing a replacement font.

But if you quit Vectorworks, turn the missing font back on, restart Vectorworks and reopen that file — it reverts back to Bell Gothic Light.

So the Font Mapping doesn't actually change the missing font to the replacement font, it only visually shows up as the replaced font while in the file it is actually still defined as the original missing font. (To me this one feels like a bug).

This makes it difficult to maintain document consistency.

Edited May 17, 2018 by rDesign

[Kevin McAllister]

Yes, please!

+1000

KM

[rDesign]

bump

[Andy Broomell]

On 8/15/2016 at 10:56 AM, rDesign said:

Wish #2. Ability to permanently replace a missing font in a file:

Currently, the Font Mapping replacement is only temporary in that when you set your font mapping to replace a missing font (Helvetica for the missing Bell Gothic Light, for example), it appears that the missing font is no longer in that file, as everything is now showing up as Helvetica even on the Text OIP. There is no indication that what you are seeing a replacement font.

But if you quit Vectorworks, turn the missing font back on, restart Vectorworks and reopen that file — it reverts back to Bell Gothic Light.

So the Font Mapping doesn't actually change the missing font to the replacement font, it only visually shows up as the replaced font while in the file it is actually still defined as the original missing font. (To me this one feels like a bug).

This makes it difficult to maintain document consistency.

 

I didn't realize this. I don't like that...

 

So how do I know which Arial text blocks are 'font-mapped' from a different font, versus the ones that I've newly created which are actually just Arial? (Presumably there is no way, currently).

 

Today I'm taking over a file from someone else who used some random handwritten font which I don't have on my computer. Is there no way to ensure that all text remains as Arial from now on (just as it appears on my computer) no matter who eventually gets the file? I don't want any text to remain associated with the old handwritten font since it's fairly hard to read (I have PDFs of the old drafting so I can see what it looked like before the current font mapping).

 

Another question. If I select a text object which I know is being mapped, and manually choose "Arial" from the list of fonts, is it now Arial? or will it still map back to the handwritten font if it were available?

 

 

[Art V]

Bumping this one in combination with the referring topic.

 

Some software I use that also has font substitution has the option to make the substitution permanent, e.g. change NotAvailableFont to e.g. Arial and keep it that way upon saving. Thought this would solve the mix of fonts being used, it is only a partial solution for the issue.

[Boh]

Today I opened a file a had been working on only a few days previously and most fonts had changed to arial. Took about an hour to go through it to revert it back to my preferred arial narrow.

 

can someone explain why this could happen?

 

I opened it on the same machine. There was a Windows10  update but apart from that no changes.

 

edit: I have reposted this question in the general forum here: 

 

Edited May 21, 2018 by Boh