-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Fonts Tutorial

  • From: GMan <gman.pctt@xxxxxxxxx>
  • To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Fri, 19 Oct 2007 15:51:50 -0400

Hi Sandi (& anyone else following this thread),
    Moving the Xtra folder means breaking every shortcut that points to 
files within it.  Of course, the same thing applies any time you move ANY 
folder (which is why it's a terrible idea to just delete a program you no 
longer want).  The font that is complaining when you try to change its name 
is doing so because it's currently installed through that shortcut.  If you 
change the name of the original, the shortcut will stop working.  So, just 
delete the shortcut.  You'll be replacing it anyway later in this reply. 
After deleting it, go ahead and rename the original.  Just be sure to do it 
BEFORE you create new shortcuts in the Windows Font folder.          lol


    Do you have a folder somewhere (perhaps in My Documents) to hold things 
that you download?  If you do, that location is a much better choice than 
inside your Windows folder.  For one thing, it'll be with other stuff that 
you're more likely to burn to CD/DVD as a backup.  In addition, it'll be 
outside of the OS area where it will be more prone to being lost if/when the 
time comes to reformat/reinstall Windows.

    No matter where you choose to move it, those shortcuts will need to be 
fixed.  I've also noticed that the shortcuts inside the Windows Fonts folder 
are exactly the same size as the fonts themselves and there's nothing in 
their Property sheets that shows the path back to the original font (the one 
safely tucked away in the Xtra folder).  While it looks like the shortcut 
actually installed the font instead of waiting for it to be called, I'm not 
going to deal with that aspect right now.  I am, however, going to outline 
an approach for making it easier to repair the broken shortcuts that occur 
whenever you Move the Xtra folder (and you may find it necessary to Move it 
again sometime in the future).


    Before creating shortcuts in the Windows Fonts folder, be sure that you 
first put your Xtra folder exactly where you want to store it long-term. 
For most folks, this will be nestled somewhere within your My Documents 
folder.  Personally, I have so many multimedia files (sounds, images, fonts, 
cursors, icons, themes, etc.) that I have a separate partition I created 
just for them.

    Once the main Xtra folder is in place, create a subfolder inside it and 
call it something like "Currently Used" or "Current" or "In Use".  Then, 
Move all of the fonts that you want to 'shortcut' into your Windows Font 
folder into this subfolder.  Now, you'll have all of them in one place 
without all of the others in the way.  When you need to 'fix' the shortcuts 
in the Windows Font folder, just go into the Windows Font folder and delete 
all of the shortcuts you find (they should all have an arrow in the lower 
left corner of the font's icon).  Once they are gone, highlight all of the 
fonts in your new "In Use" subfolder and use your right mouse button to drag 
them to your Windows Fonts folder.  When you get there, let go of the right 
mouse button and select 'Create Shortcut' fromt he menu.  It's that simple.

    Using the same idea, I will also suggest Moving your spare copy of the 
original system fonts into their own subfolder.  In my own Xtra fonts folder 
(which I simply call Fonts), I have several subfolders that I use to help me 
keep the whole deal better organized.  Note that I use ALL CAPS whenever I'm 
dealing with a folder used for storage.  My layout is below.

+  FONTS    (nothing in here but subfolders)

    +  !INCOMING (all new fonts go here.  I'll organize later)
        +  EXTRACTION (Zipped fontpacks are uncompressed here)

    +  FONTS (here are all of the fonts I've collected since time began)
        +  WINGDINGS (fonts that contain characters instead of letters)

    +  IN USE (fonts that have shortcuts in the Windows Fonts folder)

    +  SYSTEM (copies of all of the original Windows fonts)

    Once everything is set and populated exactly how you want it, you should 
also burn the contents to CD/DVD for safekeeping.  Then, as new added files 
dictate, you should periodically reburn the contents so that your backup 
includes files you've added since the last burn.  If the idea of going 
through multiple optical disks just to have a safety net rubs you the wrong 
way, consider using an external USB hard drive instead.  Backing up will be 
much faster and you won't be creating so much landfill material since the 
external drive doesn't need to be tossed out every time you back up your 
stuff.  However you do it, the idea is to have your important stuff in at 
least two separate places so that if one bites the bullet, your stuff is 
safe.  Note that I'm talking about saving the stuff you create/accumulate 
that would be hard or impossible to replace.

Peace,
GMan

"The only dumb questions are the ones we fail to ask!"

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Sandi Beach" <sandib2@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, October 19, 2007 9:58 AM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Re: Fonts Tutorial


> O.K., one last question before I move on to the "real world".  My Xtra 
> fonts
> folder is sitting on my desktop and that allows the Amazone font to again
> show up in my list of fonts in my programs.  My feeble brain will not tell
> me how to get this back where it belongs this morning!  If I move it back
> into the Windows folder where it belongs I no longer have the Amazone 
> font.
> Question No. 2:  I right clicked on the one in my Xtra fonts folder (which
> is apparently the real one and the one in the Windows fonts is the 
> shortcut)
> to try to rename it I get the message that it may cease to function if I 
> do
> that.  I canceled.  So right now I have the Xtra fonts folder on my 
> desktop
> with an Amazone font in it that has just numbers (which I am rapidly
> learning by heart!).
> And I know I need to get the heck out of here as my brain is really foggy
> this morning and will probably be totally non-functioning by this 
> afternoon.
> Sandi 


---------------------------------------------------------------
Please remember to trim your replies (including this sentence and everything 
below it) and adjust the subject line as necessary.

To unsubscribe or change your email settings:
//www.freelists.org/webpage/pctechtalk

To access our Archives:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PCTechTalk/messages/
//www.freelists.org/archives/pctechtalk/

To contact only the PCTT Mod Squad, write to:
pctechtalk-moderators@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
---------------------------------------------------------------

Other related posts: