How To Download Fonts To My Mac
Install fonts from your Mac or network: Click the Add button in the Font Book toolbar, locate and select the font, then click Open. Tip: To quickly install a font, you can also drag the font file to the Font Book app icon, or double-click the font file in the Finder, then click Install Font in the dialog that appears. How to Install Fonts on a Mac To install a font on any Mac running OS X 10.3 or higher, double-click the uncompressed font and tap the Install font button at the bottom of the font preview screen. In any Mac OS X version, drag the uncompressed file into the dedicated folder at Macintosh HD Library Fonts. However, your available fonts here rely on two sources: the Cricut font library and your System Fonts. The Cricut font library is native to Cricut Design Space, while your System Fonts are native to your computer. So, if you want to know how to download fonts to Cricut Design Space or how to upload fonts to Cricut, keep this in mind. Double-click the font in the Finder, then click Install Font in the font preview window that opens. After your Mac validates the font and opens the Font Book app, the font is installed and available for use.
To use fonts in your apps, you need to install the fonts using Font Book. You can also use Font Book to preview the way a font looks.
Install fonts
You can install fonts from a location on your Mac (or a network you’re connected to), or download available fonts right in the Font Book window. Fonts that you can download are dimmed in the font list.
Install fonts from your Mac or network: Click the Add button in the Font Book toolbar, locate and select the font, then click Open.
Download fonts: Click All Fonts in the sidebar on the left, then select a dimmed font family or one or more styles. Click Download in the preview pane, then click Download in the dialog that appears.
If the preview pane isn’t shown, choose View > Show Preview. If you don’t see a Download button, switch to another preview type (the Download button isn’t available in the Information preview.) For more about the preview pane, see the next task.
You can also double-click a font file in the Finder, then click Install Font in the dialog that appears.
All fonts you install or download appear in Font Book, and are available to use in your apps.
Preview fonts
You can install fonts from a location on your Mac (or a network you’re connected to), or download available fonts right in the Font Book window. Fonts that you can download are dimmed in the font list.
Select a font family or one or more styles.
Change the preview as needed by clicking one of these buttons (from left to right) in the toolbar.
Sample: Displays a sample of the characters, using the alphabet or script for the primary language set in Language & Region preferences. If a font supports multiple languages, you can change the language used to display the sample by choosing View > Language.
Repertoire: Displays a grid showing available characters and symbols, or glyphs. Drag the slider to the right of the preview to adjust their size.
Custom: Displays blocks of text showing each style. Click a block of text, then enter your text to see it in that style.
Information: Displays information about the font, such as its manufacturer and location on your Mac.
Fonts that you installed by clicking the Add button in the toolbar or by double-clicking a font file in the Finder are located in the Fonts folder in your home Library (~/Library/Fonts/) or the system Library (/Library/Fonts), depending on the default installation location.
Typography – if used elegantly – can greatly enhance the look and feel of just about anything that involves letter, numbers or characters. For example, custom fonts can form a great logo, as well as offer a more valuable and tailored feel to the piece of work. Forget logos, even changing the default fonts on your operating system can create a unique everyday computing experience.
We’ve already published a tutorial on installing new fonts on Windows. The process is easier and more streamlined on Mac OS X. This guide will tell you exactly that.
Here’s how you go about downloading fonts.
1. Download the Font
There are a ton of free fonts out there. Sites such as Smashing Magazine have lists upon lists of free fonts that are available for personal or commercial use.
Here are a variety of neat font collections to check out:
- 80 Newest Free Fonts for Web Graphic Designers
- Font Squirrel
- Behance
- Font Fabric
- 30 New Free High-Quality Fonts
2. Extract the Font
Usually, the font comes in a .zip or .rar file. This means you’ll need a program to extract it. I use the Free Stuffit Expander. Once you do that, a new Finder window will pop up. Double click the .ttf or .otf file, and the Font Book application should automatically open.
3. Install the Font
Once the Font Book application opens, you can simply Install the font.
4. Organize your Fonts
Font Book automatically sorts out your fonts according to either default installation or user installation. This is a great feature, as it allows you to quickly go through your custom installed fonts. If you’re a typography enthusiast, this definitely is the key.
Font Book can be accessed within the Applications folder, or simply type it into Spotlight to find it.
You don’t need to re-open an application, as the font collection updates on the fly. For example, if you have Photoshop open and you’ve just installed a font, you can simply go back into Photoshop and select the font.
Fonts are very fun to implement and select, and are very easy to use! Don’t be afraid to try out new fonts for different uses, and have fun with your fonts. 🙂
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