Managing Fonts with the Font Manager
By Anand Dixit
Since version X8, CorelDRAW Graphics Suite comes with a standalone application called the Corel Font Manager, a very convenient way to manage fonts in a system. In this written tutorial, CorelDRAW Master Anand Dixit shows you how to use the Font Manager to install, uninstall and filter your fonts.
Download a PDF copy of this tutorial to follow along as you explore the Corel Font Manager.
Managing Fonts with the Font Manager
Since version X8, CorelDRAW comes with a standalone application called the Corel Font Manager, a very convenient way to manage fonts in a system.
Corel Font Manager has replaced the third party font manager that was included with previous versions of CDGS. Considering the needs of CorelDRAW users, a new font manager is now included with CDGSX8.
Font files are shared files and are shared by many applications installed on a system. The greater the number of fonts installed, the slower the system performance. For optimum performance, it is recommended to have no more than 300-400 fonts installed on a system. If over 1000 fonts are installed on a system, the performance will be considerably lower.
How helpful is it for a CorelDRAW user?
- No need to install fonts. Corel Font Manager (CFM), allows the use of available fonts in CDGS applications, even if the fonts are not installed on system.
- Corel Font Manager’s easy-to-use interface, makes it simple to install or uninstall fonts.
- Fonts can be filtered by Status (for example, Installed or Uninstalled fonts), font weight, font style etc. Font filters are integrated in the Font list in CorelDRAW and PHOTO-PAINT.
- CFM can also find duplicate fonts.
- Filters are provided to display categorized Glyphs (normally referred to as ‘Character’ from a font). e.g. Mathematical, Currency, Punctuation separators etc.
The Font Manager Interface
Realtime integration of font database with DRAW and PHOTO-PAINT
All folders and collections added by the user in CFM are integrated in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT. The font list in CorelDRAW and Corel PHOTO-PAINT gives you access to the settings. Setting up preferences to filter the fonts makes it easier for the user to manage the fonts while working on the job. At the same time Font Collections and Favorite fonts (Favorites), collected in the Corel Font Manager, are now available within the application.
Font list in CorelDRAW
How does it work?
Corel Font Manager creates a database library of fonts on a system, whether the fonts are installed or not. Metadata from every font is saved and used while working with the CorelDRAW Graphics Suite.
The Main Features of Corel Font Manager
Adding folders containing font files
CFM will automatically collect metadata of installed fonts. Any other folder containing font files (fonts which may or may not be installed), can be added by clicking on the ‘Add Folders’ button. Multiple folders can be added. CFM will automatically check the folder for changes and update the font database automatically.
Adding Font Collections
A Collection is a virtual grouping of fonts. A Collection can contain fonts with a similar style or weight for example. CFM will keep the data of every font added to a collection. Any font can be added to multiple collections. Users can create a font collection and add specific fonts to the collection. This will be very useful when a client needs specific fonts to be used in their designs. CFM will use the collections when the user activates the filters (discussed later). Fonts can be added to or removed from a collection by dragging them out of the Collection.
Deleting folders or collections
Previously added folders or created collections can be removed. Note that removing a folder or collection will only remove it from CFM database. No fonts will be deleted or uninstalled. To remove a Collection, right-click on it and select Remove.
Note: Clicking Uninstall will uninstall the fonts that were added to the Collection.
Installing and Uninstalling Fonts
Corel Font Manager makes installing and uninstalling fonts simple. Font folders or Collections can be removed from the list, without deleting the fonts from the system however. To install a font, select a font from the Font list (fonts on the system not yet installed will be color-coded yellow, fonts in the cloud that have not yet been downloaded will be color-coded white). Then either click on the Install Font icon, or right-click the font and select Install. To uninstall a font (installed fonts are color-coded green), right-click the font and choose Uninstall, or click on the Uninstall icon.
Note: Fonts color-coded green and with a padlock are system fonts and cannot be uninstalled.
Show / Hide Duplicate fonts
This setting shows or hides duplicate fonts (if any exist).
Deleting a font
A font, whether installed or not, can be deleted. Caution: This will delete the font file from the system.
Font filters
A system may have few installed and thousands of uninstalled fonts. The available font filters categories are: Font status; Content exchange; weight; width; OpenType etc. Over 50 categorized filters are available to manage the fonts to be displayed and used.
Glyph filters
With the new OpenType fonts, a font may contain multiple scripts for example, Latin, Devnagari or more. Each script may contain hundreds of glyphs. Corel Font Manager has a Docker-type display with five common filters, which allows the preview of glyphs from the selected font. Script filters will automatically populate the scripts in a font depending on selected font.
Font information
Displays complete font information including Font family, sub-family, font file path, font embedding and much more.
Font status color coding
We hope you found this tutorial helpful and we would love to hear your feedback in the Comments section below. And don’t forget to visit our social media pages and show us what you’ve learned by sharing your photos, videos and creative projects with us.
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Comments (6)
About the font manager listed above, when you say “the system” does that mean the Corel Font Manager(CFM) or Windows Font Folder (WFF) as found in the Control Panel? My Windows does not work as tutorials on line say it will – patches, who knows. My computer was crashing and I could not work in WordPerfect (overload), Quatro Pro or Corel without a lot of lag or crashing. I guessed it might have been my fonts. When I first went into Windows Font folder (WFF) I was told I had 6k fonts on the computer. I doubt that and I can’t find the count anymore. (This is an example of a great owner manual for a different font manager : http://www.proximasoftware.com/files/fontexpert2018.pdf)…. Page 44 of the manual for FontExpert says not to delete fonts from Windows. That is exactly what I have been doing (deleting from WFF) and then installing them into Corel Font Manager. Will other applications on my computer still have access to the fonts if they are loaded only into COREL FONT MANAGER? The fonts in Windows that were installed did not show up in CFM. How does CFM work with WFF? One complaint about CFM, it says I can drag fonts into collections but the scroll won’t stay locked and as I drag I am at a different location and therefore can’t drag. I tried in WFF to restore fonts to factory default and it does not work. I have to manually delete fonts, and I have been. It is clear that I do not really know what I am doing.
Hello Debra,
Corel Font Manager creates an alternate library of fonts for CorelDRAW to access. While other programs could use this library, they would have to be designed to work with the Corel Font Manager database structure. We do not currently maintain a list of third party programs that support Corel Font Manager.
As for the Windows Font Folder, the Font Manager sees it as any other font containing folder. You can use the Add function to make sure the Windows Font Folder is loaded into your Corel Font Manager database, and from there you can make selections in the Font Manager for which fonts to load into CorelDRAW.
Please let us know if you have any other questions!
Discovery Center Team
Hi there, is there a way you can export a font collection in my font collection and import it to another computer?
Thanks!
Hello Tram,
A Font Collection is a series of pointers that tells CorelDRAW where to look for those fonts, and to group them together. We do not currently have a way to transfer these pointers to a different instance of CorelDRAW. We like the idea though! We have passed it on to the CorelDRAW team for their consideration.
Best,
Discovery Center Team
Is Font Manager in x8 Home & Student? What I see under fonts doesn’t look anything like what’s in the tutorial. There is no way to manage the files displayed, eg, delete, add, etc, nor does the window open up as shown in the tutorial.
Hello Isolate,
The Font Manager is not included in the Home and Student edition of CorelDRAW X8. Here is a version comparison document with more details on what can be found in the different CorelDRAW licenses.
Discovery Center Team