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| Review - Smasher 1.0 | | Date Created: 27 Oct, 2005, 03:00 PM |
By Scott Stoel
Preface by Benjamin Levisay
The font faithful already know a bit about Smasher, Insider Software’s newest offering to the font community. I’ve been meaning to get an article up on FontGeek.net about this new utility, but every time I sit down to write it I seem to trip over my own knowledge of what Smasher is and what it will eventually be. You see, as product manager for this product, my head is stuck in the documentation, the positioning copy and the other verbiage related to the release of this new software into the market place. That is to say... I know it too well to do a good job being either brief or objective. That’s why I was thrilled when fellow Font Geek Scott Stoel offered to do a review of Smasher. Scott is not only a talented “font guy” but also a Font Reserve user and someone who would use a utility like Smasher in his prepress workflow. Thanks Scott.
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Smasher bridges gap left by other Font Managers
There are several software packages from companies like Extensis, Alsoft and Insider Software out there that help Mac users manage their fonts. Each one of the offerings has different strengths and capabilities and are suited for different types of workflows. Most times people think that these products alone will solve their font problems (See "The Truth about Font Management"), but they actually do very little to help people get to the true root of the problem, which is most people's font collections are a mess to begin with. |
 This leads us to the latest release from Insider Software (maker of FontAgent Pro), Smasher. This utility bridges the gap left open by traditional font management programs. It helps you head off font problems by preparing the fonts on your Mac for your font manager.
The first thing Smasher does for you is help you verify your fonts. The interface is friendly and easy to understand. |
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To add fonts to Smasher you can click the Add button at the upper left hand of the toolbar, or you can do as I did, simply drag and drop the fonts you want smashed onto the window.
Now what does Insider mean by "Smashed" fonts? One of the main problems in organizing fonts, especially for font management newbies, is the confusion that results from the nature of Postscript Fonts. Postscript fonts have one suitcase (or screen font) file, but often have several "outline fonts" to go with that suitcase. In OS 9 you were able to open suitcase files and see exactly what fonts were going to be included in the typeface, but with OS X that ability is gone. Smasher takes care of that for you. It takes your PostScript fonts and breaks them down (or smashes them) to the FOND, or Family level. |
| For example I have the font Franklin Gothic. There are six font suitcases files and five outline files. Below is what the set looks like in the Finder. |
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| I drag the folder onto the Smasher window and click Smash. Smasher alerts me that one font family is lacking an outline font and allows for the option to save a report. |
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| The program "smashes" the font, that is takes the font information for each family and puts it in an individual folder, named after the font family, in the directory of your choosing. Below is the way Franklin Gothic looks in the finder after Smasher has done it's work. |
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There are many benefits to "smashing" your fonts beyond organization and verification. Smasher saves system resources by allowing you to activate one family of a font rather than the whole typeface. It simplifies font menus and allows you to make more streamlined sets in your font management program.
Another feature of Smasher is the ability to preview your fonts. By clicking the Preview button, the Preview pane appears at the bottom of the window, and allows you to view the selected font from 9 to 96 points. |
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| Smasher also gives you the ability to view information about your fonts. By selecting a font, you can view the path to the original file, the creation date, the owner username and the permissions of the font in the Properties window. |
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Smasher also works very quickly. I was able to import a 104 MB folder of fonts and smash them in less than 45 seconds on my Dual 867 G4. The folder was relatively clean, or so I thought, because all of the fonts in it were licensed. It turned out I had dozens of fonts that were missing outline files.
Smasher also converts OSX .dfonts into true type fonts. This is important if you need to use .dfonts in OS 9, because pre OSX Macs can't use .dfonts.
While Smasher offers organizational and verification services, it also offers a solution for one of the most annoying problems that plague OS X, and that is corrupt font caches. While there are utilities that clean your System Caches (see the article about Font Finagler) Smasher will clean the Microsoft, Adobe and Quark Caches for you as well. |
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If you clean your system font caches, Smasher will require you to reboot your computer. I use Smasher's cache cleaning before every reboot, just as a part of my healthy Mac routine.
The biggest surprise, however, with Smasher, is it's amazing documentation. I earlier mentioned that Smasher was great for font newbies. The documentation for Smasher from the help files to the user manual is a best practices guide and primer on OSX fonts issues rolled into one. It explains font formats, font issues, and has an extensive glossary. If you want to brush up on your font knowledge or are just getting into font management, spend some time with the Smasher manual and Help files and you will have the knowledge to tackle most any font issue and speak Fontgeek with the best of us. |
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Over all, Smasher fills a long vacant need in Mac font management. For anyone who has a lot of fonts, and needs to organize them quickly, or had to deal with fonts issues, this program is a must. The demo version alone is worth the download. Insider, as a bonus, allows users to use the demo version of Smasher to clear the OS font caches and preview fonts, all for free.
If there were one feature I would like to add to Smasher it would be scriptibility. I can imagine Smasher being a great part of an automated prepress workflow, beyond it's troubleshooting and organizational capabilities.
In conclusion I give Smasher four stars out of five on the Font Geek scale. It solves many font issues untouched by other font managers and makes organizing your fonts easier. |
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Software Developer........................................Insider Software
Current Version...............................................v 1
License Type.....................................................Commercial
Full Version Price............................................$ 49.95
FAP User’s Price..............................................$ 24.95
System Requirements.....................................Mac OS X 10.3 or higher
Type of Software.............................................font diagnostic utility
Font Geek Rating............................................4 out of 5 |
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