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| Top Stories in OS X Issues |
| Why do my fonts look garbled? | | Date Created: 04 Oct, 2004, 08:06 PM |
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| Garbled fonts are a very common problem in OS X. Sometimes you will find that the type in your e-mails, your web pages, and/or your page layout programs will appear jumbled. |
| The good news is that it's not just you. You're not crazy (at least not based on this problem) It happens to a lot of people. Apple is aware of it, although to date, they haven't provided a solution to the problem. |
| Most of the time jumbled type is due to a problem called font cache corruption. And most of the time you can get rid of the problem by closing and then relaunching the application. If that doesn't work, you can also try restarting your computer. These two things are effective procedures for solving this and many other problems you are having with your computer and/or applications. |
 When these procedures don't work, the next step is to clear the system font caches. You can do this manually, but it's easier to use a product like Smasher (from the folks at Insider Software) or Font Finagler (written by Mark Douma). Both of these programs have a demo mode or period, which means that you can download and try them without paying for the software -- at least right away.
I have several articles about Smasher, Deep Six (which is no longer offered by If Then Software) and Font Finagler in the Resources section of this website. Here are the internal links to the most relevant of these articles... |
Review - Smasher 1.0 is a review article and an explanation of what Smasher can do -- including dealing with font cache issues.
Utility - Font Finagler is an article about the utility itself & why you might need it.
How To Use - Font Finagler is a step-by-step article on how to use Font Finagler in both modes.
These articles will help you deal with your font corruption issues.
Look for more articles on other utilities that perform similar functions in the Resources section of Font Geek. |
| Articles in OS X Issues (Total Entries: 5) | | | | | |
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