Open Type Fonts [Archive]

blads

2004-04-16, 07:18 AM

I've been doing some graphic design work for a clients and they had requested a particular font sytle.

No problem, I made the necessary purchase - it was Adobe's "Tekton Pro" Open Type Font.

Having used it so much in the graphic design components, I'd now like to incorporate as my standard Revit font, as it is particularly appealing.

My question is this...

When will Revit be able to use Open Type Fonts ?

Or is there a work-around ??

Thanks

christopher.zoog51272

2004-04-16, 01:01 PM

I've been dong some graphic design work for a clients and they had requested a particular font sytle.

No problem, I made the necessary purchase - it was Adobe's "Tekton Pro" Open Type Font.

Having used it so much in the graphic design components, I'd now like to incorporate as my standard Revit font, as it is particularly appealing.

My question is this...

When will Revit be able to use Open Type Fonts ?

Or is there a work-around ??

Thanks

yep, revit can use open type fonts, actually I think someone from the factory said that open type fonts work better with revit's pdf writer. :)

blads

2004-04-19, 02:17 AM

Chris,

How do I select them when they're not listed on the "pull-downs" when selecting or changing fonts styles?

thanks

beegee

2004-04-19, 02:24 AM

Check your "Windows - Fonts" folder to make sure the fonts are properly installed.

When installed, they should show up in your available font styles when you duplicate/create a new text style.
I have hundreds of em, they all work fine.

blads

2004-04-19, 02:27 AM

Beegee,

the fonts are installed as I've been using them in Photoshop & InDesign - they just dont appear in the pull-down list

(I've working in v6.1)

gregcashen

2004-04-19, 04:21 PM

I remember having the same problem with the Graphite Series of fonts from Adobe. It seems you have to install them or something. How, I'm not sure. Anyone?

PaulB

2004-04-19, 10:06 PM

I believe that, in W2k anyway, you need to go into Settings>Control Panel>Fonts>Install new fonts and then select the font/location.

Give it a try.

Paul

mikemck

2004-04-25, 12:12 AM

Bladams,

Did you get this OpenType font to work?

I tried to get the same font to work some time ago and gave up.

blads

2004-04-25, 08:25 AM

Did you get this OpenType font to work?

Sadly no, at least not in Revit which is a real shame as it is such a nice font.

Perhaps in future versions it'll work...

A note from Autodesk support...

Autodesk Revit supports the Windows operating system font mechanism
which includes Open and True Type fonts. I can't confirm whether Tekton
Pro is a compliant font. I suggest you test it in Revit and Windows and
if it does not work report it to the font designer.

obviously not a compliant font - I've sent this message to Adobe

SCShell

2004-04-25, 01:56 PM

Revit only uses "ANSI" character sets. (there are many TTF and Open fonts which are not)
To test if a set is Ansi or not, simply try it in Microsoft "Word". If it loads there, it will work in Revit. I went round and round with fonts back when I first started using it. I finally found a website where I sent them my hand lettering, and they sent me a TTF font of it. Now, my drawing have MY font.
Very nice indeed for other uses too, like letters etc.
Steve

mikemck

2004-04-25, 09:33 PM

Tekton Pro works in Microsoft Word and other applications.

But, last time I tried, it wouldn't work in Revit. It doesn't show up on the list of font choices.

blads

2004-04-27, 08:16 AM

I would concur with "mikemck"

But, last time I tried, it wouldn't work in Revit. It doesn't show up on the list of font choices.

:(

a little history about the "Tekton" font style - a font based on the hand-lettering style of Francis D.K. Ching, a Seattle-based architect and noted author on design and drawing for architectural graphics and building construction.

Joef

2004-05-17, 01:53 AM

Was this issue ever resolved? I am thinking of purchasing a font that has superscript capabilities but if it doesn't work in Revit it will be money wasted. What is the criterion for working fonts in Revit? Seems as if the whole font, text handling area of Revit has been sorely neglected. It's a bit like driving off from the dealer in your new Boxster only to find that you have an AM radio in the dash.

blads

2004-05-19, 03:30 AM

Joe,

IMHO the issue hasn't been resolved. See if you can try your font before you buy would be my advice. In my case, my font selection works in all MS applications (including Word) but in Revit - it doesn't appear on the "pull-down" lists when changing/editing/creating text.

bugger :?

2004-05-20, 08:17 PM

Did you follow up with Revit Support? This should be diagnosed and either fixed or documented.

blads

2004-05-21, 05:52 AM

FK,

I followed it up with the Ozzie Revit Support - below is there response:

I have received a response back from Autodesk. It is below.

Autodesk Revit supports the Windows operating system font mechanism
which includes Open and True Type fonts. I can't confirm whether Tekton
Pro is a compliant font. I suggest you test it in Revit and Windows and
if it does not work report it to the font designer.

Let me know if you need further information.

Regards
Kevin Hawkins
Support Manager

I've yet to follow it up with revit.support in the US

I've reported to adobe.

cmahoney

2005-02-23, 02:29 PM

Autodesk Revit only supports TrueType fonts. This extends to OpenType fonts that have TrueType outlines. I know firsthand that TektonPro is an OpenType font that uses PostScript outlines and therefore cannot be used in Revit. I cannot say for certain what the problem is with the Graphite font, but I suspect the same is true. You can open the font file to confirm this yourself.

Here is a link to a related FA (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=5141027&linkID=3770375)Q (http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?siteID=123112&id=5141027&linkID=3770375). This doesn't have any more information that I didn't already give you, I was just happy to find that it exists.

For the record, Kevin Hawkins is not an Autodesk employee, I am pretty sure he works for KarelCAD one of our Australian resellers.

Haden

2005-09-07, 10:21 PM

I cannot say for certain what the problem is with the Graphite font, but I suspect the same is true. You can open the font file to confirm this yourself.
I can confirm (after purchasing Graphite and Graphite Bold) that it falls into the category of OpenType fonts using a "Postscript Outline," and therefore does not work with Revit. Now, we have spent a chunk of change on a font that will not work with our primary application for which the font was intended to be used. :banghead: (Oh, and by the way, Graphite DOES work with Microsoft Word, just not Revit,.)

I even spoke with Revit support to confirm that there has not been any more movement on this issue, and said that they need to put up a red flag in the Help files to warn us of this.

Does anyone out there have a good hand-lettered-looking architectural font that does indeed work with Revit? I looked at Blueprint MT, which I found to be not nearly as good looking as Graphite. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!

Wes Macaulay

2005-09-07, 10:41 PM

Here ya go... they're from an old defunct CAD program from some years back. Someone scarfed the fonts and they've been circulating around the internet ever since.

muttlieb

2005-09-07, 10:50 PM

Here ya go... they're from an old defunct CAD program from some years back. Someone scarfed the fonts and they've been circulating around the internet ever since.

Wes, are those the ARchitxt fonts? If so, they are pretty good, and widely used.

THIS (http://www.will-harris.com/store-h/architect_fonts.htm) guy has some pretty nice architect style fonts.

ita

2005-09-08, 01:39 AM

Haden, your comment that the Open Type fonts with Postscript outlines (from Adobe) will not work, is correct.

However, you can purchase OT fonts based on True type outlining and they will work. If you are looking at Graphite and Tekton Pro, these can be acquired from Myfonts http://www.myfonts.com/ as a download. and it is a cheaper source than buying them from ITC direct.

Unfortunately Adobe will not refund their fonts. However it is fortunate that the ITC fonts work and apart from a few hundred dollars, all is not lost.

It would have been great if Adesk sorted out this anomaly as it is an expensive duplication that need not be. Given that Adesk products are Windows based (apparently!!?) it is perplexing why this condition continues to exist.

Wes Macaulay

2005-09-08, 02:08 AM

Wes, are those the ARchitxt fonts? If so, they are pretty good, and widely used.

THIS (http://www.will-harris.com/store-h/architect_fonts.htm) guy has some pretty nice architect style fonts.Yup, they are. And those are nice fonts. Reminds me of the Eaglefeather FLW fonts I saw somewhere...

blads

2005-09-08, 06:57 AM

The FLW inspired "Eaglefeather fonts" attached for all to use.... enjoy!

Lashers

2005-09-08, 08:51 AM

. . . .THIS (http://www.will-harris.com/store-h/architect_fonts.htm) guy has some pretty nice architect style fonts.

THANKS ALOT! I just had to buy them, its even sweeter to have such a good exchange rate . . . now I have to figure out how to integrate them into my work! ha ha . . .

Haden

2005-09-08, 06:05 PM

Here ya go... they're from an old defunct CAD program from some years back. Someone scarfed the fonts and they've been circulating around the internet ever since.
Thank you, Wes! Those fonts beat the others anyway. Long live free exchange on the internet! :D

Haden

2005-09-08, 06:21 PM

The FLW inspired "Eaglefeather fonts" attached for all to use.... enjoy!
Thanks, Blads!

norman.93625

2005-09-08, 06:27 PM

Will Revit ever support the AutoCAD .SHX fonts?

Wes Macaulay

2005-09-08, 06:52 PM

Will Revit ever support the AutoCAD .SHX fonts?Unlikely I would guess. It's ye olde technology: SHX fonts were designed for pen plotters.

norman.93625

2005-09-08, 07:27 PM

Would be nice if someone coverted some of the old SHX font's to TTF or Open Type, or if there was a utility to convert.

dhurtubise

2005-09-08, 08:31 PM

Thans for the fonts dude

mikemck

2005-09-12, 10:24 PM

A few messages back Ita says Tekton can be purchased from MyFonts.com.

I did that a couple of days ago.

One problem using this version of Tekton in Revit is that the letters are not as high as they should be. If I want text 3/32" high I have to tell Revit to make it 1/8". The font is the proper height in other applications like Word or AutoCad.

k.armstrong

2005-09-13, 12:27 AM

Blads - i have fonts called Mangal, Maiandra & technical that all look pretty close to tekton - do you have these in your fonts on the pc?

Ken

mikemck

2005-09-13, 01:05 AM

I have been using Technical for years. I think I got it with an early version of Word Perfect.

The MyFonts.com Tekton does a better job with dimensions. Feet and inches are one vertical stroke and two vertical strokes.

With Technical, inches is two vertical strokes but feet is like a raised comma. They don't match.

ita

2005-09-13, 01:46 AM

Its advisable to look at all the characters in the Character Map-set before you commit to use or purchase.

In Revit many of the fonts (used in previous applications) do not have complete character sets and as such are difficult to use or do not "work" on docs. Graphite and Tekton (available from MyFont) have complete sets and work in Revit. The same faces in Adobe Open Type (with Postscript outlines) do not work in Revit.

wjspence

2005-09-13, 05:40 AM

The FLW inspired "Eaglefeather fonts" attached for all to use.... enjoy!

Hmmm . . . looks like Eaglefeather is not supposed to be free:

http://www.dsiegel.com/type/eaglefeather.html#agfa

blads

2005-09-13, 07:15 AM

Blads - i have fonts called Mangal, Maiandra & technical that all look pretty close to tekton - do you have these in your fonts on the pc?

KenHi Ken,

I've got technical but not the other two... technical I thought was a little too condensed for my liking...

blads

2005-09-13, 07:19 AM

Hmmm . . . looks like Eaglefeather is not supposed to be free:

http://www.dsiegel.com/type/eaglefeather.html#agfa
FWIW I downloaded "Eaglefeather" font from one of the many freeware font sites

wjspence

2005-09-17, 11:57 PM

Would be nice if someone coverted some of the old SHX font's to TTF or Open Type, or if there was a utility to convert.

For AutoCAD fonts, if you have AutoCAD installed, look at your fonts directory. They may already be there: RomanC, RomanD, RomanS, RomanT. Check out the adesk web site for more info: http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/item?id=2868856&linkID=2475323&siteID=123112

Wes Macaulay

2005-09-18, 04:57 AM

One font I would wish for is something that allows the drawings to be annotated to look like the Architectural Graphics Standards books. That stuff is so cool :mrgreen:

blads

2005-09-19, 12:40 AM

One font I would wish for is something that allows the drawings to be annotated to look like the Architectural Graphics Standards books. That stuff is so cool :mrgreen:
"Architectural Graphics Standards" book fonts look similar to the font used in "Building Construction Illustrated" by "Francis D. K. Ching". Tekton Pro is based upon "Ching's" lettering style.

Jarsky

2008-07-24, 07:06 PM

FWIW, Miso is a beautiful and free TrueType font, in the vein of Isocpeur (or Leroy!).

http://omkrets.se/typografi/

arqt49

2008-12-05, 11:45 PM

After almost two weeks trying to get a way to use opentype fonts in revit, I finally found a decent (and freeware!) software to do the job.
The problem is that some opentype fonts have truetype outlines, and others (the problem ones) come with postscript outlines.
So, from cr8 software solutions (http://www.cr8software.net), you can get Type light (http://www.cr8software.net/typelight.html) that converts otf fonts with postscript outlines into TTF fonts.

brett.210323

2009-03-10, 04:58 PM