Find Your Fonts with Smart Folders
Locating all of the font files on your Mac can be a real pain, but Mac OS X makes that job a little easier with Spotlight and Smart Folders.
To make a Smart Folder that lists every font on your Mac, go to the Desktop and choose File> New Smart Folder and then click “This Mac” in the search bar.
Now enter “kind:truetype OR kind:outline OR kind:suitcase OR kind:opentype” in the search field in the window’s upper right corner. Your new search folder will list all of your fonts, and will auto-update whenever new fonts are copied to your hard drive. If you select one of the files in the Smart Folder, its location will appear at the bottom of the window.
Be sure to give your Smart Folder an appropriate name when you first close it, so you can easily find it again. (Thanks to Fontgeek.net for this one!)
Jeff Gamet is a contributing editor for Design Tools Monthly, the executive summary of graphic design news. He is also the morning editor and reviews editor for The Mac Observer and iPodObserver.com, and contributing writer for Layers Magazine and Photoshop User. He writes the InBrief column for InDesign Magazine, and is the author of “The Designer’s Guide to Mac OS X,” from Peachpit Press
When Jeff isn’t writing about the graphic design world, he’s talking about it on the Design Tools Weekly podcast with co-host Jay Nelson. He also talks about Apple and the Mac world every week on The Mac Observer’s Apple Weekly Report.
Jeff studies, tests and reviews new software and technologies for the Macintosh community as well as the design and print industries. He is a former Pre-press specialist, and has nearly 25 years experience with computer technology. Jeff trains, lectures and consults on techniques for more efficiently using Mac OS X in creative environments throughout the country.
In the rare moments when he can get away from his MacBook Pro, Jeff spends his time climbing and biking in the Colorado mountains.