Auto Font Download

Hey there,

how can I get a user to download custom fonts automatically so the sites i build look better using custom fonts?

Thanks

You can't.

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================


"Prellyan Luxtintner" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g9rjev$csj$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hey there,
>
> how can I get a user to download custom fonts automatically so the sites i
> build look better using custom fonts?
>
> Thanks

You're dreaming. Can't be done. And besides, how much more arrogant could it
be than to tell a site visitor they must allow a download so they can see a
certain typeface? That mentality died years ago when web designers realized
the negative impact of statements on pages like, "To view this site you must
have Internet Explorer version (whatever)" or, "Best viewed at 1024 x 768
screen size".

Use this list:
http://www.ampsoft.net/webdesign-l/WindowsMacFonts.html
or make the text a graphic. Of course that raises a whole new set of
obstacles.

--

Walt


"Prellyan Luxtintner" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g9rjev$csj$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> Hey there,
>
> how can I get a user to download custom fonts automatically so the sites i
> build look better using custom fonts?
>
> Thanks

whoa walt --- getting a bit antsy there --- basically as a designer i am tired
of the stock fonts that get installed - web design is a creative process and as
such the demand for interesting formats is high - if an industry limits itself
by not extending the reach and process of its components then well there goes
the neighbourhood -

not eveyone installs the entire suite of msoft fonts for example so it would
be good to be able to have that functionality - this is not arrogance in
dictating to the end user - this is an attempt to expand the creative side of
our industry to encompass the many FREE and available fonts created by
exceptional designers - to bring variety and panache to what quite frankly is
considered by most people in the real world still to be the denzion of porn
addicts and geeks rather that the potential for imaginative and artisitc
interfaces for the processes relating to both educational and commercial
aspects of a web site.

to remain beholden to the msoft suite alone is just another reason PHP should
continue it flourishing growth so as not to stymie our industry with whims
limiting its creative growth.

perhaps a link saying download site fonts here to maximise your exeperience
would be appropriate however a nice script that checks a sites fonts against
the end user c:/windows/fonts file and then provides an automatic notification
saying would you like to download the site fonts would be a great feature to
any creative designer -- and a wonderful experience for end users as they
employ web based solutions and applications that look good.

but i guess the thought of stepping outside the it cant be done box is a bit
much for you.

i do appreciate your advice however both of those solutions are known to me
and both are inappropriate for what needs to be achieved.

cheers

>a nice script that checks a sites fonts against
> the end user c:/windows/fonts file and then provides an automatic
> notification
> saying would you like to download the site fonts would be a great feature

Why don't you create that script. That would be a good way to "put your
money where your mouth is", so to speak.

--

Walt


"Prellyan Luxtintner" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g9rmqa$ghj$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> whoa walt --- getting a bit antsy there --- basically as a designer i am
> tired
> of the stock fonts that get installed - web design is a creative process
> and as
> such the demand for interesting formats is high - if an industry limits
> itself
> by not extending the reach and process of its components then well there
> goes
> the neighbourhood -
>
> not eveyone installs the entire suite of msoft fonts for example so it
> would
> be good to be able to have that functionality - this is not arrogance in
> dictating to the end user - this is an attempt to expand the creative side
> of
> our industry to encompass the many FREE and available fonts created by
> exceptional designers - to bring variety and panache to what quite frankly
> is
> considered by most people in the real world still to be the denzion of
> porn
> addicts and geeks rather that the potential for imaginative and artisitc
> interfaces for the processes relating to both educational and commercial
> aspects of a web site.
>
> to remain beholden to the msoft suite alone is just another reason PHP
> should
> continue it flourishing growth so as not to stymie our industry with whims
> limiting its creative growth.
>
> perhaps a link saying download site fonts here to maximise your
> exeperience
> would be appropriate however a nice script that checks a sites fonts
> against
> the end user c:/windows/fonts file and then provides an automatic
> notification
> saying would you like to download the site fonts would be a great feature
> to
> any creative designer -- and a wonderful experience for end users as they
> employ web based solutions and applications that look good.
>
> but i guess the thought of stepping outside the it cant be done box is a
> bit
> much for you.
>
> i do appreciate your advice however both of those solutions are known to
> me
> and both are inappropriate for what needs to be achieved.
>
> cheers
>

the thing is mate, you might be tired of limited fonts, but the average webpage
view probably doesn't give a s#*t.

the web is there for webpage viewers, not programmers.

in answer to your question, you could jazz your site up by for instance,
saying, thanks for viewing my site. as a reward, you have the option of
downloading some free fonts.

this should be an option, and your page should work just as well without them

It just can't happen. Sorry. Your only options are -

1. Use a graphic (obviously not suitable for all content)
2. Use an image replacement method like sIFR (again, obviously not suitable
for content)
3. Nut it out with the 'web safe' set of font families

--
Murray --- ICQ 71997575
Adobe Community Expert
(If you *MUST* email me, don't LAUGH when you do so!)
==================
http://www.projectseven.com/go - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
http://www.dwfaq.com - DW FAQs, Tutorials & Resources
==================


"Prellyan Luxtintner" <webforumsuser@macromedia.com> wrote in message
news:g9rmqa$ghj$1@forums.macromedia.com...
> whoa walt --- getting a bit antsy there --- basically as a designer i am
> tired
> of the stock fonts that get installed - web design is a creative process
> and as
> such the demand for interesting formats is high - if an industry limits
> itself
> by not extending the reach and process of its components then well there
> goes
> the neighbourhood -
>
> not eveyone installs the entire suite of msoft fonts for example so it
> would
> be good to be able to have that functionality - this is not arrogance in
> dictating to the end user - this is an attempt to expand the creative side
> of
> our industry to encompass the many FREE and available fonts created by
> exceptional designers - to bring variety and panache to what quite frankly
> is
> considered by most people in the real world still to be the denzion of
> porn
> addicts and geeks rather that the potential for imaginative and artisitc
> interfaces for the processes relating to both educational and commercial
> aspects of a web site.
>
> to remain beholden to the msoft suite alone is just another reason PHP
> should
> continue it flourishing growth so as not to stymie our industry with whims
> limiting its creative growth.
>
> perhaps a link saying download site fonts here to maximise your
> exeperience
> would be appropriate however a nice script that checks a sites fonts
> against
> the end user c:/windows/fonts file and then provides an automatic
> notification
> saying would you like to download the site fonts would be a great feature
> to
> any creative designer -- and a wonderful experience for end users as they
> employ web based solutions and applications that look good.
>
> but i guess the thought of stepping outside the it cant be done box is a
> bit
> much for you.
>
> i do appreciate your advice however both of those solutions are known to
> me
> and both are inappropriate for what needs to be achieved.
>
> cheers
>

> how can I get a user to download custom fonts automatically so the sites i
> build look better using custom fonts?

You can provided the font supports it (legally) and the end-user is using a
browser that suppports it.

There are some different ways to go about it:

IE supports OET: http://www.fontembedding.com/fonts-and-the-web/

CSS2 has facilities for font-linking, which I think only Safari and IE
supports.: http://www.webfonts.info/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

Ultimately, the bigger challenge will be legal. Font foundries, like record
labels, are profoundly paranoid about technologies like this. At the moment,
from a legal standpoint, you need to use a typeface that grants you web
embedding rights, or you use a free face.

So between the limited fonts that have a license to allow this, and the
limited support of browsers, you're still not quite going to achieve what
you want.

As such, if you want to pick some specific typefaces you use them sparingly
as image headlines or sIFR (flash embedding) snippets, and then stick with
standard web fonts for the rest of your body copy.

-Darrel

> perhaps a link saying download site fonts here to maximise your
> exeperience
> would be appropriate however a nice script that checks a sites fonts
> against
> the end user c:/windows/fonts file and then provides an automatic
> notification
> saying would you like to download the site fonts would be a great feature
> to
> any creative designer -

A 'creative' designer maximized the fature set of the medium they are
working in to the best of their ability. A creative designer doesn't see
'limitations'...merely parameters of the particular medium.

> and a wonderful experience for end users as they
> employ web based solutions and applications that look good.

The web is about user choice. You, as a designer, have to take the approach
that you are merely SUGGESTING a visual design, but ultimately are letting
the end-user do what they wish.

There's no doubt that more access to typefaces will be nice to have, but
just remember that you can't really dictate it. It's still going to be up to
the end-users as to whether or not they care and/or want that.

-Darrel

>how can I get a user to download custom fonts automatically so the sites i
build look better using custom fonts?

It would certainly be nice to be able to display custom fonts on your website
but as the others have already mentioned, there's no practical way without
resorting to using Flash or graphics. So if you use custom font be sure the
site also looks good in a websafe font, because practically nobody is going to
download your custom font.
Consider browsing a site that asks you to download a special font to enhance
your viewing. Would you download something from an anonymous site? Most
visitors will not. It's not worth the risk or the time.

A script to detect installed fonts is also not practical as thankfully,
browsers cannot scan your hard drive for installed files. And installed fonts
are not something that browsers expose to the server. And even if they could,
having a popup that asks you to download something when you land on a site
seems like a dangerous technique. If I enter a site that immediately launches a
download popup, I x out of the popup and close the browser and don't return.

I'm betting this will change in the future, but for now you'll need to work
with what's available.