View Macintosh System 9 Instructions
In terms of an operating system, a font can come in several varieties:
Note: For some undersupported languages, you may need to install both a Unicode font and a Print font.
To determine the license for a font, you should read the Web page or the "Read Me" file.
The following fonts are available to support additional characters not available in the default system fonts. All fonts are free for commercial use and can be installed on both Windows and Mac OS X except where noted. System 9 does not fully support Unicode fonts.
These sites list sources for different fonts by script. A Google search is also recommended for specific scripts.
The Windows .ttf or the Adobe .otf font file format can be installed in directly into OS X without any modifications. However, some features of South Asian .otf fonts may not be usable on the Macintosh platform.
Font Book is a free application provided by Apple on OSX systems. This package allows users to install and manage fonts and will validate any fonts before installing them.
There are several locations font files can be placed in depending on who needs access to them. Just drag the file into any of the three locations listed below. All navigation instructions begin from the hard disk icon, and colons represent a subfolder.
To test a font, shut down and re-open any word processor or text editor. Or shut down and re-open a Web browser and view a test page for your script.
| Usage | Folder Location |
|---|---|
| Any User | If you want fonts installed for all users, then place font files in the System (X): Library: Fonts folder. Note: This requires the user to have Admin level access. |
| Your Account only | If you want fonts installed for just yourself, then place font files in the Users: Home Icon (your account): Library: Fonts folder. This is also known as the ~/Library folder. Note: OS X Lion and later users should see information below about accessing this folder. |
| Sys 9 Font Files (Deprecated) |
If your Mac still includes Mac Classic, then some font files are in the System Folder (9): Fonts folder. Older fonts may need to be installed in the System 9 Fonts folder in order to be recognized by some applications. |
The users Library folder (aka ~/Library) is now invisible by default. However, it can be accessed and opened temporarily with the following options. For a list of methods of permanently un-hiding the Library folder, see this MacWorld article.
Hold down the Option key, then click Go in the Finder. The Library option is now visible.
Go to a Web site which uses your script and is encoded as Unicode and make sure the script is visible. If necessary, adjust your browser settings so that the right script is matched with the right font.
Instructions for adjusting browsers
The following Web sites show Unicode with a number of different scripts. Some pages may take time time to download and process.
Results will vary. Some scripts such as Greek and Cyrillic are well supported, others such as Armenian and phonetic symbols have lesser support, and some such as Runic and Cherokee have little to no support.
To type an entire text, you will need to either:
Once the font is installed, it can be used with Word, WordPerfect, PowerPoint, Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign or any product where content is designed for print.
If the content needs to be placed on the Web and you only have print font available, try converting the file to P D F.