Find Duplicate Fonts Free: A Comprehensive Guide

When dealing with fonts, it's not uncommon to encounter duplicate fonts in your library. These duplicates can take up valuable space and even cause font conflicts, which can lead to registration problems. In this article, we'll explore how to find and remove duplicate fonts using Typeface, a powerful tool for managing your font collection.

Automatic Selection

Typeface offers an automatic option that decides which fonts to select based on font kind, advanced layout features, and file type. This feature ensures that at least one variant of the duplicates is not selected for removal, so you'll end up with one version remaining. If you have a large number of duplicate fonts in your library, selecting all the fonts you want to remove can be a tedious task.

Selecting Duplicates

To automatically select multiple duplicates, click on 'Select Duplicates' and choose one of the options from the dropdown menu. The marked fonts will be removed from Typeface. Note that if you choose 'Remove from Library,' the duplicate fonts may be imported again on next refresh, depending on the Import Duplicates setting.

Moving to Trash

Alternatively, you can move the font files to the macOS Trash by choosing 'Move to Trash.' Typeface will ask if you want to remove the fonts from the library (and keep the font files) or move the font files to the Trash. Once you've selected the fonts you want to remove, click the 'Remove' button in the bottom-right corner of the panel.

Efficient Font Management

The Duplicates panel allows you to efficiently find and remove duplicate fonts. Two fonts with the same PostScript name cannot be activated at the same time, as this would cause a font conflict. Conflicts can lead to various font registration problems, so Typeface will notify you and offer solutions when conflicts are about to happen.

Removing Duplicate Fonts

Removing duplicate font files not only frees up space on your Mac but also prevents font conflicts from occurring. The PostScript name does not contain spaces or special characters. For example, the PostScript name for 'American Typewriter Light' is 'AmericanTypewriter-Light.' Note that the PostScript name may not be the same as the display name visible in the Typeface grid.

Finding PostScript Names

You can find the PostScript name by right-clicking on a font preview and choosing the Info submenu. The PostScript name is an internal name used by macOS to identify fonts. Make needless font copies magically disappear, and lean up your library while preventing font conflicts using this comprehensive guide.

In conclusion, finding and removing duplicate fonts in Typeface is a simple process that can be done manually or automatically. By following the steps outlined above, you'll be able to efficiently manage your font collection, free up space on your Mac, and prevent font conflicts from occurring.

Find duplicate fonts free