Practically everyone who uses a computer knows the operating system includes a number of fonts by default for use in word processing, design, and other tasks where text is important, and macOS is no exception. Many are also familiar with the idea of acquiring more fonts and adding them to the collection, giving even more stylistic options.
In order to maintain the fonts on macOS, Apple included the tool Font Book as a way for users to browse the collection, to find the exact font they want to use. The same tool can also manage the fonts on a Mac, including adding and removing fonts, and grouping together similar fonts into smaller collections, such as regularly-used fonts. The Basics Found in the Applications folder, Font Book offers a view of all fonts in a system. The application is ordered into three general columns, consisting of collections and grouping options, the list of fonts, and a preview of the currently-selected font. To the right-hand side are a slider and a drop-down box, which can also be typed within.
These are used to change the size of the font in the preview section, to show what it looks like in different sizes. The left column shows Collections of fonts, both Smart and user-defined versions, and options to see a list of all fonts installed, those pre-installed, and those added by the user. The middle column lists the fonts in the currently-selected collection. An arrow next to each font shows the other styles in the font family, such as italic, bold, bold italic, and regular versions. It is possible to change what is shown in the font preview column by selecting the other options in the top-left corner, or entering the View menu on the menubar. The far left option, Sample, shows the A to Z characters of the font in upper and lowercase variants, as well as numerals. The second, Repertoire, shows every symbol a font can display, while the third Custom option allows users to enter their own text in to see how it would look in the font.
The fourth option provides more information about the font, such as supported languages, copyright details, and the number of glyphs. Adding Fonts If you want to add new fonts you have just acquired, there are two ways to do it. The first involves double-clicking the font file to open it in preview. Once open, select Install Font in the lower right corner of the window to import the font. To get rid of a collection, right-click it and select Delete 'Collection Name.' This will remove the collection, but not delete the font. Enabling and Disabling Fonts If you have many fonts on a Mac, the font list in an application may be too long to be useful, and may make it difficult to find what you want.
You can disable fonts in Font Book, preventing rarely-used fonts from appearing on such lists. Select the font or font family in question in Font Book, and either right-click or enter the Edit menu, before selecting Disable Font.