"Font Viewer for Windows 7"

[CadillacPat]

"The Font Thing" is one of my most used programs for searching through my installed Fonts to use in the creation of Custom Decals.

I could type in my text and the same written words would appear in every Font I have installed.
All I had to do was scroll down through several hundred Fonts until I found one that was suitable.

It looks as though "The Font Thing" will not work with Windows 7.

Does anyone know of a Font Viewer (freeware??) that will,
A.) Work with Windows 7.
B.) Allow me to view the written text as it will appear in the style of the font.

Thanks,

Pat Parker

 

[torrentg]

Try running it in compatibility mode for its native os. Right click either the shortcut to the program or the .exe itself and choose properties. Compatibility tab. Check the box for run this program in compatibility mode. After you choose as OS, hit ok. Now try to run the app in question.

 

[Brink]

Hello Pat,

Windows 7 comes with a built-in font viewer that may work for you instead.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[CadillacPat]

Try running it in compatibility mode for its native os. Right click either the shortcut to the program or the .exe itself and choose properties. Compatibility tab. Check the box for run this program in compatibility mode. After you choose as OS, hit ok. Now try to run the app in question.

Thanks Torrentg,
But, The PC would not allow it even in Compatibility Mode.

Thanks Brink,
Just opening the Font folder displays Icons of all the fonts and on each Icon is a sample of the style.
This in itself is a bit helpful,
But,
With The Font Thing my written words were displayed repeatedly to the right of each and every Font.
Scrolling down through 1400 copies of the same word or phrase made it very easy to pick out a suitable Font and only took a couple of minutes.

I have installed Font Viewer which does allow me to type a phrase or even paragraph but I have to click onto each Font individually to see how the phrase appears.
Thee is no page full of the same phrase so I can't compare one font style with others above or below it.

I may have to accept using Font Viewer until The Font Thing offers a version for Windows 7 or I set up a cheap smaller PC and Monitor just to use it.

Thanks for the speedy replies,

Pat Parker

 

[torrentg]

You can run a Virtual XP inside of Windows 7 to accomplish what you want.

Head on over to the Virtualization part of the forum. I can't help with this but other users can. I don't run this myself.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/8247-windows-xp-mode-install-setup.html

and

Virtualization - Windows 7 Forums

 

[Scarfe]

Hi Pat
Ampsoft's Font VIewer does what you want as it lists all your installed fonts (or uninstalled if you have them in a separate directory) and it has a "scratch pad" which allows you to input your own text and view at in each font by using the cursor keys
It works great on Windows 7 and I use it a lot
You can get it at-
Download AMP Font Viewer - Freeware Software - Tucows
Scarfe

 

[Fallstar]

It looks as though "The Font Thing" will not work with Windows 7.

Go to the website's download page at LINK and download the non-installer, the second version labeled as Zipped EXE and help files (483K). The installer-package version is apparently not compatible with W7 (or 64-bit, which is what I run).

I unzipped the contents into a folder I named The Font Thing in my downloads folder, then double click the tft.exe file to launch it. If you get a popup/notification just click OK, and The Font Thing will run. Granted it's a little quirky at times, but it's useable.

 

[CadillacPat]

It looks as though "The Font Thing" will not work with Windows 7.

Go to the website's download page at LINK and download the non-installer, the second version labeled as Zipped EXE and help files (483K). The installer-package version is apparently not compatible with W7 (or 64-bit, which is what I run).

I unzipped the contents into a folder I named The Font Thing in my downloads folder, then double click the tft.exe file to launch it. If you get a popup/notification just click OK, and The Font Thing will run. Granted it's a little quirky at times, but it's useable.

Let me begin this by thanking all who replied with advice.

Fallstar, your simple method WORKED PERFECTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I now have Font Thing installed and working fine in Windows 7, just as I previously had it working in Windows XP.

This program and it's particularly unique view of multiple fonts all written in the same sample word or phrase is a huge benefit for choosing font styles in the making of my Custom Decals.

Each time I've come to this site I have been helped by knowledgable people in a quick and orderly fashion.
In a world where the words,"I don't have any idea" or "maybe" are far too often used by inept employees I can have faith in this "oasis of information" to solve my Windows 7 tech dilemmas and allow me to go about my business without further delay.

Thanks everyone, and a special thanks to FallStar,

Pat Parker
CadillacPat the UnCustomizer

 

[rowby]

Thanks Fallstar,

I also wanted to use The Font Thing (it's a great utility and is one of the first utilities I add when I set up a new computer for myself. No other font view works as nicely as The Font Thing.

Your solution works great.

Rowby
http://www.rowbyville.com

 

[rowby]

AMP Font Viewer TheFontThing

Hi Scarfe

I just noticed your recommendation of the AMP Font Viewer. I downloaded it and it looks pretty good. It appears to have the same (and probably more) features than The Font Thing.

Thanks -- I'm adding it to my bag of tricks.

..Rowby

Rowby

 

[Muad Dib]

I was looking for a font utility. Now I have two to choose from. Thanks!

 

[daftdeb]

I tried that withthe font thing and it just isn't working for me..I have aTON of fonts and have always kept them in a folder I can point the font thing to and then I find the font I want to use in my paint shop pro and when I open psp it's there because it is open in the font thing..now when I open it it only shows my installed fonts and I could care less about those..I want to see the ones I have paid for and need to use on a constant basis.it won't let me even point to the folder..it just freezes up and I tried the compatibility thing and it went through the whole thing just to tell me it isn't compatible,,This is a brand new computer and supposed to make me happy but all it is doing is making me frustrated and sad that most of the software I use everyday to make my graphics just won't work..is there any other program that you can point to a folder and it will read the fonts in there and allow you to see what you write?? I am miserable!!! I tried to dl the amp one mentioned above but my virus protector said it was very dangerous so I backed off..it never said that with the font thing!!

 

[CadillacPat]

The instructions FallStar gave worked fine for me.
I also installed AMP Font Viewer but found it just didn't compare to The Font Thing.

When installing new Fonts I first open PhotoShop and leave it open.
When finished installing any new Fonts I click onto the PhotoShop icon and all installed Fonts are immediately installed in PhotoShop and added to the PhotoShop drop down list.

Windows 7 makes installing new Fonts a breeze.

--CadillacPat the UnCustomizer--

 

[Fallstar]

daftdeb...how many fonts do you have installed in your Windows/Fonts folder? And how many fonts are in your other personal collection? The Font Thing will choke if you have a very large amount of fonts, and you point it to a folder containing all of them. I have my non-installed fonts separated into sub-folders depending on style. As far as my installed fonts, I have 300 fonts installed. I point TFT to a sub-folder that contains maybe a dozen fonts (favorites), and it remembers that location on subsequent sessions.

I tried that withthe font thing and it just isn't working for me..I have aTON of fonts and have always kept them in a folder I can point the font thing to and then I find the font I want to use in my paint shop pro and when I open psp it's there because it is open in the font thing..now when I open it it only shows my installed fonts and I could care less about those..I want to see the ones I have paid for and need to use on a constant basis.it won't let me even point to the folder..it just freezes up and I tried the compatibility thing and it went through the whole thing just to tell me it isn't compatible,,This is a brand new computer and supposed to make me happy but all it is doing is making me frustrated and sad that most of the software I use everyday to make my graphics just won't work..is there any other program that you can point to a folder and it will read the fonts in there and allow you to see what you write?? I am miserable!!! I tried to dl the amp one mentioned above but my virus protector said it was very dangerous so I backed off..it never said that with the font thing!!

 

[daftdeb]

well I finally got it working..the problem was that subfolders was checked and when I refreshed it would switch over to my F drive(my extra 1 terabyte internal hd) and start scanning and freeze because I have lots of stuff in there...once I unchecked the subfolders before I pressed refresh..it allowed me to point it to where I wanted to go..I also keep all my fonts in different folders under a main font folder..I have fat,thin,scripty,novelty,valentines,st pats, old times looking,shapes,loopy,grungy,gorjuss type, and the list goes on lol but I only point to one of those at a time or I think the font thing would go nuts..

I have 476 installed fonts and 5,408 in my other folders under fonts in my documents... I also have a font download folder where I dl all my zips,unzip them and then after I look at them all, place them in the proper folders.. I make a lot of siggy tags for several groups I am in and I use many different fonts. I am a font hog lolol I am always seeing new ones that would look good on my tags.

 

[CadillacPat]

I have 1811 Fonts installed in my PC.
They all show up in Font Thing and they all display in the PhotoShop drop down menu.
Everything works quick as lightning with no problems.

I chose all my Fonts individually by browsing the Net.
It's never a good idea to install any of the huge Font packages that are offered as many are useless or almost identical to other Fonts.

--CadillacPat the UnCustomizer--

 

[Fallstar]

Hi all,

Just wanted to let everyone know that I found a nice font viewer that's free and works well in Windows 7. I just downloaded & installed it, and tested it. I also tested it opened/minimized while working in Paint Shop Pro X2, and PSP was able to recognize the fonts that I had open (which are uninstalled fonts). It automatically defaults to show your Windows installed fonts on first launch (was very quick to open though), but you can add (+) folders or sub-folders to the left-side menu and check-mark only the folder(s) you want to view...plus it remembers the folder you were viewing when you close it. There's also a Favorites that you can add fonts or groups of fonts to. Very nice!

Nexus Font > http://xiles.net/programs/

 

[ErikW]

I tried the AMP Font Viewer and I really like it. One cool thing is that if you go into Options and change the Default sample to the text you want to see and hit OK and then Ctrl T to open the main viewer window you get a nice big layout of your text in all of the fonts available. You can adjust the size, color and even the number of columns and then just use your mouse scroll wheel to browse through them. Really nice!

-E

 

[Mirabel]

Thanks, thanks, thanks

Hi everyone,
I have come accidentally to this forum and I found very pertinent questions and answers. I just wanted to thank the whole team for your clear explanations, tips and help. I found nowhere such precision and for the old lady that I am you are really a precious help.
Thanks for the different information about that precious tool (font viewer). I could not used the previous one since I changed for a new OS.
Forgive my bad english, I am a frenchie granny and not sure to be understandable.

 

[elnorac]

Thank you Fallstar!

Geez, man, you wouldn't believe how happy you've made me by describing this fix! I'm an avid digital scrap book enthusiast (and a total nerd), and The Font Thing was one of my favorite tools. When I switched to Windows 7, I was devastated to learn that I couldn't use it.

Thank you so, so much!