[jaclaz]

I am looking for what I think is a simple tool, but I am literally overwhelmed from the results of searching/googling for it.
It seems like everyone, before or later has written a tool to preview fonts.

The tool I am looking for should have the following characteristics:

• be able to run on XP
  
• allow comparison preview of NON-installed fonts (like - example - fonts in a given directory or set of font files manually added to a list or from a pre-made list)
  
• allow a custom text to be used for the preview
  
• NOT needing/using .Net
  
• possibly (but not vital) needing NO install
  
• Freeware (yes, I am cheap)

To try and explain better what I am after, what I did in the past with my dinosaurish approach (and still do for lack of a better method/tool) is/was:

• install all fonts
  
• open a spreadsheet
  
• type the string i want in a cell
  
• copy the cell down n times
  
• type in the near colums the font name and the actual filename of the font file
  
• apply to each cell of the first column the correspondign font formatting
  
• insert a column on the left
  
• insert in cells in this leftmost column ordering numbers (from a visual comparison)
  
• re-order the whole set along the order number
  
• loop to #8 until I find a set of thre or four "similar enough" fonts to make further experiments
  
• finally choose the "right" font among the few selected with the above procedure

If anyone knows of some tools capable of doing something *like* the above in a simpler way, I would be very thankful for any suggestion, as well if there is a completely different approach leading to the same final result, I am all ears.

jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 16 September 2012 - 04:48 AM

[GrofLuigi]

1. Good old Font Thing (works on XP)

2. Lately I use ttfviewer Total Commander plugin for previewing fonts.

I think both fullfill all of your needs, except...

I don't understand the second criterium - do you need to compare two fonts or non-installed fonts (is the keyword in your sentence comparison or NON-installed? ) If the need is comparison, I just open two instances (windows) of the program, position them on the same place on screen and switch between them. *Edit: of course, they both can preview non-installed fonts.

*Edit 2 : Font thing can preview multiple fonts in a page, it that's what you meant.

GL

This post has been edited by GrofLuigi: 16 September 2012 - 01:44 PM

[jaclaz]

GrofLuigi, on 16 September 2012 - 01:24 PM, said:

1. Good old Font Thing (works on XP)

2. Lately I use ttfviewer Total Commander plugin for previewing fonts.

I think both fullfill all of your needs, except...

I don't understand the second criterium - do you need to compare two fonts or non-installed fonts (is the keyword in your sentence comparison or NON-installed? ) If the need is comparison, I just open two instances (windows) of the program, position them on the same place on screen and switch between them. *Edit: of course, they both can preview non-installed fonts.

*Edit 2 : Font thing can preview multiple fonts in a page, it that's what you meant.

GL

Thanks, almost perfect , though I do miss the possibility of quickly re-ordering the fonts....

jacla