Fixing Style Linking on a Retail Font
Adam King
Posts: 9
Is there a way to FIX the style linking on a purchased retail font? When in a Microsoft application on a Windows PC, like Powerpoint, and you change the weight of the type to Bold using the "B" it selects the demi-bold weight of the font.
Another odd issue is that a user on a Windows PC doesn't even see the Bold weight in the font menu.
Another odd issue is that a user on a Windows PC doesn't even see the Bold weight in the font menu.
0
Comments
-
Does the font have a Bold weight ?
0 -
Paul's question seems like a good check. Or whether the user has that Bold installed.
Normally, a user on a Windows PC doesn't see the Bold weight in the font menu, if it IS style linked. At least, that's the classic Windows way of showing fonts, some apps do it differently nowadays. So that part doesn't seem odd at all.
But that combined with the other thing... that is odd.
And yes, it is technically possible to go in and surgically change the naming and style linking. It would involve unlinking the demi-bold and linking the bold in its place—modifying both of those files. Which in most cases with “purchased retail fonts” is not allowed by their license terms. So, I would contact the vendor/foundry/designer for support.2 -
Yes @Paul Miller the font does have a bold weight.
Thank you @Thomas Phinney for your insight.
The typeface is Avenir Next LT Pro, with a full complement of weights and widths, was purchased as a corporate-wide license. The reason I asked about fixing the style linking is that the foundry, has so far been unresponsive to any support requests.1 -
I once had a client that had used a macro or a routine in VisualBasic to get the right font when using the bold-button or ctrl+B.0
-
Unfortunately, Monotype/Linotype is one of those foundries that absolutely forbids font modifications. So you are out of luck, at least in what can be done legally.
Also, in a corporate environment, this would be a tricky thing; you need to make sure every single copy is fixed. And there can be complications with outside vendors. So in cases when one can and does make a change, best to also tweak the family name.2 -
Families like Avenir or Frutiger don't necessarily follow the logic of a Regular weight linking to the Bold weight, so if the Regular weight (I'm assuming you are using the Regular weight) links to the Demi weight that might be exactly what the foundry intended.4
-
Avenir has a regular and a medium. So regular is probably linked to demi and medium is is linked to bold.1
-
I can confirm James's surmise about the medium and bold weights in Avenir Next LT Pro. I obtained these two weights a few years ago in Monotype's Foundation Collection. I just installed them on a Mac, and the medium and bold weights are indeed style linked. It's been years since I used Windows, but perhaps the style linkage between medium and bold is the reason why the bold does not show up independently in the font menu.
I did not install the fonts before because the Mac came with its own version of Avenir Next (not LT Pro). This Mac version style links regular and bold. The contrast between them is unusually large. I prefer the linkage of medium and bold.0
Categories
- All Categories
- 43 Introductions
- 3.7K Typeface Design
- 799 Font Technology
- 1K Technique and Theory
- 617 Type Business
- 444 Type Design Critiques
- 541 Type Design Software
- 30 Punchcutting
- 136 Lettering and Calligraphy
- 83 Technique and Theory
- 53 Lettering Critiques
- 483 Typography
- 301 History of Typography
- 114 Education
- 68 Resources
- 498 Announcements
- 79 Events
- 105 Job Postings
- 148 Type Releases
- 165 Miscellaneous News
- 269 About TypeDrawers
- 53 TypeDrawers Announcements
- 116 Suggestions and Bug Reports