This is not a new thing just getting really annoying here lately. We load all fonts to the windows directory. We also have a "Font Swap directory on our network. That way if a designer needs to pull up something designed by someone else and the font is missing font manager can load it as long as that person has their font manager set to look there. Anyway, on any given day we can pull up a file we were working on the previous day and the font is missing and also missing from the network directory. Today I begin a new doc and begin to design some parking signs. I try to choose the font we've used for years and the whole font family is gone. I can see them all in FM but can't install them from there due to a recent network rebuild (network problem with permissions os some thing). I have to copy them to the desktop them install them then delete them from the desktop to uncutter.
Aside from networking issues, CorelDRAW 2020 definitely does have internal problems at showing all fonts installed on the computer's local hard disc. I have to keep version 2018 running on my computer due to the fonts that come up missing in version 2020. They're all present in the 2020 Font Manager and Windows Fonts Folder, but not in the CDR 2020 application itself.
Here's a strange occurrence too. Maybe it's my misunderstanding of the whole embedding of fonts thing. I open a file I created a few days earlier and I go to copy & paste some of the text within that file. I get the pop-up message saying the font is missing and see that it can be installed via font manager. I click yes/ok but then the font still shows as an embedded font. I then copy and paste it. That text doesn't show as being embedded. Delete the embedded version and replace with the newly created.
The behaviors you get with using embedded fonts are SCARY. It's one of the first things I turn off in CorelDRAW.
Yeah, I never use the font embedding feature in CorelDRAW. Once my sign designs are finalized I convert all type objects to outlines. It's easy enough to repopulate text objects if needed.
I can see maybe creating a duplicate within the finalized with fonts converted and leaving one with live fonts. Wouldn't make sense to have two seperate files. How would it be " easy enough to repopulate text" otherwise? Unless you include a note of the fonts used. We, too, leave fonts live and convert on output to the print RIP.
For most kinds of signs there really is no advantage to leaving the layout with active fonts present. And there are multiple potential drawbacks. The only exception is a layout that has large passages of text. That's not very common for most signs. And when that does occur I either include a copy of the specific font file(s) used in that folder or at least include notes about it on the project spec sheet. That way if I have to open that file 10 years from now I'll at least have some chance of opening it accurately.Most finished sign designs should behave digitally no different than a logo file. I don't have to install any fonts when I open a logo file or other branding assets to use on a sign project for a large company. When the fonts are converted to outlines any co-worker that accesses the artwork across the network to use on a routing table, vinyl cutter, etc won't have to install any fonts. The file can be opened 20 years from now and there won't be any danger of a certain font format being deprecated or even eliminated. I have some old Type 1 Multiple Master fonts I can use only if I fire up a 90's era PC (and 90's era Adobe software) or run an old version of Windows in a virtual machine. I worry support for regular Postscript Type 1 fonts will be completely removed from Windows. I have a bunch of old T1 fonts I still use.Type objects can get really twisted around and distorted in sign designs (especially with some of the hacks working in this industry). Having the artwork "flattened" (to use an Adobe term) will make it more reliable to open if the artwork has to be re-used years later.
Wow, having old designs get pulled up after 5 years would be a near miracle on my end. I'd estimate that that 99.9% of our work never gets revisited at all. Even with franchise work we get new files every time.