OS X Mountain Lion Bible

Where Fonts Reside

OS X stores fonts in several locations, which can be confusing. Here are the fonts' locations and what is stored (or should be stored) in each:

• /Library/Fonts: This folder contains the fonts that come preinstalled with OS X, as well as fonts installed by a user with administrator privileges for use by all users, whether through Apple's Font Book application (covered later in this chapter) or simply copied to that folder. The fonts installed here are available to all users.

• /System/Library/Fonts: This folder contains the essential fonts needed by OS X. You should never add or delete fonts in this folder. The fonts here are available to all users.

• /username/Library/Fonts: This folder contains fonts available to just that user, typically installed by a user with or without administrator privileges.

• /Network/Library/Fonts: If you're running OS X over a network, this folder contains the fonts that the network administrator has installed for all network users to have access to.

The simplest way to install fonts is to copy or move the files to the appropriate font folder. The safest way is to use the Font Book application that comes with OS X, so you avoid the possibility of placing them in the wrong location or of deleting necessary files in those folders while you're there.

New Feature

If you're working with a Chinese dialect (see Chapter 27), OS X Mountain Lion adds eight Chinese fonts for you to use.