One of the primary functions of a font manager is helping you find the fonts you need quickly and easily. FontAgent® provides two search facilities for finding fonts in your FontAgent catalog: Quick Search and Smart Search.
Using Quick Search
Quick Search provides a Google-like experience. You simply type into the Search field (in the upper-right of the FontAgent window) what you’re looking for and FontAgent lists all fonts with a matching name, foundry, copyright, style, tag, comment, metric or other metadata value.
What is a Smart Search?
Smart Search allows you specify complex search with multiple, specific criteria. It is accessible from two places in FontAgent:
- When you click the magnifying glass in the Search field
- When you define a Smart Set
The remainder of this article is about using Smart Search to define helpful searches in your workflow. To start a Smart Search, click the magnifying glass icon in the Search field and FontAgent displays the Smart Search dialog.
Selecting Smart Search Criteria
In the first column of the dialog, FontAgent lets you specify the characteristics that you want to search. You can choose from the following characteristics:
Font name
Foundry name
Foundry code
Font file format
Font slant
Font weight
Font proportion
Font traits
Copyright
Trademark
Description
Activation Status
Tags
Comments
Ratings 1 to 5 stars
Sample Smart Search Definitions
The table below illustrates some sample Smart Sets and their associated criteria. Note that these are only examples. The right Smart Sets for you are limited only by your creative needs and imagination.
| Smart Set | Set Description | Smart Set Search Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Favorites | Fonts rated 4 or more stars | Rating is: – Fill in 4 stars |
| Monotype | Monotype library fonts | Match any of: – Font Name contains Monotype – Foundry Name contains Monotype – Copyright contains Monotype |
| OpenType | Fonts whose file format is OpenType | Font Type is OpenType |
| Monotype OpenType | Monotype fonts whose file format is OpenType | Match all of: – Foundry Name contains Monotype – Font Type is OpenType |
| Bold | Fonts heavier than regular book weight | Weight is: – Check semi-bold, bold and black |
| Light | Fonts lighter than regular or book weight | Weight is: – Check thin and light |
| Slanted Font Name | Fonts with Italic, Slanted or Oblique in their names | Match any of: – Font Name contains italic – Font Name contains slanted – Font Name contains oblique |
| Italic Metric | Fonts that slant to the right | Slant is italic |
| Condensed | Fonts whose character width is less than normal | Proportion is: – Check Narrow, Condensed and Semi-Condensed |
| Expanded | Fonts whose character width is greater than normal | Proportion is: – Check Extended and Wide |
| Everest | Fonts tagged for Everest project | Font is tagged Everest |
| Job 34752 | Fonts used in print job 34752 | Match any of: – Font Tags contains 34752 – Comments contains 34752 |
Best Practices for Defining and Using Smart Sets
Here is a summary of best practices for defining and using Smart Sets in FontAgent:
- Create dynamic Smart Sets based on criteria rather than static sets when you can, since Smart Sets automatically update their contents as you add fonts to your catalog.
- Use disclosure triangles in the Sets Sidebar to show and hide Smart Sets and preserve the usability of your Sets Sidebar.
- Use Smart Sets based on tags to associate fonts with temporary projects or ones that come and go over time.
- For infrequent and one-time searches, rather than specifying Smart Sets, use FontAgent’s powerful Search facility, which finds any matching font information automatically.