Customer Reviews

Extensis SUITCASE X1 (Mac)

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1 star:		(4)

 

 

This program is buggy. Stick with font book that comes with OSX. This release has problems with:

Not saving settings, not loading fonts correctly for use, constant conflict problems, Ive had multiple problems with the program crashing on startup requiring me to go in and manually clean out fonts. I never write reviews but the amount of headache this program has given me prompted me to spread the word. AVOID SUITCASE AT ALL COSTS!

I bought this because I'm a graphic designer and I have 1000+ fonts on my system at once. And that can really slow things down, and it can also really cause problems if just one of those fonts gets corrupted. So I thought I needed a big "powerful" solution like Suitcase. Turns out, the Font Book that is PART of OS X Panther, does everything I need. It lets you preview fonts, it lets you disable and enable them. Its a very powerful little app, and its FREE. Font Suitcase sucks. It doesn't seem to work at all. Its manual does very little to really explain how your supposed to really use the app. It doesn't explain things well at all. I'm a pretty smart guy, and I couldn't figure out how to get all my fonts into the program properly, and when I could get them to show up, I couldn't turn any of them on or off. Suitcase is a mess. It is a waste of money and a waste of time. Font Book, that comes with OS X 10.3 is the best app. So simple, so easy to use, so effective. So Apple.

If could give it no stars I would. Clicking manage system fonts was essentially a death sentence for my machine. It screwed it up so bad I had to switch all my software to another mac in order to make my deadline. Absolutely, totally, one of the most abysmal pieces of software ever created.

Minor bugs are bad enough, but a total system collapse is totally inexcusable.

I've been a Macintosh consultant to graphic artists for over 15 years. Suitcase was always THE solution for font management. However, Extensis was never able to get X1 working under Mac OS X. I suggest you avoid this version at all costs. After several rounds with Extensis tech support, whose advice consisted mostly of ineffective and unhelpful (but lengthy) procedures, I gave up and switched to FontAgent Pro. I haven't had a SINGLE crash in the year since I made that move. Compare that with the almost daily crashes of Suitcase X1 under Mac OS 10.4.x. Buyer beware.

On the plus side (hehe) the included FontDoctor and Font Book are great little programs. They can be purchased separately, however.