Font Issue: Font appears in available fonts, but not selectable.

Apr 26, 2013

Setup: Articulate Storyline Update 2 on a virtual machine (Windows 7 64 bit).

I'm running into an issue to where I can't use a client provided font. It shows up in my list of available fonts in Storyline, but when you go to select it, it immediately reverts to the Articulate default font. I've published several times to ensure that it wasn't just a problem rendering the text inside the workable document.

I saw in some other posts that Windows 7 has had some issues recently with handling OTFs. I've uninstalled/reinstalled the font, rebooted, and am still having the issue. The font works just fine in MS Office, but wont allow me to select it in Storyline. Is this a known issue or still an issue that is tied back to the December 2012 Windows 7 security update?

Thanks ahead of time for any help to resolve the issue.

8 Replies
Christine Hendrickson

Welcome to E-Learning Heroes, Pete!

Are you running Storyline through Parallels on a Mac, or through a VM with a Microsoft OS? If you're running this through a virtual machine, you may want to try running the installation on your primary OS, instead, if you're not using a Mac.

Yes, the Windows Update issue should have been resolved in Update 2. Out of curiosity, have you tried removing the Windows update, to see if it makes a difference? 

Also, the font that was shared with you by your client - did they share the actual font file, or simply use it in the course? Make sure that the actual font is installed on the machine. 

You may also want to make sure that you're working with local project files:

  • Work on your local drive (your C: drive). Working on a network drive or a USB drive can cause erratic behavior, including file corruption, loss of audio, and other unexpected behavior. 
  • You should also make sure the directory path to your project files and your published output is less than 260 characters (for example C:\Articulate).
  • Avoid using special characters, accents or symbols in your file names (this includes spaces and underscores).

Additional information regarding "Naming Files, Paths, and Namespaces" in Windows operating systems can be found in the following Microsoft article.

Let me know if you still have trouble with this font, Pete.

Thanks!

Christine

Pete Rix

Thanks for the reply Christine!

Here's the rundown:

  • Running Parallels on a Mac.
  • Windows update has been uninstalled and OS rebooted.
  • They supplied the actual font file that has been installed properly and works on Windows machine in other programs.
  • All the project files and fonts are located within the virtual machine.
  • Following naming convention standards.

Problem still exists.

Christine Hendrickson

Hi Pete!

Thanks very much for that information :)

I would suggest checking the DPI on the windows side, if you haven't already. Storyline doesn't currently support 120 DPI. If your system is set to 120 DPI, you may experience erratic behavior, such as:

*  Elements of the application are misplaced or distorted.

*  Objects are misplaced or distorted when previewed or published.

*  Zoomed images don't work as expected.

*  Font sizes are incorrect after using the translation features.

Here's how you can switch to 96 DPI.

You may also want to check your zoom settings (I couldn't see this portion of the screen in the recording). Is your zoom set above or below 100%? If so, try setting the zoom to 100% and see if that makes a difference. I have seen some issues where this has caused problems with rendering/display of correct fonts.

Also, have you tried testing the font outside of Storyline? I don't know if you have access to Word, but if you have another text editing program you could test this in, it would be helpful. 

If you still have no luck, are you able to share the font file? I can try testing it on my end, if you'd like.

Thanks very much, Pete!

Christine

Christine Hendrickson

Hi Pete,

Sounds good. Let me know if you have any progress after trying the TTF.

That brings me to another thought, however, is the font OTF, then? If so, this may be related to an issue I've seen in the past:

If you're using OpenType (OTF) fonts in Articulate Storyline, you may find that text doesn't look right when you preview or publish. Storyline supports OpenType fonts. However, a Microsoft Windows update released December 11, 2012 prevents OpenType fonts from rendering properly.
We provided a programmatic workaround for this issue in Update 2 for Storyline. 
Please review the following article for more information:
I'm not sure if that will keep you from selecting the font, however. Curious to see if that enables the font from the drop-down.
Thanks!
Christine

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