All iPads Why is it so DAMN DIFFICULT to install FONTS?!

[eicca]

I have a small collection of .ttf files in my iCloud Drive that I use for creative and business purposes.

HOW THE HELL DO I INSTALL THEM ON MY iPAD?!

Apple's utterly useless support page says "visit the app store to download an app to install fonts."

But all I can find is apps that force you to use their collection.

How the HELL do I install my own fonts?

AND WHY IS THIS SO CONVOLUTED?! What happened to "It Just Works"?

 

[StellarVixen]

I have a small collection of .ttf files in my iCloud Drive that I use for creative and business purposes.

HOW THE HELL DO I INSTALL THEM ON MY iPAD?!

Apple's utterly useless support page says "visit the app store to download an app to install fonts."

But all I can find is apps that force you to use their collection.

How the HELL do I install my own fonts?

AND WHY IS THIS SO CONVOLUTED?! What happened to "It Just Works"?

Wow there, what are you thinking, that you're on Mac or something?

 

[eicca]

Wow there, what are you thinking, that you're on Mac or something?

Does Apple not intend for the iPad to be used for creatives?

Fonts are THE SINGLE MOST BASIC element of any creative process of involving text.

This should be a two-second baked-in procedure. What an appalling oversight by the designers.

 

[hg.wells]

Follow these steps 😊

Install and manage fonts on iPad

On iPad, download fonts from the App Store, then use them in documents you create.

support.apple.com

 

[sparksd]

Does this help?

 

[StellarVixen]

Follow these steps 😊

Install and manage fonts on iPad

On iPad, download fonts from the App Store, then use them in documents you create.

support.apple.com

I think that's the "Apple's utterly useless support page" he mentions

 

[eicca]

Follow these steps 😊

Install and manage fonts on iPad

On iPad, download fonts from the App Store, then use them in documents you create.

support.apple.com

Those aren't steps. That's Apple telling me they've washed their hands of the issue and I'm at the mercy of third-parties to install fonts.

Does this help?

Kind of. Having to use configuration profiles is a janky convoluted workaround that takes forever and is super disorganized.

But I guess if Apple can't figure out something as basic as installing a .ttf file on a CREATIVE DEVICE then iFont will have to do.

 

[sparksd]

Those aren't steps. That's Apple telling me they've washed their hands of the issue and I'm at the mercy of third-parties to install fonts.

Kind of. Having to use configuration profiles is a janky convoluted workaround that takes forever and is super disorganized.

But I guess if Apple can't figure out something as basic as installing a .ttf file on a CREATIVE DEVICE then iFont will have to do.

When you figure this out, then you can figure out how to put an mp3 file in the music app without iTunes or iMazing.

 

[eicca]

When you figure this out, then you can figure out how to put an mp3 file in the music app without iTunes or iMazing.

Why on earth would I need to do that? If the goal is putting an MP3 file in the Music app to be listened to, Apple has made that easy to do.

If the goal is putting a custom font into a creative project, which is a basic requirement of the demographic to which the iPad is marketed, Apple has made that infuriatingly difficult to do.

 

[Slartibart]

Use e.g. the free Fontcase. There are other apps like iFont or xFont which allow for more comfort when juggeling profiles (especially iFont, highly recommended), but Fontcase does the job. The installed fonts will be available system-wide, so you can use them in e.g. Affinity Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, Vectornator & Co.

 

[sparksd]

Why on earth would I need to do that? If the goal is putting an MP3 file in the Music app to be listened to, Apple has made that easy to do.

If the goal is putting a custom font into a creative project, which is a basic requirement of the demographic to which the iPad is marketed, Apple has made that infuriatingly difficult to do.

I'd rather not need to attach the iPad to a computer to put an mp3 into the music app. Good luck.

 

[cupcakes2000]

I have a small collection of .ttf files in my iCloud Drive that I use for creative and business purposes.

HOW THE HELL DO I INSTALL THEM ON MY iPAD?!

Apple's utterly useless support page says "visit the app store to download an app to install fonts."

But all I can find is apps that force you to use their collection.

How the HELL do I install my own fonts?

AND WHY IS THIS SO CONVOLUTED?! What happened to "It Just Works"?

It’s ridiculously easy to install fonts in an iPad. You need an app for it, but that’s hardly a surprise in an app first OS.

If you don’t know how to do it it’s an extremely quick Google, and the answers fill the first 3 pages.

I’m not sure there is any need for such a dramatic post about it, unless of course you just wish to start a Mac v iPad thread greased and ready to just drop straight in to iPad bash fest. Yawn.

 

[eicca]

It’s ridiculously easy to install fonts in an iPad. You need an app for it, but that’s hardly a surprise in an app first OS.

If you don’t know how to do it it’s an extremely quick Google, and the answers fill the first 3 pages.

I’m not sure there is any need for such a dramatic post about it, unless of course you just wish to start a Mac v iPad thread greased and ready to just drop straight in to iPad bash fest. Yawn.

It is NOT ridiculously easy, it's a UX disaster.

Product development basics: Who's your target audience, and what do they need your product to do?

According to Apple, the target of iPads is creative people. What do they need to do? Install fonts. So WHY does Apple insist on hocking the responsibility off to 3rd-party devs to handle a fundamental functionality, and do so in a way that makes absolutely no sense and requires web research and possibly even spending money to make it happen? It's an appallingly bad implementation of an essential function.

Since you bring it up, Mac is infinitely better at font management. Double click and done. How it should be on the creative-targeted device.

 

[Howard Ellacott]

If you own a Mac you can use Apple Configurator to create a profile that includes your font files, and then install them on the iPad. It's a bit convoluted but it works for custom fonts that aren't from the App Store.

 

[cupcakes2000]

It is NOT ridiculously easy, it's a UX disaster.

Product development basics: Who's your target audience, and what do they need your product to do?

According to Apple, the target of iPads is creative people. What do they need to do? Install fonts. So WHY does Apple insist on hocking the responsibility off to 3rd-party devs to handle a fundamental functionality, and do so in a way that makes absolutely no sense and requires web research and possibly even spending money to make it happen? It's an appallingly bad implementation of an essential function.

Since you bring it up, Mac is infinitely better at font management. Double click and done. How it should be on the creative-targeted device.

Download app.
Load fonts into app.
Install fonts into system.

Whilst it’s not as simple to install as the mac, it’s no surprise. It’s not a mac and the system doesn’t work anything like a mac. But it’s definitely not hard, and once it’s installed it’s extremely easy to manage.

Everything on the iPad requires an app. If you didn’t know that then I don’t know what to tell you.

You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. There are several terrible limitations on the iPad in comparison to a Mac, if you really want to compare them as if they’re the same machine. But installing fonts is just something that is done slightly differently and then works exactly the same.

 

[Shirasaki]

Welcome to Apple’s “what’s a computer” campaign, when fantasy overtakes reality.
I have no idea why apple even introduce the font installation feature in the first place, if they know from the ground up iPadOS is incapable of managing fonts. Looks more like a self-serving shallow gesture than anything else.

 

[Jessica Lares]

Affinity apps themselves have a feature to install fonts within the app itself.

Fonts are easy to install on a Mac until you have a problem. That is why they make it complicated. They need to have a way for you to use them in your creative work, but they'd rather not deal with the people who just want to use a fancy font in their messenger app who are the ones who will download anything off of anywhere.

 

[Analog Kid]

Download app.
Load fonts into app.
Install fonts into system.

Everything on the iPad requires an app. If you didn’t know that then I don’t know what to tell you.

This is kind of the problem though-- why do you need a 3rd party app to load fonts into the first party system? I understand if they don't just open up a font folder somewhere because it's not sufficiently well sandboxed, but there should at least be a 1st party app to handle this.

@eicca is right-- this is marketed, at least in part, as a tool for creatives and the "app first" approach is meant to make the system feel easy to use. I hadn't tried this before, but it sounds like it fails on both fronts with fonts.

That said, you might want to choose a font with fewer caps next time, @eicca ...

 

[MallardDuck]

It is NOT ridiculously easy, it's a UX disaster.

Product development basics: Who's your target audience, and what do they need your product to do?

According to Apple, the target of iPads is creative people. What do they need to do? Install fonts. So WHY does Apple insist on hocking the responsibility off to 3rd-party devs to handle a fundamental functionality, and do so in a way that makes absolutely no sense and requires web research and possibly even spending money to make it happen? It's an appallingly bad implementation of an essential function.

Since you bring it up, Mac is infinitely better at font management. Double click and done. How it should be on the creative-targeted device.

For all that some may want to pretend otherwise, the iPad is much more a content consumption device than a content creation device. You’re experiencing that firsthand unfortunately. The Mac is vastly better for exactly this kind of reason.

 

[eicca]

This is kind of the problem though-- why do you need a 3rd party app to load fonts into the first party system? I understand if they don't just open up a font folder somewhere because it's not sufficiently well sandboxed, but there should at least be a 1st party app to handle this.

@eicca is right-- this is marketed, at least in part, as a tool for creatives and the "app first" approach is meant to make the system feel easy to use. I hadn't tried this before, but it sounds like it fails on both fronts with fonts.

That said, you might want to choose a font with fewer caps next time, @eicca ...

I’m glad you picked up on the caps thing

 

[eicca]

For all that some may want to pretend otherwise, the iPad is much more a content consumption device than a content creation device. You’re experiencing that firsthand unfortunately. The Mac is vastly better for exactly this kind of reason.

Then Apple is blatantly marketing it incorrectly, even though I do agree that Mac is king.

 

[Analog Kid]

the iPad is much more a content consumption device than a content creation device.

I‘d probably say Apple has focused more on enabling content consumption than content creation. I don’t think it’s necessarily a characteristic of the device.

And the pencil sure is nifty…

 

[cupcakes2000]

This is kind of the problem though-- why do you need a 3rd party app to load fonts into the first party system? I understand if they don't just open up a font folder somewhere because it's not sufficiently well sandboxed, but there should at least be a 1st party app to handle this.

@eicca is right-- this is marketed, at least in part, as a tool for creatives and the "app first" approach is meant to make the system feel easy to use. I hadn't tried this before, but it sounds like it fails on both fronts with fonts.

That said, you might want to choose a font with fewer caps next time, @eicca ...

Yep I agree - it should be built in to settings or files. But that doesn’t detract from the fact that installing fonts is an extremely easy thing to do.

 

[iAFC]

Download app.
Load fonts into app.
Install fonts into system.

Whilst it’s not as simple to install as the mac, it’s no surprise. It’s not a mac and the system doesn’t work anything like a mac. But it’s definitely not hard, and once it’s installed it’s extremely easy to manage.

Everything on the iPad requires an app. If you didn’t know that then I don’t know what to tell you.

You’re making a mountain out of a molehill. There are several terrible limitations on the iPad in comparison to a Mac, if you really want to compare them as if they’re the same machine. But installing fonts is just something that is done slightly differently and then works exactly the same.

Needing an app to do anything used to be the case before iOS 11, when we had no file management. Nowadays this should be a bit more straightforward.

 

[Slartibart]

Needing an app to do anything used to be the case before iOS 11, when we had no file management. Nowadays this should be a bit more straightforward.

to be fair: to install fonts in e.g. DaVinci Resolve, Affinity Designer/Photo/Publisher, ProCreate etc. is as straight forward as it gets -> download font, unzip if necessary, copy to folder. That is, on individual app level it is simple and transparent.

On system level it’s - as already pointed out - let’s say: quite unique? 😂🤪

Of course it would be nice if Apple would bring at least Fontbook to iPadOS - btw. the “official”, via Appstore-way to install fonts is as straight forward UX-wise at it gets, you’ll end up with a simple Fonts folder under the General-setting - but for the moment e.g. iFont covers most font management features quite comfortable:

and with a little thought the free Fontcase operates similar, e.g. you can easily create single font (or font family)-, project-related font-, or typographic features related font group-profiles and install (or remove them) them in 3 steps from your iPad.

But yes, something nicer included with iPadOS or at least e.g. “iPadOS profile”-support by font foundries or websites would be grand.