Note: By far the most common problem users experience when moving font files from Mac to PC is that the font file was not copied correctly. See the Copying Mac Font Files to the PC section below for more information.

Symptom: A font does not show up in the CrossFont list box (under "Select font files to convert:").
    Problem: The "Convert From:" box does not have the correct font type selected.
        Solution: Select the proper font type in the "Convert From:" box.
    Problem: The submitted font was not copied from the Mac properly. Check the size of the file. If it is very small or zero, the file was not copied properly.
        Solution: See Copying Mac Font Files to the PC section for information on properly copying Mac font files.
    Problem: Submitted file is not a supported font type (TrueType/OpenType or PostScript Type1).
        Solution: Only TrueType/OpenType and PostScript Type1 fonts are supported.
    Problem: The font file was submitted directly from the /Windows/Fonts folder.
        Solution: Files in this folder are treated specially and may not open individually. Add the whole folder or copy the fonts to a temporary folder before submitting to CrossFont.

Symptom: Windows reports a converted TrueType font is not valid during font installation.
    Problem: Windows has more narrow requirements for TrueType fonts than the Mac OS. TrueType fonts from non-Windows machines may not have all of the information that Windows requires.
        Solution: Convert the font making sure to select all boxes under the "Make Windows Compatible" option in the Settings window. These options will add some information that Windows needs, but it can not guarantee compatibility.

Symptom: Larger characters of a PC TrueType font show up on the screen, but will not print.
    Problem: We have had reports of bad printer drivers causing this. type of problem.
        Solution: Update your printer driver.

Symptom: The wrong characters show up in a document for a converted PC Type1 font.
    Problem: Incorrect encoding table.
        Solution: Try changing the entry in the "Change Encoding To:" box to STANDARD.ENC. Be sure to generate a new PFM file for the new encoding. Do not change the encoding of non text fonts since it could make some or all characters unavailable.

Symptom: The wrong characters show up in a document for a converted TrueType font.
    Problem: Incorrect or missing encoding table.
        Solution: Use a font editing program (like Fontographer) to fix encoding.

Converting Mac Fonts to PC

Copying Mac Fonts Files to the PC:
The first step in converting is to move the Mac font files over to the PC. This may not be as easy as it sounds since for some Mac fonts the data may exist in the resource fork of the font file. These fonts require archiving (.zip, .sit) or encoding (.bin, .hqx) so the resource fork is not discarded. Various copy methods are shown below. See the Font Information Table for information on identifying font files.
NOTE: OS X data fork fonts (.dfont, .dfnt, .otf, .ttf) can be copied like normal files since the font information is in the data fork instead of the resource fork.

Copy from a zip archive: (Mac OS X 10.3 or later have native zip compression support)
1) Zip desired font files on the Mac. (ctrl-click fonts/folder and select "Create Archive of ...")
NOTE: Mac native zip archives can keep resource forks intact but it puts them into a folder called "__MACOSX" under names prefixed with "._"
2) Move the .zip archive to the PC using any method.
3) Drop the .zip archive onto the CrossFont window.
4) Follow the directions below under "Converting the Fonts".

Copy from a Stuffit (sit or sea) archive: (Use if the Mac has Stuffit software installed or if fonts are already in a Stuffit archive)
1) Stuff desired font files on the Mac. (CrossFont supports .sit and .sea but not .sitx archives)
2) Move the .sit archive to the PC using any method.
3) Drop the .sit archive onto the CrossFont window.
4) Follow the directions below under "Converting the Fonts".

Copy from a Mac disk using TransMac: (Best method if fonts are already on a Mac format removable disk or CD/DVD)
1) Download and install TransMac.
2) Copy the fonts/archives you want to convert from your Mac to a Mac format disk or CD/DVD.
3) Put the disk in your PC drive and start TransMac.
4) Select the disk in the TransMac treeview panel and browse for the font files.
5) Drag the font files to a folder on your PC in File Explorer or the desktop.
6) Follow the directions below under "Converting the Fonts".

Copy from a PC disk: (Use this method for later versions of Mac OS that can mount PC disks)
1) Open a PC disk or diskette on the Mac.
2) Create a folder to put the fonts in. (Fonts should be copied to a sub folder, not the root folder).
NOTE: When writing to a PC disk, the Mac creates a hidden folder where it writes the resource fork data (font data). This folder is called "Resource.frk". Since this is a hidden folder, the PC will not display it unless File Explorer is set up to show hidden files. By creating a sub folder, CrossFont will do the work searching for fonts and you will not have to worry about the hidden folder.
3) Copy the fonts into the folder.
4) Mount the disk on the PC and run CrossFont.
5) Drop the folder created in step 2 onto the CrossFont window.
6) Follow the directions below under "Converting the Fonts".

Converting the Fonts:
1) Move the Mac font files to your PC using a method above.
2) Drop the resulting font files/folders/archives onto the CrossFont window. CrossFont will automatically detect supported file types. A count of the added files are displayed in the "Convert from" box next to each font file type.
3) Select the original font type in the "Convert From" box.
4) The font names should show up in the "Select fonts to convert" list box.
NOTE: If a font does not show up in the list box, it may not be a Mac TrueType or Type1 font or it may not have been copied to the PC properly.
5a) For Type1 fonts select the PFB+PFM check box in the "Convert to" box (two files per font will be created).
5b) For TrueType/OpenType fonts select the OTF/TTF check box in the "Convert to" box.
6) Highlight the fonts you want to convert or you will be prompted to convert all of them.
7) Push convert button or select "Convert Selected" from the File menu or right click menu.
8) The font files will be converted and stored in the designated output folder. The output folder can be selected by pressing the button next to the text box. Leaving the box empty will create converted files in the same folders as the originals. The preferences dialog has an option to recreate the parent folders of the source files when converting.

Notes: CrossFont can convert files from zip and sit archives. When converting fonts from the "\Windows\Fonts" folder, use the add folder option to scan the entire folder. Adding individual fonts may not work since this is a special type of folder.
Make sure the fonts you are converting are PostScript Type1 or TrueType/OpenType. Here is how to identify them:
Windows TrueType/OpenType font: A single file with the extension .ttf or .otf.
Windows Type1 font: Two files with extensions .pfb and .pfm. To transfer kerning when converting a PC Type1 font you must submit a .pfm or .afm file that contains kerning. A font may or may not have kerning associated with it and kerning is
not required to use a font. If kerning is not required, a lone .pfb file can be submitted to CrossFont.

1) Drop the font files/folders/archives onto the CrossFont window.
2) Select the font type in the "Convert From" box (PFB or OTF/TTF).
4) The font names should show up in the "Select fonts to convert" list box.
NOTE: If a font does not show up in the list box, it may not be a PC TrueType or Type1 font.
5a) PFB - select the box "OTF" to create an OpenType CFF font (recommended for recent versions of Mac OS, older versions may not recognize it).
5b) PFB - select the box "LWFN+ffil" to create individual Type1 fonts (two files per font will be created).
5c) PFB - select the box "LWFN+FFIL" to create a Type1 font family (a maximum of 4 fonts can be selected for regular, bold, italic, bold-italic) (two files per font will be created).
Note: Recent versions of Mac OS recognize .TTF/.OTF fonts without conversion. They can be copied as is.
5c) TTF - select "tfil" to create individual TrueType fonts.
5d) TTF - select "FFIL" to create a TrueType font family (a maximum of 4 fonts can be selected for regular, bold, italic, bold-italic).
6) Highlight the fonts you want to convert. For individual fonts, highlight any number of entries. For a font family, highlight up to four entries (regular, bold, italic, bold-italic).
7) Push convert button or select "Convert Selected" from the File menu or right click menu.
8) Resource fork font files will be encoded as MacBinary files and stored in the selected output folder. The output folder can be browsed for by pressing the button next to the text box. Leaving the box empty will create converted files in the same
folders as the originals.
9) Copy the converted files to the Mac using any method (disk, CD, network, email, TransMac, etc.). Decode MacBinary encoded fonts by opening them or, for older OS versions, using Stuffit Expander (see our Web Links page). The fonts will be reconstituted and can be installed on the Mac.