Why doesn’t AE see my fonts?

Adobe After Effects

Why doesn’t AE see my fonts?

Posted by Scott Clark on July 27, 2011 at 6:00 pm

Hi all,

I am currently working on a project and having a bit of difficulty. I am creating some slides based on an illustrator project, however AE CS 5.5 is not showing some of the fonts I need to use in the font selection drop-down. The strange thing is, in Illustrator CS 5.1 the font is there (Specifically I am referring to Helvetica 77 Bold Condensed, which is a TTF).

I need to be able to use this font in AE, but it doesn’t show up as a choice. Can anyone shed some light? (I do have this font installed and have re-installed several times to no avail.)

Thanks,
Scott

Walter Soyka replied 15 years ago 2 Members · 3 Replies
3 Replies

Walter Soyka
July 28, 2011 at 2:13 pm

You should be able to first select Helvetica (the font family), then 77 Bold Condensed (the font style) in the pulldown immediately below the family in the Character palette.

Are you sure it’s Helvetica and not Helvetica Neue? Or perhaps the font name actually includes the foundry as well?

If you’re still not seeing it, perhaps an AE preference restore is in order — hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift (Windows) or Command+Option+Shift (Mac OS) while the AE is starting.

If you need a quick workaround, set your type in Illustrator, convert it to outlines, then import the AI file into AE.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events
Scott Clark
July 28, 2011 at 6:33 pm

Thanks for your suggestions. For some reason, I see Helvetica CE, LT, and Neue but not a straight Helvetica option. I have checked my fonts folder and see a specific .ttf named Helvetica 77 Bold Condensed (among many others) but it does not show up. Oddly enough, there are plenty of other specific styles that show up on the drop down as their own fonts (e.g. Helvetica Neue LT 97 BlackCn) but I cannot get any straight up Helvetica anywhere.
Walter Soyka
July 28, 2011 at 7:04 pm

[Scott Clark] “I see Helvetica CE, LT, and Neue but not a straight Helvetica option.”

CE is for Central European, and LT is for Linotype (the name of the foundry that released the font).

Helvetica LT is probably the one that Illustrator is reporting to you as Helvetica.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

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