Too Many Fonts

[ffutures]

I have an annoying problem - over the years I've installed a LOT of fonts in my Windows box, many of which have never been used. The problem is that huge numbers of fonts can apparently slow things down a lot, and I can easily believe that's one of the reasons why my PC now takes about five minutes to boot.

The trouble is that some of them probably are used - typically in one or two documents - and I would really rather not load the document at some future point then find that I have to replace a load of drop caps or something of the sort.

Is there any way to run some sort of audit that checks all of the documents and fonts, and comes up with a list of fonts that aren't actually in any document? Then if possible lets you choose which ones you want to keep and deletes the rest.

Any thoughts?

[Commander_X]

My approach would be:
- zip-up the whole content of the fonts folder
- remove/uninstall most of the fonts (if possible leave only windows out-of-the-box fonts, and those you're really into at this time)
- restart
- keep the zip file handy -- when you need to use a document with fonts not installed, drop them in, remove them after usage, and maybe just group them with the document afterwards, to reduce the discovery phase later

[ffutures]

That's one answer, I suppose. Thanks!

[spud42]

just checked font settings. Was hoping that the font would show the date last used but it doesent. you can install a shortcut to the font to save space but not sure if that would speed up boot times.

check your temp file folders you might have a ton of stuff there thats not used. also check the startup to see if any programs have reset themselves to checking for updates online at boot... bloody windows does this especially the microsoft stuff...

how many fonts do you have? i just checked mine and i have 132...

[Commander_X]

[...] you can install a shortcut to the font to save space but not sure if that would speed up boot times. [...]

Yes, even with font shortcuts, Windows would have to manage a "font cache" file (not sure where it resides in the later versions). Unlike the Linux counterpart, this cannot be dealt with manually, it is monolithic due to the single place where the fonts must be "installed", and I'm not aware of any settings that would help with its performance (maybe a defragmentation of the boot drive could help).
The best bet is reducing the number of fonts to deal with at a certain time, and/or make sure your boot drive is in good condition (hardware-wise and free space, as well).

[phkb]

There are font managers you can install that may help. I haven’t used any myself so I can’t recommend one, but they do exist, and might ease the management pain somewhat.

[ffutures]

Forgot to say that I did as Commander X suggested. Does seem to be some speed improvement. Microsoft Office made me run a repair rather than just telling me fonts were missing, apart from that I've had no problems.