Have Your Way With Paper

HYWWP Design Team Member MemberSince: July 14, 2005 10,000 posts

Hey y'all!

I read over the things you wanted to learn. Going to take a QUICK moment to tell you how to use fonts. Then later tackle a little more of what you want. So here goes.

If you would like to use a font that is not in your list of fonts in your word processing (Word or whatever) program, then this is what you can do:

1. Make sure everything is closed that uses Word (or what you have). That means your Photoshop, Outlook, Access, whatever. Shut it all down.

2. Go out and find a font. Do a search for free fonts (you don't really want to pay, do you ?). There are TONS on places to look, just Google free fonts. Just be sure your protective software is running so you don't bring in anything you don't want, like a virus.

3. Once you find one (or however many you want to try), then open it. I never save fonts to my programs, unless I am sure I will use it over and over. And I only save them in Photoshop Elements because no one wants these but me. If you save lots of fonts, you will slow down your program.

4. Leave the font/s open. NOW open the program you are using. Find that new font in your font dropdown. Type out what you want, finish up and complete that portion of your project.

If you are using a Photoshop or a Paint Shop program, be sure to merge your layers. Once you do that, that font portion that you did stays forever. If you go away from your project and come back later to work with that font, the font won't be there anymore until you find it and open it again. Make sense?

Make a note to yourself somewhere that works for you what that font is and where you found it.

Some people use the Font Thing. I never have and have heard both good and bad about it. So you are on your own with that. There may be some other way to access fonts more easily, but I am not familiar.

One thing, tho, is there are so many fonts it isn't even funny. I used to collect them, but a couple years ago gave that up during one computer clean up. I think I'd rather have some on a disc for quick access, tho I admit I haven't ever done that.

STORAGE SUGGESTION: (

, Roe) Make a new folder and store there, when you find ones you like. Store in "My pictures" perhaps, so you can grab it when you are in there.

As for using fonts on journaling and titles, you get your font the same way, print it out, cut as desired, etc. Easy enough.

ANOTHER THING I JUST THOUGHT TO REMIND YOU - you want to use that font somewhere, and send that document to someone else. Like a Word doc. Well, that font won't show up unless that other person has that same font (unlikely). So far in my limited experience, unless you've saved that doc in some non-word type manner (in other words, in a program such as photoshop), it will show up with a default font instead. I once sent Wendi an email with some really cute font which needed to be in a larger size. She wrote back and said, Gee, those were some REALLY BIG letters! I had no idea she didn't see the same font I did.

I imagine I have forgotten something but I do hope this helps. Feel free to volunteer anything I didn't think of or to ask any questions.

Later this week I will try with something else, digital, that is.

marlene, I remember when you first taught me how to do this and it's great your are posting this now!!..

Girls, you must close everything and open the font first..

..I remember asking Marlene why it wasn't working..

..duh..very important step..

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I have a file in my documents called "downloaded fonts'..then I know where it is...

HYWWP Design Team Member MemberSince: July 14, 2005 10,000 posts

Marlene..here is an idea. Now, since I haven't done this I can't say for sure if it works..

..

When I open my download font file, I see all the diffeent little icons and the name. If you go to Photoshop and type the name of the font using the font, you can save it as a photo. By doing that and saving it in the same folder as your downloaded fonts, you can see what it looks like if you open that folder using thumbnail. I just did it to see if it worked..

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I opened 'japan', went to PSP and on a red background typed 'this is japan'. Saved it as a jpg and placed it in the font download file. When I open the folder, there it is! So, if that's the one I want, I know to just open the font.

Make sense..? I bet you thought of this already..

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