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Troubleshoot fonts

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By default, Photoshop will only load the text engine and your installed fonts under these scenarios:

  • A document that contains a Type layer has been opened
  • The Type Tool is selected
  • The Character Panel is visible

Various problems including slow performance, freezes or crashes, may be caused if Photoshop loads problematic or damaged fonts.

Update Photoshop

For help updating Photoshop to the latest version, see Update Creative Cloud apps.

Reset, restart & retry

If Photoshop is crashing on startup or while working with Type, follow these 3 easy steps for troubleshooting fonts.

  1. Reset Photoshop's preferences

    Backing up and restoring Photoshop's preferences will hide the Character panel and reset the selected tool to the default Move tool.  See Manually remove Photoshop Settings folder

  2. Reset Photoshop's font cache

    Resetting the Photoshop font cache will allow Photoshop to create a new enumerated font list.
    See Reset the Photoshop font cache

  3. Restart Photoshop and turn off Font Preview

    Once you've restarted Photoshop, just choose Type > Font Preview Size and select None.


    Turning off Font Preview will prevent Photoshop from rendering previews for any installed damaged fonts.

     

Delete the Photoshop font cache

The Photoshop font cache contains the enumerated list of fonts and font features installed to the system that Photoshop can use. Deleting this font cache file will allow Photoshop to create a new one.

macOS

  1. Quit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app

  2. Navigate to: /Users/[user name]/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop
    For help navigating to this hidden user folder, see Can't see user library files in macOS.

  3. Delete the CT Font Cache folder and empty the Trash

Windows

  1. Exit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app

  2. Navigate to \Users\[user name]\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop <version>

  3. Delete the CT Font Cache folder and empty the Recycle Bin

Font Managers

If you have any third-party font managers installed, make sure the latest updates have been installed.

If you're still having issues, disable or remove the font manager prior to performing the following steps.

Known problematic fonts

When installing fonts, Windows and macOS perform a font check and will suggest to proceed with caution if any problematic font is detected. Do not install any fonts that show this warning.

The following fonts are known to cause problems when used in Photoshop; if any of these or other damaged fonts are installed, uninstall or disable them:

  • Bustle.ttf
  • Courier Condensed Bold.ttf
  • CottonWood-SemiBold.ttf
  • 21kannmbn_ttf
  • Gurakh_s.ttf
  • Jh_titles.ttf
  • Screen__.ttf
  • Sevesbrg.ttf
  • SF Tattle Tales Condensed.ttf
  • Umbra-thin.ttf
  • ZerogebI.ttf
  • Zippy.ttf

Delete the system font cache

Generally, it is a good idea to also delete the Photoshop font cache before deleting the system font cache.

macOS

Important! Please use caution when using Terminal in macOS.

  1. Quit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app

  2. Choose Applications > Utilities

  3. Open Terminal

  4. Type the following command and press Return

    sudo atsutil databases –remove

Windows

  1. Exit Photoshop and the Creative Cloud desktop app

  2. Navigate to \Windows\ServiceProfiles\LocalService\Appdata\Local\FontCache

    Many of the folders in this path are hidden by default on Windows, for help turning on hidden files and folders, see Show hidden files and folders

  3. Delete all .dat files that have "FontCache" in the filename

Validate fonts using Font Book on macOS

  1. Choose Applications > Font Book

  2. Choose All Fonts in the left column

  3. Select the top-most font in the Font column and press Cmd+A to select all the fonts

  4. Choose File > Validate Fonts

  5. Click the checkbox next to any damaged or duplicate fonts and click Removed Checked

  6. If Font Book crashes, restart Font Book, select the first font in the list and scroll through the fonts using the Down Arrow key to determine which font caused the crash.

Isolate the problematic font on macOS

Best Practice! Ensure you have only one version of each font located in only one of the following font folders: 

  •  /Users/[user name]/Library/Fonts
  •  /Library/Fonts

 

For testing, isolate problematic fonts by creating two folders on the desktop, one named "fonttest" and one named "goodfonts".

Look for fonts in these locations for fonts to test. Perform this testing for all of the following folders that contain fonts:

  • /Users/[user name]/Library/Fonts
  • /Library/Fonts
  • /[network drive]/Library/Fonts

 

To test for a damaged font, put half your fonts in one of the Library/Fonts folders and half in the fonttest folder, and test the condition that caused the problem.

  • If the problem recurs, the damaged font is still in the Font folder, and the font is not in the fonttest folder. Move the fonts from the fonttest folder to the goodfonts folder.
  • If the problem does not recur, the damaged font is in the fonttest folder. Move the fonts from the official fonts folder into the goodfont folder. Move half the fonts back into the official font folder for the next round of testing.
  • Continue to test half the remaining fonts, and continue to move the fonts without the problem into the goodfonts folder. 
  • When you've determined the one font that is causing the problem, remove it from the official fonts folder. Move all the fonts from the goodfonts folder back into the appropriate official fonts folder that you are testing. Perform these tests for each official fonts folder that contain fonts. 

Important: If the same problem occurs after you remove a font, one or more fonts have the same or a similar problem. Continue to perform these steps until all damaged fonts are removed.

Run the FontTest.jsx script

The FontTest script can help you determine if there are damaged fonts on your system.

Before you start: Read the FontTest Read Me to learn how to install, run, and interpret results from the  script.

Download the script

Use the Get file button below to download the FontTest script for Photoshop. Once downloaded, unzip the file by double-clicking it, and if asked, choose to extract all files.

Download

Get file
FontTest script for Photoshop

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