Font/DA Mover was a utility application that was used to transfer fonts and desk accessories to and from the System file of early versions of classic Mac OS prior to System 7.[1]
History[]
The original release of Macintosh System 1.0 in January 1984 came with no ability for ordinary users to modify the fonts that came with the system software on the floppy disks provided by Apple Computer. The first utility to provide the ability to install (or remove) fonts was Font Mover that came with System 1.1g in the following May.[2] The ability to install and move desk accessories from "suitcase" files was added with the first release of Font/DA Mover that was included with System 2.0 in April 1985.[3]
Macintosh System Software 5.0 shipped in October 1987 with Font/DA Mover 3.6 and the multi-tasking capabilities of MultiFinder 1.0. System 6.0 shipped in April 1988 with Font/DA Mover 3.8, but its rudimentary user interface otherwise remained largely unchanged.[4] Font/DA Mover never gained the ability to manage PostScript fonts, which were just stored loose in the System Folder at the time.[5]
Font/DA Mover 4.0 was included with Macintosh System 6.0.8 in April 1991, but was unable to handle the new TrueType outline fonts that were being released for System 7.[6] This issue would be addressed with Font/DA Mover 4.1 in May 1991, which added support for the transfer of TrueType fonts, though System 7.0 did not really need it as Finder 7.0 gained the ability to open and manage certain resources of the System file like a folder.[7] System 7.1 eliminated the need for Font/DA Mover entirely as fonts were then stored in a separate Fonts folder.[8]
Third-party alternatives[]
Popular alternatives to the Font/DA Mover for managing large font collections included Suitcase (later known as Suitcase Fusion) from Fifth Generation Systems, and MasterJuggler from Alsoft, which came with its own Font/DA Utility.[9]
Replacement[]
With the release of Mac OS X (now macOS), Font/DA Mover became obsolete and its functionality was replaced by Font Book, which was included with Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther) and later since October 2003.[10]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ System 6を使う！－システム編－ (Japanese) by Mitsuru Itoh, まりもの研究室. Accessed 2024-09-23.
- ↑ Mac System Software 1.1g, BetaWiki. Accessed 2024-09-23.
- ↑ Mac System Software 2.0, BetaWiki. Accessed 2024-09-23.
- ↑ Monotype Library of Postscript Typefaces - Macintosh - Rockwell, Centre for Computer History. 1991.
- ↑ Postscript is gone, long live TrueType and OpenType by Chip Loder, AppleInsider. 2023-11-08.
- ↑ Q124505: Writer/Artist: Fonts Not Visible in Font/DA Mover 4.0, KnowledgeBase Archive. 1999-11-27.
- ↑ Font/DA Mover by Paul C. Pratt, the Gryphel Project. 2014-07-20.
- ↑ Macintosh: System Software Version History (through 7.5.3), Apple Support. 2001-08-07. Archived 2009-01-16.
- ↑ Sitting on the Font Fence by Mark Tennent, About This Particular Macintosh. 2009-06.
- ↑ Apple Announces Mac OS X “Panther”, Apple Computer. 2003-10-08.
External links[]
- Font/DA Mover at the PrintWiki
- Font/DA Mover 4.1 at Mac GUI