Font Proof is a native macOS app for proofing typefaces as you design them. I built a web version (idiotproofed.com) with Very Cool Studio in 2018, and I've been making this native one on and off ever since. It's finally stable enough to share.

Proofing a typeface while you draw it usually means exporting the font, opening InDesign or Illustrator, placing your test text, and redoing all of it every time you change something. It's slow, and it breaks your focus.

Font Proof connects to your font editor and stays in sync. With Glyphs, it watches your file and updates the moment you save. It also proofs UFO and designspace sources directly, recompiling as you edit in RoboFont or any other editor, and it can watch a whole folder of fonts. Edit a point, change spacing, or toggle a feature, and the proof updates. No exporting and re-importing.

And you work on the real PDF the entire time, not a separate preview. Swap a font, change spacing, or add a section, and the page updates live. What you see is what you print.

Some of what's inside:

Live reload: one switch keeps the proof in sync with every source you use, from Glyphs to a UFO or designspace to a watched folder to a re-exported .otf or .ttf. On by default; turn it off to freeze the proof
Proof types: waterfalls, glyph grids, columns and rows, style comparisons, basic text, and markup
Inline font mixing: auto mode spreads styles across running text by weighted probability; manual mode tags exact ranges with specific styles
Variable fonts: dial in any axis with sliders, with the instance you pick labeled everywhere, including exports
Layered fonts: stack single-color files into one chromatic specimen
Linked text: point a .txt, .rtf, or .md at any section or grid cell, and the proof updates when you edit the file
Templates: built-in section templates (pangrams, spacing tests, kerning pairs, diacritics for 26 languages) plus full proof templates, so you can drop a new font into a proof you already built
Markup: freeze a PDF snapshot and annotate it with a freehand pen and text notes

Pricing: $100, one time. No subscription, no seats, all updates included. There's a 14-day free trial with no card required, and you buy the license inside the app. Students can email me for a discount (address is on the site).

Requires macOS 14 or later. Direct download. If you try it and something feels off or missing, I'd love to hear from you.

Font Proof

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