Suitcase Fusion 2 from Extensis (http://www.extensis.com) is a next generation solution for single-user font management that can save creative professionals a lot of time.

Version 2.0 sports a completely redesigned user interface and code base and boasts a SQL backend for fast performance and stability. It's built on the platform used for the Extensis Universal Type Client, and provides font activation, font previews, and corruption checking and repair.

Use Suitcase Fusion 2's Glyph View Palette, and you can preview and navigate through potentially thousands of glyphs within a single type face. This lets you compare and pick the best font for a project. The Floating Preview feature lets you drag and drop previews directly onto a layout for comparison and selection.

Suitcase Fusion 2 also allows you to view multiple fonts side-by-side and dynamically zoom the point size up-and-down on the fly. In addition, you're able to print a font preview.

Suitcase Fusion 2 comes with new auto-activation plug-ins that automatically turn fonts on and off within the a range of professional creative applications. Plug-ins and XTensions are available for Adobe InDesign CS4, Adobe Illustrator CS4 and QuarkXPress 8, as well as for Creative Suite 3 software applications and QuarkXPress 7.

Auto-activation operates in the background and lets you work in the app of your choice while automatically activating the exact fonts by utilizing Extensis' proprietary Font Sense font matching capabilities feature. Font Sense creates a unique ID for each font -- like font fingerprinting -- to ensure font consistency as documents move from design through production.

Unlike basic auto-activation, Font Sense allows for a deep level of font analysis instead of simply selecting and activating the first font with the same PostScript or font menu name. It avoids silent font substitution, incorrect glyphs, text re-flows, and layout issues.

It offers uninterrupted font management even when the app itself isn't active. Suitcase 2 touts classification auto-assignment and Smart Sets. You can find fonts by conducting robust dynamic searches based on metadata information such as classification, foundry or custom keywords. You can also obtain a clean font library by detecting corrupt fonts and repairing them before adding font information to the secure database.

English, French, and German versions of Suitcase Fusion 2 are now available for download from the Extensis web site. It's available at an estimated retail price of US$99.95 for full product and $49.98 for upgrades from Suitcase X1 or newer. Volume licensing and annual service agreements are available upon request. Suitcase Fusion 2 requires Mac OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or higher.

-- Dennis Sellers