Preferred fonts break some of the installed templates

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arpitrana

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  • Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2023 3:25 am
  • Real Name: Arpit Rana

Preferred fonts break some of the installed templates

PostWed Apr 23, 2025 2:36 am

Hi Team,

Firstly, I’d like to thank you for the recent addition of the preferred fonts feature—it’s a much-needed and very welcome improvement, especially for those of us working with multiple templates or clients and want to streamline our font selection process.

However, I’ve noticed an issue that might benefit from a tweak in implementation.

Current Behavior:

When we add a custom list of preferred fonts via the new system, Resolve restricts the available fonts in the dropdown to only those on our list. This is great for staying organized.
But if we apply a preset or animation (e.g., from Fusion or Title templates) that uses a font not in our preferred list—even if that font is installed on the system—Resolve flags it as “Missing Font.”

Suggested Improvement:

Instead of entirely blocking fonts outside the preferred list:

Preferred fonts should only act as a filter for the dropdown UI—for faster manual selection.

If a preset uses a font that’s already installed on the system, even if it’s not in the preferred list, it should still be loaded and displayed properly.

The dropdown can still default to showing only preferred fonts, but internally Resolve should retain full font access to prevent preset breakage.


This way, the user benefits from both:

A cleaner, more efficient UI with preferred fonts,

And the reliability of system-wide font access for templates or presets created by third parties.


I hope this gets considered—it would make the feature both powerful and backward-compatible with existing workflows.

Thanks again for the continuous improvements to Resolve!
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Peter Chamberlain

Blackmagic Design

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Re: Preferred fonts break some of the installed templates

PostWed Apr 23, 2025 2:55 am

We understand the use case you mention, the specific feature for font restriction is 100% meeting the requirement for a number of TV stations that legally can not use any other than defined fonts, so no alternate of options allowed.
DaVinci Resolve Product Manager
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arpitrana

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  • Joined: Thu Jun 01, 2023 3:25 am
  • Real Name: Arpit Rana

Re: Preferred fonts break some of the installed templates

PostWed Apr 23, 2025 2:58 am

Thanks for the clarification—it makes perfect sense that certain users, especially TV stations, have strict font usage requirements and would benefit from locking font choices.

That said, I’d like to propose a dual-mode or toggle-based approach to expand the flexibility of this feature for other user groups (such as creative agencies, freelancers, YouTubers, and content creators):

Proposed Solution:

Introduce a “Strict Mode” toggle in the font preference settings:

Strict Mode ON (Current Behavior):
Only fonts in the preferred list are allowed. Any text node or preset using a font outside this list will trigger a “Missing Font” warning.
Ideal for broadcasters and legal-restricted workflows.

Strict Mode OFF (Flexible Mode):
Preferred fonts show in the dropdown for manual selection convenience, but if a preset or template uses a font that exists on the system—even if it’s not on the preferred list—it will still be used.
Perfect for editors using third-party templates, collaborating with teams, or exploring creative flexibility.


This toggle could be easily implemented in the Preferences pane under User > UI Settings > Font Preferences, and could even default to “ON” for new installs aimed at broadcasters.

Why This Helps:

Ensures strict font control where needed.

Avoids broken text in presets and templates for everyone else.

Prevents confusion for users who have the required font installed but are told it's “missing.”


Let me know if this could be considered in future builds—would love to see Resolve continue balancing pro-level discipline with creative freedom.

Thanks again for listening!

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