Which fonts are supported on ShapeDiver?
When working locally in Grasshopper, you have access to all the fonts included in your operating system. This might include exotic fonts and/or fonts that are under license and therefore cannot be installed on the ShapeDiver shared systems that most users upload their definitions too.
An obvious use case for specific fonts includes the applications where text is converted to geometry (curves and surfaces) using script components or third-party plugins (for example Squid). This can be used for engraving or in general modeling geometry based on a specific font.
A less obvious case is you might have customized the default font used by Rhino and Grasshopper. In that case, if your definition contains text panels or other components that rely on system fonts, your definition might be rejected during the upload process even if those fonts are not explicitely used in the definition.
Supported fonts on the shared systems
As mentioned above, the ShapeDiver shared servers can only support freely available fonts since they can be used without restrictions by all users and shared publicly. As a general rule, all shared ShapeDiver servers include all the standard fonts that are installed on Windows, as well as additional free fonts we find that can be added without copyright issues (such as google fonts). We have created utility ShapeDiver models for each of the shared systems that let you conveniently search if a specific font is installed on the system. Find below a list of such “font browsers” for each system:
Rhino 6 shared system (default system for all users): Rhino 6 Font Browser
Rhino 7 shared system (available on demand for paid users): Rhino 7 Font Browser
If you would like to use a free font that is not yet installed on the shared systems, let us know on the forum and include a link where we can download the font and check its license.
Installing custom fonts on dedicated systems
If your application necessitates the use of a font under license, and provided that this license is appropriate for the context of your application, you have the option to upgrade to a ShapeDiver Enterprise plan. Enterprise accounts include your own dedicated set of servers, where any software or assets that you own can be deployed without restrictions. Contact us to learn more about Enterprise plans.