
Show HN: Type Zebra - Test your fonts in a web browser - sushi
http://typezebra.com
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michaelmartin
Nicely done, I love how easy it is to flick between fonts instantly.

I would second cleverjake's comment that a neat way to see serveral fonts
together would be awesome (Especially for a different headline font vs the
body copy).

Also, a search for the big list of fonts would be handy too.

Off to a great start though, thanks for sharing!

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sushi
Multiple fonts and search for text is something I'd love myself. I just wanted
to release the app quickly.

It will be added in the next version. Pinky promise!

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michaelmartin
Awesome. Can't say a negative word about shipping early! Congrats :)

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dugmartin
You should add a "gallop" button that randomly changes the font every N
seconds (maybe with a slider control to select N).

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sushi
I think any kind of "surprise" is a bad UX. The only exception is image
sliders where images change randomly but then they are designed in such a way
that it gives away the idea of randomly changing images.

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davidcollantes
Not functional without Flash:

"You don't have a compatible version of Flash installed. Please install latest
version of Flash and refresh this page."

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sushi
Yes, there was no way to detect fonts on your computer without using Flash.

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moonboots
In chrome, I'm not seeing the flash warning message. I'm only seeing an
endless "Loading your fonts..." I have click-to-play flash enabled.

Webfontloader[1] uses javascript to detect whether a specific font is
available. They use a hack where they change the font of a piece of text and
calculate whether the width has changed, indicating the system is using
specified font instead of the default serif or san serif. If you had a large
list of fonts, you could filter out the ones the user has.

[1] <https://github.com/typekit/webfontloader.git>

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sushi
You'll have to enable flash for the website in order to use it. Since the
flash element is hidden you can't click on it to play.

I'll check the library and see if I can use it. Being a JS noob I just patched
up whatever I could find. I know there is lot of scope for improvement in
code.

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etagwerker
This is pretty awesome. It's nicer than <http://www.google.com/webfonts>

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uptown
Cool tool. The down-arrow seems to jump every-other font on the list. It'd
also be good if it automatically loaded the font as you pressed that key to go
down the list so you could quickly pan through them all without a lot of
clicking.

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sushi
I didn't even notice that until you mentioned.

I was supposed to add code to change fonts with up and down keys but it was
getting a bit complicated for JS noob like me so I dropped it for now.

It'll be added in next version for sure.

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ahrjay
I built something along the same lines a while back that allows you to drag
and drop font files into the browser. <http://fontdragr.com>

Also has a bookmarklet so you can test them on your own site.

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fahrio
Hey, I am a fan of fontdragr. I also have something along the lines;
<http://wordmark.it> . I tried to implement a similar drag and load
functionality but never got to finish it. Great work. Congrats and best of
luck to typezebra too.

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dgurney
Would be more helpful if the fonts on the left sidebar were displayed in their
native font (a la Photoshop).

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sushi
Nice suggestion.

I'll have to dig more into the code which detects fonts but I hear you.

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jayferd
I've been up to my ears in PLT lately, so I did a bit of a double take on the
name of the project.

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loceng
An auto-suggest Search at top of list of fonts would be helpful.

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sushi
It will be added soon. You can stay updated by following on twitter:
<https://twitter.com/typezebra>

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raliste
cool, just what i needed for testing my new website fonts

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cleverjake
itd be great to preview multiple fonts simultaniously

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sushi
Multiple font panes will be supported in the next version.

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dbbolton
I can't get past "Loading your fonts" on Chrome.

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sushi
Can you tell me which Chrome version and OS are you using? You can also
contact me on typezebra@sushaantu.com if you want to send some screenshots.

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angry-hacker
Same problem here, Chrome Version 23.0.1271.97 m + Windows 7 64bit.

Edit: Had to enable flash in order to make it work

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sushi
Yes, Flash is required to "detect" all the fonts on "your" computer.

All the fonts being displayed are installed on your computer. This app just
provides a great way to view those fonts.

