The number-one issue that Insider technical support specialists deal with is not even caused by Insider products. Instead, the top problem we solve has to do with troublesome little files called font caches.

A little about font caches

Font caches are data files that help your OS and applications speed the display of text on your screen. You can open and examine most cache files with a text editor because they often just list font files or their properties. Mac OS has its own cache files, as do applications in software suites such as Adobe Creative Suite, QuarkXPress, Apple iWork and Microsoft Office.

Every time you activate or deactivate a font, these cached lists need to be updated or activated fonts might not appear available in many applications. In addition, when the updates don’t occur, the cache files easily become corrupt or damaged–or simply fall out of sync with their associated applications–and cause additional application instability.

It is difficult to tell if a cache is corrupt simply by looking at the file. Often the first indication is bizarre or unexpected behavior in your applications. So how can we go about solving this pesky issue?

In comes Smasher

Smasher provides preventive font maintenance for your Mac OS X design applications and acts as a companion technology to your existing font manager, such as FontAgent Pro. Smasher is an essential utility for anyone who uses a lot of fonts because it clears your font and application caches on a regular, scheduled basis. So you can install Smasher, set its preferences to clear your caches at every reboot, and say goodbye to cache problems for good.

Every time you reboot, Smasher removes old cache files. Then, as Mac OS X and your applications launch, they create new cache files that better reflect the activation status of the fonts on your system. So fonts show up in your application menus as they should, and you are better  protected against display problems, garbled fonts, strange font substitution, printing problems and application crashes.

Smasher also performs routine maintenance on CUPS print spool files and other temporary system files to keep your Mac running smoothly. To learn more about Smasher or to download a demo of this handy utility, click here.