https://www.new.fontlab.com/fontlab-pad/ (you just need the free download) In 2022, Design Space added what they call "kerned fonts". This does not mean that the app reads font kerning - but it means that spacing issues with system fonts are fixed, for the most part. Occasionally you'll still have a font that does not display the way the designer intended. And if a font has ligatures, Design Space will not be able to read them. Fontlab Pad allows you to save your text as an svg TIP - I keep a folder called "Names". In it are the names of most of our family members, in a variety of fonts. Every time I customize something for them, I save the svg of their name in that folder. Now frequently , I can just use something from my collection, without choosing another font. ================= Fontlab Pad can open fonts from zip files - no need to unzip nor install them. Or it can use installed fonts. ========================= And Fontlab Pad can read ligatures, and font kerning. So your fonts will always look the way designers intended. Ligatures are different than glyphs. Ligatures are based on letter combinations, and appear naturally without you doing anything extra. Examples: Gt Herina is one of my favorite fonts. Here's how it looks in Design Space: And here's how it looks when typed in pretty much any other program, including Fontlab Pad Those ligatures occur naturally - just by typing. They not glyphs. Download the Herina font for free here: http://bit.ly/3XyCWJr ================== OLD SPACING ISSUE Mostly Fixed in Design Space in 2022 But still happens occasionally with some system fonts ====================== This is all old information - but occasionally, it may still be useful. Find All My Quick Tip Cards Here: https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2019/01/quick-tip-cards-for-cricut-newbies.html One of the many limitations of design space is it's inability to properly space some fonts - as the designers wished for them to space. This is how the buttercup font looks when used in design space: On some fonts you can just change the letter spacing. But on many, like this one, some letters would overlap and some would still not touch. You can ungroup, and manually move each letter... but fontlabpad is much faster. Open fontlabpad, choose File/Open Installed: Type in the name of the font you want to use: Type your text - Then choose file/Save As - and save as an svg. Open design space, upload the image. See how the background is checked? That's because this is an svg - no need to clean it up at all. This is how it imports in design space. If you are cutting, be sure to select all and weld so that it cuts as one word and not each individual letter. It seems like a lot - but it's so fast and easy - much faster and easier than ungrouping and moving each letter to fix the spacing! ============= Where To Find Free Fonts By Style, By Type, And By Holiday The Crafting With Fields Of Heather Font Index And Tips & Tricks For Properly Spacing, Adding Glyphs, Organizing, Making Shadow Text, and more! https://fieldsofhether.blogspot.com/2020/05/where-to-find-loads-of-free-fonts.html