Introduction

Over the years, your font collection can quietly grow into a mix of multiple versions of the same typeface, coming from downloads from different sources, older backups, updated releases, Windows updates, and shared project folders. While Windows won’t typically install true duplicates side-by-side, those extra files can still live in your font library and folders. MainType helps you spot outdated versions and clean up your library so you keep only the best font files.

Step 1 — Choose what you want to scan

MainType can detect duplicates within the exact part of your library you’re working on:

• Scan the entire library
  In the Views panel, click Library to scan your complete font collection.
• Scan another view (from the Views panel)
  In the Views panel, click any view you want to check (for example Active, Recent, or a custom view). MainType will scan only the fonts shown in that view.
• Scan a specific group (from the Groups panel)
  In the Groups panel, click the group you want to check (for example a project group or category). Only fonts in that group are scanned which can be perfect for a focused cleanup.

Step 2 — Select duplicates automatically

Go to Library → Select Duplicates.

MainType analyzes the current scope (Library, a View, or a Group) and automatically selects duplicate font files so you can review them immediately.

What MainType selects (and what it keeps)

When multiple similar fonts exist, MainType generally keeps the best candidate unselected and selects the others, so you can clean up faster without guesswork. Quick rule of thumb:

• Unselected fonts = recommended to keep
• Selected fonts = duplicates to review/remove

MainType determines which version is most important based on these criteria, in order:

• Version - Higher version number is considered more important
• Variable - Variable fonts are prioritized over static fonts
• Modified - More recently modified fonts are preferred
• Created - More recently created fonts are preferred
• Glyphs - Fonts with more glyphs are considered more complete
• Characters - Fonts with more characters have better coverage
• File size - Larger files may contain more data

Step 3 — Compare duplicates in Details View (optional, but recommended)

Want to double-check before deleting? Details View makes it easy to compare versions side-by-side.

In Details View, each font is displayed on its own row. By default, MainType shows thirteen columns, but you can customize the list:

• Show/hide columns: right-click a column header and toggle columns on/off
• Resize columns: drag the vertical separators between headers
• Reorder columns: drag a column header left/right
• Sort: click a column header to sort by that column

These are all available columns:

State, Preview, Full Font Name, Family, Style, Type, Regular, Italic, Symbol, Mono, Embedding, Glyphs, Characters, Kerning, Features, Classification, Sample Text, Weight, Width, Version, Foundry, Rating, Note, Tags, Grouped, Date Created, Date Modified, Date Added, and File Size.

Columns that are most useful for duplicate cleanup

Enable a few key columns so “best version vs outdated version” becomes obvious at a glance:

Version, Date Modified / Date Created, File Size, Glyphs / Characters, Foundry, Embedding, Features / Kerning, Type, Full Font Name, Family, Style, State

Adjust the selection (if needed)

If you prefer a different version than MainType’s choice:

Ctrl+Click any font to toggle its selection.

Step 4 — Delete the selected duplicates

Once you’re happy with the selection:

Press Delete (or choose Edit → Delete).

In the Delete dialog, select the options you want (for example removing from groups/library and deleting font files from disk).

Confirm to complete the cleanup.

In minutes, you’ve removed outdated font files and made your MainType library easier to maintain.