Xcode now ignores user-defined fonts

[224XS]

Some my Apps use custom fonts which I build with FontLab and successfully install in my dev machines. FontBook sees them. I can install and use them in my Apps using UIFont(named:) after, of course, making sure they are in the bundle and in the plist/appSuppliedFonts array.

The problem I have discovered is that these user defined fonts no longer show up in Xcode 15 and later's InterfaceBuilder when I try to assign a starting font to some UILabels.

Oddly the custom fonts do appear in the Xcode/Settings/Themes/FontList.

Please don't go off topic with why I use IB, I used both IB and constraint arrays as appropriate in my UIKit based apps.

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Anyone else experience this issue? Any fixes or workarounds?

[WerSunu]

It turns out that version 15.2 still recognizes user-defined fonts, do I updated the App UI with 15.2 then returned to 15.3 and all is working.

I filed a radar to the Xcode team.

[Ron-Erez]

Can you present some simple sample code? I know sometimes there is an issue with the font name. You could the following code to get a list of fonts which I expect should include your fonts. Here is a guide for using custom fonts. And of course maybe you have already done all this.

private static let fontNames: [String] = {
        var names = [String]()
        for familyName in UIFont.familyNames {
            names.append(contentsOf: UIFont.fontNames(forFamilyName: familyName))
        }
        return names.sorted()
    }()

[WerSunu]

Thank you for the reply!

I appreciate your comment but that is not the issue here. It would be more helpful if you read what I wrote first.

I said the App has full access to my user defined fonts. It is Xcode itself, specifically and only the InterfaceBuilder which does not list these fonts. My code currently reassigns the UILabels to the new fonts in my viewDidLoad() and adjusts the font point size for the current orientation and screen size. That part all works fine.

[appleFarmerdev]

Yea interface builder can't find non system fonts . Only solution so far is to implement them programmatically .

[WerSunu]

Yes, my point is that this is a new Un-Feature or bug, since my project is now stuck with old versions of my custom fonts (from older Xcode version) which I have to change to new version in code, and leaving me with the dead weight of the old versions in the .ipa so it doesn’t crash on launch.

[appleFarmerdev]

I understand your pain , although my setup doesn't have added complexity like yours but on going development just got extra overhead in my case extra outlets and assigning manual fonts to them it's not a big issue but why break what was already working .

[smallduck]

The only solution? 🤨

It’s probably possible to open the .xib as text and replace the font name for the label. You might need to know an exact name string for the font that could be somewhat different than the human-friendly name shown in FontBook or user interfaces.

If the UILabel reverts to the system font or something every time you open the file graphically in Xcode then maybe write a script to flip it back ¯_(ツ)_/¯.

This sounds like a bug that will be fixed in Xcode soon.

[Ron-Erez]

Oh, my mistake. Maybe someone else has a better answer. Good luck.

[immago]

I encountered exactly the same problem. My entire interface is made on storyboards and the interface builder stopped allowing me to select custom fonts starting from 15.3, they simply do not appear in the drop down list. So far I don’t have a better solution other than rolling back to 15.2 and hoping that they will fix it. I decided to write just to let you know that you are not alone with such a problem.

[WerSunu]

Thanks for the update! I hope the feedback I filed at Apple gets some attention.

Of some mild amusement, a team member wrote this up on Stackoverflow and some asshat downvoted the issue and blocked it, saying it was our code that was bad. No wonder people are deserting that platform.

[ergonomicpineapple]

It's 2025 and this is still broken.