There are several ways to solve this, read thoroughly 🤓

First, try to close the extension and reopen it (in the Window > Extensions menu).

Also make sure that you run a supported version of Illustrator or Photoshop:

CC 2017 to 2025 & more are supported
Illustrator CC 2015.3 (version 20.0.0) or more recent
Photoshop CC 2015.5 (version 17.0.0) or more recent

If you are not sure, check the exact version number in the About Illustrator... and About Photoshop.. menus..

1. Download and install the latest version of Fontself Maker

Retrieve the newest installer here
Learn what's new in Fontself for Illustrator & Photoshop

If you still can't see the Fontself panel, read on 👀

On older computers, it may take a while (up to a few minutes) to initialize extensions the first time you load them.
If nothing shows up after a couple minutes, try to resize the Fontself extension panel to any size (yup, this may just work sometimes!).
Then check that your Internet connection is working.
If you run a firewall app (like Little Snitch on Mac or Windows Firewall on PC) or if you run antivirus software like MacAfee, follow the procedures below to allow the extension's processes.
If you are behind a company or school's filtered network, allow the specific ports & URLs as detailed below.
If you're running multiple versions of Illustrator or Photoshop at the same time try closing them all and only open one.
If nothing above works, send us the Logs from the extension (if you can't access the Logs menu, send us your Adobe CC apps logs)
Click on the button below 👇

How to get the logs? Click here!

https://help.fontself.com/troubleshooting/found-a-bug-send-us-the-logs

2. Setting up your Firewall 🔥

You will need to whitelist the following apps from your Firewall:

Illustrator/Photoshop app / .exe itself
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator XXXX\Illustrator.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop XXXX\Photoshop.exe
Illustrator CEP CEPHtmlEngine
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop XXXX\Support File\Contents\Windows\CEPHtmlEngine\CEPHtmlEngine.exe
Photoshop node.exe
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop\node.exe
Photoshop clipboard_x86_64.exe
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.fontself.maker.v2\node_modules\clipboardy\fallbacks\windows\clipboard_x86_64.exe

Little Snitch (Mac only)

Open LittleSnitch
Click on All Rules
On the top right corner type "CEP" in the search input
If the process CEPHtmlEngine is blocked, delete the blocking rule

FYI, the CEPHtmlEngine is a complicated name for Adobe's extension process 😉

MacAfee

Open MacAfee
Go to Web and Email Protection > Firewall then click Internet Connection for Programs
Locate Node.js and click on it to highlight it
Then click Edit and alter the permissions to either Open ports to Work and Home networks or Open to All Devices
Click Save and exit
Restart Illustrator/Photoshop & launch Fontself

Windows

Do you remember having seen this the first time you launched Fontself?

It was actually for a plugin that needs access to the network to communicate with our extension, so if you clicked cancel or didn't clicked on Private networks it might be the source of your problem. In that case you can:

1) Search for "Firewall"

2) Go to "Allow an app or..."

3) Click on "Change Settings"

4) Find "Node.js: Server Side JavaScript"

For Photoshop, the executable file is in
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop 2025\node.exe

If the "Private" checkbox is not checked do the next steps, if it was already checked tell me ;)

5) Double-click on it and click "Network types...."

6) Check "Private"

7) Save with "OK" and close the windows
8) Restart Photoshop or Illustrator and launch Fontself
9) It should now work ;)

3. Windows PC issues:

If the extension now loads but no shape can be imported:

1. Disable Clipboard History

Press Start > Settings
Go to System
On the left panel, press Clipboard
On the right panel, press the toggle to Off for Clipboard history
On the right panel, press Clear under Clear clipboard data
Quit & reload Illustrator

2. Whitelist the clipboard manager app

Go to your current Firewall app and whitelist the program clipboard_x86_64.exe, which should be accessible under this path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe\CEP\extensions\com.fontself.maker.v2\node_modules\clipboardy\fallbacks\windows\clipboard_x86_64.exe

4. Whitelist in your VPN

If you run a VPN (Virtual Private Network) on your computer:

First try to allow local connections in your VPN settings. Then restart Illustrator/Photoshop.
If it's still not working, disable your VPN and restart again.

5. Whitelist in your filtered networks / firewalls 🕸

All ports from 4766 up to 4886 (included):

127.0.0.1 (for this local IP address only)

Port 443 (HTTPS) for all urls below:

api.fontself.com
To make sure this URL works fine, just open this link in your browser and it should display a smiling emoji: 😏
api.segment.io
cdn.segment.com
*.intercom.io
*.intercomcdn.com
api.amplitude.com
*.cloudfront.net
*.sentry.io
ssl.google-analytics.com
www.google-analytics.com
www-google-analytics.l.google.com

Last resort solution

If none of the solutions above works, you can try disabling a security signature feature for Adobe's apps to run any extension code (it should also load faster after the next restart).

⚠️ Just mind that the commands below must be adjusted & executed based on EACH of the CC versions you intend to use, with the following pattern:

...CSXS.12 for CC 2025 and over
...CSXS.11 for CC 2021
...CSXS.10 for CC 2020
...CSXS.9 for CC 2019
...CSXS.8 for CC 2018
...CSXS.7 for CC 2017

On Mac, from your Terminal app:

Type (or copy/paste) and run:
defaults write com.adobe.CSXS.12 PlayerDebugMode 1
If you ever want to turn it off again (which we recommend) just run:
defaults write com.adobe.CSXS.12 PlayerDebugMode 0

On Windows, from your CMD app:

Run regedit > HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Adobe/CSXS.12
Add a new entry PlayerDebugMode of type string with a value of 1
If you ever want to turn it off again (which we recommend) just run change the PlayerDebugMode of type string with a value of 0.

If nothing worked...

Just take a minute to read this article again and make sure you didn't miss any step (like closing / reopening the extension & installing the latest updates? 😇)

You can contact us at hello@fontself.com or use the live chat (with your email to get our answer in that case) and send us the logs (See how in the first section, just before the "Setting up your Firewall" section).