How To Create Otf File

To export an active project to a TTF/OTF or WOFF font select one of the export formats in the Export Font submenu in the File menu. The first time you export your font you will be asked to choose an output location. If you want to export the active project with a different file name, or in a different location, select Export Font As in the File menu.

When you open an existing font, the export settings will be set in a way that they match the original font properties as much as possible.

Output File

Location where the file will be exported. If this field is left blank, FontCreator will show a save dialog the first time you export the font.

Warning: It is recommended that you do not export your font directly into the Windows fonts folder.

Warning: Files locked by Windows can't be saved. This happens when the Operating System keeps the font in memory. You could try to uninstall (delete) the font through the Windows fonts folder.

Note about the file extension:

TrueType/OpenType fonts may have the extension .otf or .ttf depending on the type of outlines in the font (see Outline Format below) and the desired backwards compatibility. A font file with TrueType outlines should have either .otf or .ttf extension, depending on the desire for backward compatibility on older systems or with previous versions of the font. A font file with CFF (PostScript) outlines should have file name extension .otf.

In all cases, software must determine the kind of outlines present in a font not from the file name extension but from the contents of the file.

Outline Format

TrueType - The font is exported with TrueType based outlines (quadratic Bézier curves)

CFF (PostScript) - The font is exported with Compact Font Format (CFF) based outlines (cubic Bézier curves)

OpenType Layout Features

No - No OpenType Layout Features are embedded in the font.

Yes - OpenType Layout Features are embedded in the font.

Note: OpenType Layout Features are ignored for Symbol Fonts.

Glyph Names

While developing fonts, you can define user friendly glyph names, which help you quickly identify the glyphs and it allows you to share OpenType layout feature code.

When your font is ready for release, FontCreator can automatically rename glyph names to recommended names. Those names used to be important for accurate interpretation and reconstruction of underlying Unicode text encoding with some PDFs, but nowadays this is no longer an issue. Since in most cases glyph names are no longer important, you can decide to leave them out to reduce the file size. We even recommend omitting them in WOFF fonts to reduce the file size.

Note: Glyph names are still required (and thus always included) in CFF based fonts, but even that will likely change in the future.

Legacy 'kern' Table

The kern table is mostly useful for fonts to stay backwards compatible with older word-processing software, but we recommend that you no longer include it. Instead use OpenType Layout Features to include kerning (also known as pair adjustment).

No - No legacy kern table is added to the font

Yes - A legacy kern table is added to the font. The kern table will be built from the first pair adjustment lookup located in the Latin script, default language, kern feature. The lookup must only contain values for XAdvance for the first glyph.

Note: The legacy 'kern' table is never included in CFF based fonts.

Hinting

Hinting information will improve readability on screen for smaller font sizes.

No Hinting - No hinting is added to the font.

Autohinting - Hinting information is automatically generated.

Keep Original - Stores hinting information that was originally available in the font.

Note: Hinting is not available for CFF outlines

Open Contours

Exported fonts can't contain open contours, as the specification only allows for closed contours. However it is possible to design your glyph outlines with open contours. This might be useful in certain circumstances. Especially for designing single line fonts for laser cutting and CNC milling, as then FontCreator will show contours as single stroke outlines. As this option can be confusing to novice users, this option is hidden by default. It will become visible when "Enable open contours (design time only)" is checked on the Font tab in the Options dialog.

Close - Open contours will be closed within the exported font. The Toggle Open Contours feature within the Glyph Edit window is hidden. This is the default as it will generate fonts that conform to the OpenType specification.

Exclude - Open contours will not end up in the exported font.

Single Stroke - Only works with TrueType based outlines in combination with software that supports "single line / single stroke / open loop / stick fonts", e.g. Rhino, SolidWorks.

Double Stroke - Only works with TrueType based outlines. The path of all open contours will get additional points, so the path is also reversed in the exported font. Double stroke fonts work with most engraving machines.

Note: In FontCreator both Single Stroke and Double Stroke will show glyph outlines very different as contours will not be filled. Fonts generated this way are mainly meant for engraving. Single Stroke fonts will look awkward in standard software, and Double Stroke fonts will most likely show thin lines in standard software.

XML Metadata (Web Font only)

If enabled, a small xml file is embedded in the font that allows web browsers to identify the font without having to load the entire font.

Legacy TrueType Fonts

Sometimes it's preferred to export a font in the old TrueType format for older software. Set the export settings to the following settings:

Output file extension: .ttf

Outline Format: TrueType

OpenType Layout Features: No

Glyph Names: Regenerate for release

Legacy 'kern' Table: Yes

Hinting: No Hinting