TTF file format
| Extension | .ttf |
| Category | images |
| Programs | CorelDRAW Graphics Suite X7 (Windows) Fontforge (Windows, Mac, Linux) Microsoft Windows Font Viewer (Windows) Apple Font Book (Mac) |
| Description | The TrueType Font (TTF) format is a standardized font file format jointly developed by Apple and Microsoft in the late 1980s. The TrueType Font format comprises scalable fonts that render clearly at any scale, making them an ideal choice for use in both digital and print media. These fonts encapsulate both screen and printer font details within a single file, simplifying font management and application. TTF files are widely supported on Windows and macOS systems and are commonly used for digital text rendering. |
| Technical details | Several features characterize the TrueType Font format. Firstly, it employs quadratic Bézier curves for font outlines, simplifying the alignment of the font grid compared to PostScript's cubic curves. Secondly, these fonts can be resized to any scale without diminishing quality, essential for their application across diverse display environments. Thirdly, it incorporates a 'hinting' system, aligning font outlines with pixel grids at smaller scales to improve readability on low-resolution screens. Moreover, the TTF format supports various encoding schemes, including Unicode, accommodating a wide range of characters and symbols. Characters are depicted by glyphs, designs that represent the character's shape. This format also allows embedding the font in documents, a critical feature for copyright and licensing considerations. The file is organized in tables that hold font data such as the header, metrics, character maps, and glyphs. The TTF file format enjoys wide support across various operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Unix-based systems. The file size can vary based on the font's complexity and the number of glyphs. TrueType files can also be edited and generated using several software tools. The rendering of the font file is managed by the operating system's font engine. While the basic TTF format does not support advanced typography features like ligatures, extended formats like TTC and OpenType do. Due to their quality, scalability, and suitability for print media, TrueType fonts are a cornerstone of digital typography. |
| MIME type | application/octet-stream |