2.0 Extended to, ISO 32000-2? Yes Website The Portable Document Format ( PDF) is a developed by in the 1990s to present, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of,.
Font Editing and Design Tools Allow you to create your own fonts ResEdit for from INF 405 at University of Cape Coast,Ghana. Editing and Design Tools. Hypermedia and Hypertext • Multimedia.
Based on the language, each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, and other information needed to display it. PDF was standardized as an, ISO 32000, in 2008, and no longer requires any royalties for its implementation. Today, PDF files may contain a variety of content besides flat text and graphics including logical structuring elements, interactive elements such as annotations and form-fields, layers, (including video content) and three dimensional objects using or, and various other data formats.
The PDF specification also provides for encryption and, file attachments and metadata to enable workflows requiring these features. Main article: made the PDF specification available free of charge in 1993. In the early years PDF was popular mainly in, and competed with a variety of formats such as, Common Ground Digital Paper, Farallon Replica and even Adobe's own format. PDF was a controlled by Adobe until it was released as an on July 1, 2008, and published by the as ISO 32000-1:2008, at which time control of the specification passed to an ISO Committee of volunteer industry experts.
In 2008, Adobe published a Public Patent License to ISO 32000-1 granting rights for all patents owned by Adobe that are necessary to make, use, sell, and distribute PDF compliant implementations. PDF 1.7, the sixth edition of the PDF specification that became ISO 32000-1, includes some proprietary technologies defined only by Adobe, such as (XFA) and extension for Acrobat, which are referenced by ISO 32000-1 as and indispensable for the full implementation of the ISO 32000-1 specification. These proprietary technologies are not standardized and their specification is published only on Adobe’s website. Many of them are also not supported by popular third-party implementations of PDF. On July 28, 2017, ISO 32000-2:2017 (PDF 2.0) was published. ISO 32000-2 does not include any proprietary technologies as normative references. Technical foundations The PDF combines three technologies:.
A subset of the page description programming language, for generating the layout and graphics. A /replacement system to allow fonts to travel with the documents. A structured storage system to bundle these elements and any associated content into a single file, with where appropriate. PostScript is a run in an to generate an image, a process requiring many resources. It can handle graphics and standard features of such as if and loop commands.
PDF is largely based on PostScript but simplified to remove flow control features like these, while graphics commands such as lineto remain. Often, the PostScript-like PDF code is generated from a source PostScript file. The graphics commands that are output by the PostScript code are collected. Any files, graphics, or fonts to which the document refers also are collected.
Then, everything is compressed to a single file. Therefore, the entire PostScript world (fonts, layout, measurements) remains intact. As a document format, PDF has several advantages over PostScript:. PDF contains tokenized and interpreted results of the PostScript source code, for direct correspondence between changes to items in the PDF page description and changes to the resulting page appearance. PDF (from version 1.4) supports; PostScript does not. PostScript is an with an implicit global state, so instructions accompanying the description of one page can affect the appearance of any following page. Therefore, all preceding pages in a PostScript document must be processed to determine the correct appearance of a given page, whereas each page in a PDF document is unaffected by the others.
As a result, PDF viewers allow the user to quickly jump to the final pages of a long document, whereas a PostScript viewer needs to process all pages sequentially before being able to display the destination page (unless the optional PostScript have been carefully complied with). Technical overview File structure A PDF file is a 7-bit file, except for certain elements that may have binary content.
A PDF file starts with a header containing the and the version of the format such as%PDF-1.7. The format is a subset of a COS ('Carousel' Object Structure) format. A COS tree file consists primarily of objects, of which there are eight types:.
values, representing true or false. Numbers., enclosed within parentheses ( (.)), may contain 8-bit characters.
Names, starting with a forward slash ( /)., ordered collections of objects enclosed within square brackets (.)., collections of objects indexed by Names enclosed within double pointy brackets ( )., usually containing large amounts of data, which can be compressed and binary. The object Furthermore, there may be comments, introduced with the percent sign (%). Comments may contain 8-bit characters. Objects may be either direct (embedded in another object) or indirect. Indirect objects are numbered with an object number and a generation number and defined between the obj and endobj keywords.
An index table, also called the cross-reference table and marked with the xref keyword, follows the main body and gives the byte offset of each indirect object from the start of the file. This design allows for efficient to the objects in the file, and also allows for small changes to be made without rewriting the entire file ( incremental update). Beginning with PDF version 1.5, indirect objects may also be located in special streams known as object streams. This technique reduces the size of files that have large numbers of small indirect objects and is especially useful for Tagged PDF. At the end of a PDF file is a trailer introduced with the trailer keyword.
It contains. A dictionary. An offset to the start of the cross-reference table (the table starting with the xref keyword). And the%%EOF marker.
The dictionary contains. A reference to the root object of the tree structure, also known as the catalog. The count of indirect objects in the cross-reference table.
And other optional information. There are two layouts to the PDF files: non-linear (not 'optimized') and linear ('optimized'). Non-linear PDF files consume less disk space than their linear counterparts, though they are slower to access because portions of the data required to assemble pages of the document are scattered throughout the PDF file. Linear PDF files (also called 'optimized' or 'web optimized' PDF files) are constructed in a manner that enables them to be read in a Web browser plugin without waiting for the entire file to download, since they are written to disk in a linear (as in page order) fashion.
PDF files may be optimized using software. Imaging model The basic design of how are represented in PDF is very similar to that of PostScript, except for the use of, which was added in PDF 1.4. PDF graphics use a to describe the surface of a page.
A PDF page description can use a to, or graphical elements. A key concept in PDF is that of the graphics state, which is a collection of graphical parameters that may be changed, saved, and restored by a page description. PDF has (as of version 1.6) 24 graphics state properties, of which some of the most important are:. The current transformation matrix (CTM), which determines the coordinate system. The. The. The, which is a key component of transparency Vector graphics As in PostScript, in PDF are constructed with paths.
Paths are usually composed of lines and cubic, but can also be constructed from the outlines of text. Unlike PostScript, PDF does not allow a single path to mix text outlines with lines and curves. Paths can be stroked, filled,. Strokes and fills can use any color set in the graphics state, including patterns. PDF supports several types of patterns. The simplest is the tiling pattern in which a piece of artwork is specified to be drawn repeatedly. This may be a colored tiling pattern, with the colors specified in the pattern object, or an uncolored tiling pattern, which defers color specification to the time the pattern is drawn.
Beginning with PDF 1.3 there is also a shading pattern, which draws continuously varying colors. There are seven types of shading pattern of which the simplest are the axial shade (Type 2) and radial shade (Type 3). Raster images in PDF (called Image XObjects) are represented by dictionaries with an associated stream. The dictionary describes properties of the image, and the stream contains the image data. (Less commonly, a raster image may be embedded directly in a page description as an inline image.) Images are typically filtered for compression purposes.
3.0 (August 2009; 9 years ago ( 2009-08)) Extended from PDF, FDF, ISO 19444-1 ) Website XML Forms Data Format (XFDF) is the XML version of Forms Data Format, but the XFDF implements only a subset of FDF containing forms and annotations. There are not XFDF equivalents for some entries in the FDF dictionary – such as the Status, Encoding, JavaScript, Pages keys, EmbeddedFDFs, Differences and Target. In addition, XFDF does not allow the spawning, or addition, of new pages based on the given data; as can be done when using an FDF file. The XFDF specification is referenced (but not included) in PDF 1.5 specification (and in later versions).
It is described separately in XML Forms Data Format Specification. The PDF 1.4 specification allowed form submissions in XML format, but this was replaced by submissions in XFDF format in the PDF 1.5 specification. XFDF conforms to the XML standard. As of December 2016, XFDF 3.0 is an ISO/IEC standard under the formal name ISO 19444-1:2016 – Document management – XML Forms Data Format – Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-2 (XFDF 3.0). This standard is a normative reference of ISO 32000-2.
XFDF can be used in the same way as FDF; e.g., form data is submitted to a server, modifications are made, then sent back and the new form data is imported in an interactive form. It can also be used to export form data to stand-alone files that can be imported back into the corresponding PDF interactive form. Adobe XML Forms Architecture (XFA) In PDF 1.5, introduced a proprietary format for forms; Adobe XML Forms Architecture (XFA).
Adobe XFA Forms are not compatible with ISO 32000's AcroForms feature, and most PDF processors do not handle XFA content. The XFA specification is referenced from ISO 32000-1 / PDF 1.7 as an external proprietary specification, and was entirely deprecated from PDF with ISO 32000-2 (PDF 2.0). Logical structure and accessibility A 'tagged' PDF (see clause 14.8 in ISO 32000) includes document structure and semantics information to enable reliable text extraction. Technically speaking, tagged PDF is a stylized use of the format that builds on the logical structure framework introduced in PDF 1.3. Tagged PDF defines a set of standard structure types and attributes that allow page content (text, graphics, and images) to be extracted and reused for other purposes. Tagged PDF is not required in situations where a PDF file is intended only for print. Since the feature is optional, and since the rules for Tagged PDF were relatively vague in ISO 32000-1, support for tagged PDF amongst consuming devices, including (AT), is uneven at this time.
ISO 32000-2, however, includes an improved discussion of tagged PDF which is anticipated to facilitate An ISO-standardized subset of PDF specifically targeted at accessibility;, was first published in 2012. Optional Content Groups (layers of it) With the introduction of PDF version, 1.5 (2003) came the concept of Layers. Layers, or as they are more formally known Optional Content Groups (OCGs), refer to sections of content in a PDF document that can be selectively viewed or hidden by document authors or consumers. This capability is useful in CAD drawings, layered artwork, maps, multi-language documents etc. Basically, it consists of an Optional Content Properties Dictionary added to the document root.
This dictionary contains an array of Optional Content Groups (OCGs), each describing a set of information and each of which may be individually displayed or suppressed, plus a set of Optional Content Configuration Dictionaries, which give the status (Displayed or Suppressed) of the given OCGs. Security and signatures A PDF file may be encrypted for security, or digitally signed for authentication. However, since a SHA-1 collision was discovered making use of the PDF format, digital signatures using SHA-1 have been shown to be insecure. The standard security provided by Acrobat PDF consists of two different methods and two different passwords: a user password, which encrypts the file and prevents opening, and an owner password, which specifies operations that should be restricted even when the document is decrypted, which can include modifying, printing, or copying text and graphics out of the document, or adding or modifying text notes and fields. The user password encrypts the file, while the owner password does not, instead relying on client software to respect these restrictions. An owner password can easily be removed by software, including some free online services. Thus, the use restrictions that a document author places on a PDF document are not secure, and cannot be assured once the file is distributed; this warning is displayed when applying such restrictions using Adobe Acrobat software to create or edit PDF files.
Even without removing the password, most freeware or open source PDF readers ignore the permission 'protections' and allow the user to print or make copy of excerpts of the text as if the document were not limited by password protection. There are a number of commercial solutions that offer more robust means of. Not only can they restrict document access but they also reliably enforce in ways that the standard security handler does not. Usage rights Beginning with PDF 1.5, Usage rights (UR) signatures are used to enable additional interactive features that are not available by default in a particular PDF viewer application.
The signature is used to validate that the permissions have been granted by a granting authority. For example, it can be used to allow a user:. To save the PDF document along with modified form and/or annotation data.
Import form data files in FDF, XFDF, and text (CSV/TSV) formats. Export form data files in FDF and XFDF formats. Submit form data. new pages from named page templates. Apply a to existing digital signature form field. Create, delete, modify, copy, import, and export annotations For example, Adobe Systems grants permissions to enable additional features in Adobe Reader, using. Adobe Reader verifies that the signature uses a from an Adobe-authorized certificate authority.
Any PDF application can use this same mechanism for its own purposes. File attachments PDF files can have file attachments which processors may access and open or save to a local filesystem. Metadata PDF files can contain two types of metadata. The first is the Document Information Dictionary, a set of key/value fields such as author, title, subject, creation and update dates.
This is stored in the optional Info trailer of the file. A small set of fields is defined, and can be extended with additional text values if required. This method is deprecated in PDF 2.0.
In PDF 1.4, support was added for Metadata Streams, using the (XMP) to add XML standards-based extensible metadata as used in other file formats. This allows metadata to be attached to any stream in the document, such as information about embedded illustrations, as well as the whole document (attaching to the document catalog), using an extensible schema. Usage restrictions and monitoring PDFs may be so that a password is needed to view or edit the contents.
PDF 2.0 defines 256-bit AES encryption as standard for PDF 2.0 files. The PDF Reference also defines ways that third parties can define their own encryption systems for PDF. PDF files may be digitally signed; complete details on implementing digital signatures in PDF is provided in ISO 32000-2. PDF files may also contain embedded restrictions that provide further controls that limit copying, editing or printing. These restrictions depend on the reader software to obey them, so the security they provide is limited.
Default display settings PDF documents can contain display settings, including the page display layout and zoom level. Adobe Reader uses these settings to override the user's default settings when opening the document. The free Adobe Reader cannot remove these settings.
Intellectual property Anyone may create applications that can read and write PDF files without having to pay royalties to; Adobe holds patents to PDF, but licenses them for use in developing software complying with its PDF specification. Technical issues Accessibility PDF files can be created specifically to be accessible for disabled people. PDF file formats in use as of 2014 can include tags, text equivalents, captions, audio descriptions, and more. Some software can automatically produce tagged PDFs, but this feature is not always enabled by default. Leading, including, Hal, and can read tagged PDF.
Moreover, tagged PDFs can be re-flowed and magnified for readers with visual impairments. Adding tags to older PDFs and those that are generated from scanned documents can present some challenges. One of the significant challenges with PDF accessibility is that PDF documents have three distinct views, which, depending on the document's creation, can be inconsistent with each other. The three views are (i) the physical view, (ii) the tags view, and (iii) the content view. The physical view is displayed and printed (what most people consider a PDF document). The tags view is what screen readers and other assistive technologies use to deliver a high-quality navigation and reading experience to users with disabilities.
The content view is based on the physical order of objects within the PDF's content stream and may be displayed by software that does not fully support the tags view, such as the Reflow feature in Adobe's Reader., the International Standard for accessible PDF based on ISO 32000-1 was first published as ISO 14289-1 in 2012, and establishes normative language for accessible PDF technology. Viruses and exploits. See also: PDF attachments carrying viruses were first discovered in 2001. The virus, named OUTLOOK.PDFWorm or Peachy, uses to send itself as an attachment to an Adobe PDF file. It was activated with Adobe Acrobat, but not with Acrobat Reader. From time to time, new vulnerabilities are discovered in various versions of Adobe Reader, prompting the company to issue security fixes. Other PDF readers are also susceptible.
One aggravating factor is that a PDF reader can be configured to start automatically if a web page has an embedded PDF file, providing a vector for attack. If a malicious web page contains an infected PDF file that takes advantage of a vulnerability in the PDF reader, the system may be compromised even if the browser is secure.
Some of these vulnerabilities are a result of the PDF standard allowing PDF documents to be scripted with JavaScript. Disabling JavaScript execution in the PDF reader can help mitigate such future exploits, although it does not protect against exploits in other parts of the PDF viewing software. Security experts say that JavaScript is not essential for a PDF reader, and that the security benefit that comes from disabling JavaScript outweighs any compatibility issues caused. One way of avoiding PDF file exploits is to have a local or web service convert files to another format before viewing. On March 30, 2010 security researcher Didier Stevens reported an Adobe Reader and Foxit Reader exploit that runs a malicious executable if the user allows it to launch when asked.
Content A PDF file is often a combination of, text,. The basic types of content in a PDF are:. Text stored as content streams (i.e., not encoded in ). Vector graphics for illustrations and designs that consist of shapes and lines.
Raster graphics for photographs and other types of image. Multimedia objects in the document In later PDF revisions, a PDF document can also support links (inside document or web page), forms, JavaScript (initially available as plugin for Acrobat 3.0), or any other types of embedded contents that can be handled using plug-ins. PDF 1.6 supports interactive 3D documents embedded in the PDF – 3D drawings can be embedded using or and various other data formats. Two PDF files that look similar on a computer screen may be of very different sizes. For example, a high resolution raster image takes more space than a low resolution one. Typically higher resolution is needed for printing documents than for displaying them on screen. Other things that may increase the size of a file is embedding full fonts, especially for Asiatic scripts, and storing text as graphics.
Software. Further information: PDF viewers are generally provided free of charge, and many versions are available from a variety of sources. There are many software options for creating PDFs, including the PDF printing capabilities built into, and most distributions, (if updated to ) and later, 9, numerous PDF print drivers for, the typesetting system, the PDF tools, applications developed around and itself as well as,. 's online office suite also allows for uploading and saving to PDF. (RIPs) are used to convert PDF files into a suitable for imaging onto paper and other media in printers, digital production presses and in a process known as.
RIPs capable of processing PDF directly include the Adobe PDF Print Engine from and Jaws and the from. This section needs expansion. You can help. ( July 2010) reads and writes PDF as a semi-native format.
With multipage documents, a dialog opens enabling the user to select a single page to edit. Editing paragraphs of text typically disturbs line justification and paragraph wrapping, as multiline text is converted to individual lines. In a multipage document, only the page being edited can be re-saved.
Version 0.46 and later allows PDF editing of a single page through an intermediate translation step involving, then the document can be exported again as PDF. Allows opening and editing multi-page PDF, then the document can be exported again as PDF. Draw (using a plugin PDFimport) can open and edit multi-page PDF, then the document can be exported again as PDF. Can open, edit and save existing PDF documents, as well as publishing of documents created in the package. Enfocus PitStop Pro, a plugin for Acrobat, allows manual and automatic editing of PDF files, while the free Enfocus Browser makes it possible to edit the low-level structure of a PDF., is a free online PDF editing tool that can be used without purchasing anything. PhantomPDF is a proprietary PDF editor with an extensive set of advanced features for editing, converting and protecting PDF documents. Is a creating, viewing, editing, PDF software developed by Tracker Software Products.
FoxyUtils is an online PDF converter and editing software that does not need any installation. See also: is one example of proprietary software that allows the user to annotate, highlight, and add notes to already created PDF files. One UNIX application available as (under the ) is. Another GPL-licensed application native to the unix environment is Xournal.
Xournal allows for annotating in different fonts and colours, as well as a rule for quickly underlining and highlighting lines of text or paragraphs. Xournal also has a shape recognition tool for squares, rectangles and circles. In Xournal annotations may be moved, copied and pasted. The, available for, and, allows annotating documents. Tracker Software's allows annotations and markups without restrictions in its freeware alternative. 's 's integrated PDF viewer, Preview, does also enable annotations as does the open source software, with the latter supporting interaction with, SyncTeX, and PDFSync and integration with reference management software. Freeware can create an annotation report that summarizes all the annotations and notes one has made across their library of PDFs.
For mobile annotation, iAnnotate PDF (from Branchfire) and (from Aji) allow annotation of PDFs as well as exporting summaries of the annotations. There are also systems that support annotation in pdf and other documents formats, e.g., crocodoc, WebNotes.
In cases where PDFs are expected to have all of the functionality of paper documents, ink annotation is required. Some programs that accept ink input from the mouse may not be responsive enough for handwriting input on a tablet. Existing solutions on the PC include PDF Annotator.
Other Examples of PDF software as online services including for viewing and storing, for online editing, and, for conversion. In 1993 the Jaws from became the first shipping prepress RIP that interpreted PDF natively without conversion to another format. The company released an upgrade to their Harlequin RIP with the same capability in 1997. Introduced and shipped Apogee, the first prepress workflow system based on PDF, in 1997. Many commercial offset printers have accepted the submission of press-ready PDF files as a print source, specifically the PDF/X-1a subset and variations of the same.
The submission of press-ready PDF files are a replacement for the problematic need for receiving collected native working files. PDF was selected as the 'native' format for, replacing the format of the earlier. The imaging model of the graphics layer is based on the model common to and PDF, leading to the nickname Display PDF. The Preview application can display PDF files, as can version 2.0 and later of the web browser. System-level support for PDF allows Mac OS X applications to create PDF documents automatically, provided they support the OS-standard printing architecture. The files are then exported in PDF 1.3 format according to the file header.
When taking a screenshot under Mac OS X versions 10.0 through 10.3, the image was also captured as a PDF; later versions save screen captures as a file, though this behaviour can be set back to PDF if desired. In 2006 PDF was widely accepted as the standard print job format at the Printing Summit. It is supported as a print job format by the and desktop application projects such as, and have switched to emit print jobs in PDF. Some desktop printers also support direct PDF printing, which can interpret PDF data without external help. Currently, all PDF capable printers also support PostScript, but most PostScript printers do not support direct PDF printing.
The once thought of as one of their to be 'developing a free, high-quality and fully functional set of libraries and programs that implement the PDF file format and associated technologies to the ISO 32000 standard.' In 2011, however, the GNU PDF project was removed from the list of 'high priority projects' due to the maturation of the, which has enjoyed wider use in applications such as with the desktop environment. Poppler is based on code base.
There are also commercial development libraries available as listed in. The project of the is an open source Java library for working with PDF documents. PDFBox is licensed under the.
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Archived from on December 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-05. Adobe Systems Incorporated (2008), (PDF), retrieved 2011-07-06. European Commission.
Retrieved 2013-10-20. Example: ISO/IEC 29500, ISO/IEC 26300 and ISO 32000 for document formats reference information that is not accessible by all parties (references to proprietary technology and brand names, incomplete scope or dead web links). (PDF), 2011-06-27, XFA is not to be ISO standard just yet. The Committee urges Adobe Systems to submit the XFA Specification, XML Forms Architecture (XFA), to ISO for standardization. The Committee is concerned about the stability of the XFA specification. Part 2 will reference XFA 3.1. Retrieved 2013-10-20.
The implementation of the U3D standard was not complete and proprietary extensions were used. Leonard Rosenthol, Adobe Systems (2012). Archived from (PDF) on 2013-09-02.
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– Introduction to PDF vs. PostScript and PDF internals (up to v1.3). – the paper in which John Warnock outlined the project that created PDF. – recording of talk by Leonard Rosenthol (Adobe Systems) at TUG 2007.
Here are 10 great and free tools to create your own fonts. FontArk is a browser-based font creator that lets you draw letters to make your own font.
The most practical feature is the Outline Generator which automatically creates an outline around your drawing. You can later tweak it to change the thickness and roundness of letters.
You can modify multiple characters at once to ensure consistency. For special font types, FontArk offers Logotype and Icon modes. Created fonts are exported as OTF files, and you can see what they look like in a real-time preview.
FontArk has plenty of for beginners, explaining the basic steps to creating a font. Designers and experienced users will appreciate a whole set of advanced tools that FontArk also contains.
Last but not least, there are templates you can modify to create something entirely new. Availability: Sign-up required but you can try the demo without registration. Supports only Chrome and Safari.
Is a simple web-based tool that takes all the work off of your hands and gives you a finished font based on your handwriting. Simply download the template (PDF or PNG file) and fill it out, either by hand or in an image editing software like Gimp, Photoshop, or even Paint. Then upload it back to PaintFont, preferably in grayscale, in one of several supported formats (PDF, PNG, TIFF or JPG). Your uploaded file will be processed and you’ll get a free OTF or TTF font. With PaintFont you don’t have as much control over the creative process as with other tools on this list, but it’s a handy solution if you just want a font really quickly.
Availability: All modern browsers. BirdFont is not only free, but also open source, and it’s a well-documented desktop tool for creating fonts. The interface is divided into tabs on top, main area in the middle and a sidebar with tools which are grouped by functions and explained. To create fonts, you can draw on the grid, import SVG icons to make an icon font, or draw letters by hand in another program (or even on paper), then import that image into BirdFont as a background and draw over it, tracing the letter shapes. BirdFont can import drawings from Inkscape and Adobe Illustrator, and export finished projects as TTF, EOT and SVG fonts.
Step-by-step tutorials can be found on the official website. Availability: Linux, Mac OS X, BSD and Windows. FontForge is a free, open source, complete software solution for creating fonts. With so many tools and options, it might seem overwhelming to a beginner. Luckily, there’s a to help you get started, along with a detailed FAQ that can teach you a lot about typography. In FontForge, you draw letters using curves and modify their shape and position. If you’re used to drawing in Photoshop or Gimp, this won’t be too difficult.
The Spiro mode lets you perform detailed adjustments on curves. For better control over your drawings, FontForge offers layers, and just like BirdFont, it can import SVG and EPS files from Illustrator and Inkscape. You can also use it to extract fonts from PDF files.
Before exporting your new font into one of many supported formats (OpenType, TrueType, AAT, SVG, PostScript, Multiple Master, dfont, BDF), you can check for errors and inconsistencies with the Find Problems option and the Font Validation Tool. Availability: Windows & Mac OS X, 5. FontStruct is a relatively simple tool in which you build fonts by combining geometrical shapes (called “Bricks”). New fonts can be made from scratch or based on other people’s work, which you can find in the Gallery. The basic interface is pretty straightforward, with only a few tools. However, this changes when you switch to Expert Mode.
Here you get access to more options, like brick compositing and outlines. You can zoom in and out of the work area, switch to fullscreen mode and toggle different kinds of grids and guidelines. Your new font is exported either as TTF or in a special.glyphs format that can be edited on Mac OS X.
FontStruct can’t import existing fonts or turn your handwriting into a font, but it lets you browse and download dozens of beautiful fonts created by other users. Availability: Sign-up required. Supports all modern browsers, but needs Flash to work properly. Glyphr Studio This beautiful, powerful and practical application comes in a portable form – there’s no need to install it, it just runs as an HTML file. You can import outlines from Inkscape and Illustrator, or even import entire SVG fonts and modify them. It’s possible to adjust kerning and ligatures, and create Linked Shapes which can be reused to draw similar letters. With, you get a live preview of your font as you’re making it with the Test Drive option.
Professional designers will be delighted by the Two Screen Mode, which lets you split Glyphr Studio across two monitors. Availability: All modern browsers, but works best in Chrome. MyScriptFont Another tool based on the same principle as PaintFont. If you want to turn your signature into a font, makes it effortless – just download the template, fill it out with a dark blue or black pen and scan it as a portrait grayscale image at 300 dpi. Once you upload the image, MyScriptFont will give you a new font to download. You can choose between TTF and OTF formats.
Availability: All modern browsers. Fontastic You’ve probably heard of icon fonts – instead of letters, they contain small images and look especially good on websites.
Is a tool for creating icon fonts, and it offers a to show you how. You can upload existing icons as SVG files and convert them within Fontastic, build multiple fonts and font collections, and modify every character with CSS to add shadows and color. Icons in your font will scale automatically depending on the device, so you can be sure they’ll look great everywhere. Availability: Sign-up required. Works in all modern browsers.
Pentacom’s BitFontMaker Here’s another tool for a special font type. Lets you create pixel fonts, which you might remember from (old) video games.
You can browse the gallery to see what others have made, upload TTF or OTF files and paint over them, or jump straight into the editor, where you can draw each letter by selecting it in the table on the right and painting squares, i.e. Pixels on the left. It’s easy and fun, and you can share the final product with other users. Availability: Supports IE 9+, Firefox 2+, Safari 5+ and Chrome. TTFEdit As the last tool on this list, strikes the balance between complex tools like FontForge and simple ones that don’t really do much. With TTFEdit, you can modify existing TTF fonts or create new ones from templates.
The interface is divided into tabs. Each tab lets you perform different actions on the selected character(s). You can change the shape of each character by moving and resizing curves in the Glyph Editor. This is a desktop tool, so you’ll have to download and install it. Availability: Linux, Windows, Mac OS X.
SEE ALSO: Here is how to create your own fonts with the help of these free tools. If you know any other free tools for creating fonts? Share your recommendations in the comments.