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FontUtils

Toolkit for font developers

Martin Hosken, Bob Hallissy, Alan Ward, David Raymond, 2012-08-29; 25435 reads

Updated 2012-08-29, version 1.00

Ten new utilities (identified in italics in the table below); bug fixes and enhancements throughout the package.

Previous updates

2009-04-17 - New utility (ttfdeflang); new options (ttftable).

2008-06-11 - New utility (add_classes); new options (make_gdl, make_volt, volt2ttf); improvements to volt2ttf.

2007-11-16 - New utilities (volt2ttf, ttf2volt, ttfbboxfix, ttftable, sfd2ap, volt2ap); ttfname improvements.

2006-06-24 - New versions all round, added bundle package

2006-04-20 - Improved make_gdl, make_volt. Supports OS/2 version 3.

2005-06-09 - Addition of voltFixup, voltImportAnchors and voltExportAnchors.

    Introduction
    The utilities
        Obsolete or outdated utilities
    Usage
    Download and Installation
        Windows binary installer
            Older versions
        Perl source
            CPAN source
            SVN Repository
            Perl module installation
    Changes
        Summary of changes in FontUtils v 1.00
    Support

Introduction

SIL FontUtils collection provides command line tools for manipulating TrueType fonts. These tools are cross-platform and work on Windows, Mac, and Linux.

Written in pure Perl, the source modules (Font::TTF::Scripts and the supporting library package Font::TTF) have been available for a number of years and are an essential tool of NRSI's font development processes. For Perl users the most up-to-date sources can be retrieved from our Subversion repositories.

These scripts are also packaged as standalone Windows executables, making them usable by those who do not have Perl.

The utilities

(Utilities new to this release are shown in italics)

Command	Synopsis
General font hacking and repairing:
hackos2	HACKOS2 [-c hex] [-d directory] [-f fsSelection] [-p hex] [-q] [-t num] [-u hex] [-w width] Hacks various fields in the OS/2 table of a ttf file, including: fsType, panose, ulUnicodeRange, achVendID, fsSelection, usFirstCharIndex, usLastCharIndex and ulCodePageRange
psfix	PSFIX infile outfile Updates Postscript table to account for Postscript Unicode conventions.
ttf2woff	ttf2woff [-m metadatafile] [-p privatefile] infile.ttf outfile.woff Converts a TTF file into a WOFF file appending optional metadata and private data.
ttfascent	ttfascent [-a num] [-d num] [-l num] infile [outfile] Opens infile (a .ttf file) changes the ascent and descent values in the Hhea and OS/2 table and then writes the resulting file to outfile if specified.
ttfeval	tteval [options] infont.ttf ... ttfeval is a wrapper for those one- or two-line font hacks. It does the work of including the Font:TTF module, opening the input font file, and optionally writing the output font file. You just supply the code in the middle.
ttffeatparms	ttffeatparms [-d] [-c control.xml] infile.ttf outfile.ttf Adds feature parameters to Opentype stylistic set or character variants features
ttfbboxfix	ttfbboxfix [-v] in.ttf [out.ttf] Reports bounding box errors in a font. If out.ttf is provided, rewrite corrected font.
ttfdeflang	ttfdeflang -d lang infile.ttf outfile.ttf Creates a font with the given language id as being default.
ttfname	ttfname [-f "new_full_name"] -n "new_name" [-t num] [-q] in.ttf out.ttf Renames the TTF with the given name and outputs the newly named font.
ttfremap	TTFRemap -c file [-r] [-s \| -u] Remaps the MS cmap of a font without removing any glyphs. Updates the OS/2 table according to first and last char of new cmap.
ttfsetver	ttfsetver [-d "description"] version infile outfile Sets font version (in both head and name tables).
ttfsubset	ttfsubset [options] infont outfont Opens infont (a .ttf file), subsets it according to the supplied options, then writes the resulting file to outfont.
ttftable	ttftable [options] in.ttf [out.ttf] Opens in.ttf for reading, optionally imports, exports, and/or deletes tables from the font, then writes the modified font to out.ttf if provided.
TTFBuilder / Attachment Point related:
add_classes	add_classes -c classes.xml infile.xml Adds class information to an attachment point database.
check_attach	check_attach [-z outfile.xml] infile.xml infile.ttf Checks an attachment point database against a font, checking that any contours are single point and any locations tie up with their corresponding contour, or that there exists a single point contour at a given location. This program can also generate missing information and write it to a new attachment point database.
make_gdl	make_gdl [-a attach.xml] [-i file] [-l type [-s num]] [-n num] [-z bitfield] infont.ttf outGDL.txt Analyse the input font and attachment point database to generate gdl code including classes for related glyphs and adding attachment point information.
make_volt	make_volt [-t] [-a attach.xml] [-l ligtype] [-i file] [-n] infont.ttf outfile Analyse the input font and attachment point database to generate VOLT project code including classes for related glyphs and anchor point information. Can also merge existing volt code.
sfd2ap	sfd2ap infile.sfd [outfile.xml] Reads a FontForge font file and extracts anchor point information into an XML attachment point database.
ttfbuilder	ttfbuilder [-a] [-h] -c config.xml [-x attach.xml] [-z out.xml] infile.ttf outfile.ttf Builds outfile.ttf from infile.ttf according to config.xml.
volt2ap	volt2ap [-t voltdat.txt] infile.ttf > outfile.xml Export glyph data, including anchors, to XML attachment point database
VOLT related:
ttf2volt	ttf2volt [options] infontfile [outfontfile] Attempts to create a VOLT project from an existing OpenType font by reading and interpreting the existing GDEF, GPOS, and GSUB tables. Not every OpenType rule can be mimiced in VOLT; warnings are issued when ttf2volt cannot handle something.
volt2ttf	volt2ttf [-a attach.xml] [-t volt.txt] infile.ttf outfile.ttf Compiles volt source into OT tables in the font. Think of this as a 3rd party command-line version of MS VOLT.
TypeTuner related: (see http://scripts.sil.org/typetuner)
ttflang2tuner	ttflang2tuner [-c] [-v] infile.ttf ... Builds TypeTuner features configuration file(s) from the script and language tags contained in the GPOS and GSUB tables of OpenType font(s).
typetuner	TypeTuner -x <xml> <ttf> (create settings xml file from ttf) TypeTuner <xml> <ttf> (apply edited settings xml file to ttf) TypeTuner [<switches>] <command> [files, ...] Enables developers to create fonts which users can then alter (also using TypeTuner) to change default glyphs and behaviors.
Fontforge related:
sfdmeld	sfdmeld [-a ap.xml] [-p] structure.sfd design.sfd output.sfd Merges two FontForge font files such that the lookups and behaviour in the second (design) file is overridden by that in the first file.
sfdmerge	sfdmerge [-r winner] base local other Does a 3 way ancestral merge of sfd files.
Miscellaneous:
addfont	addfont [-r] [-f] *.ttf Installs or uninstalls a font in Windows without copying it. Can include wildcards.
dumpfont	dumpfont [-t taglist] [-a attach.xml] font.ttf Dump font table structures. "taglist" is a comma-or space-separated list of tags specifying which tables to dump.
fret	FRET [-f] [-g] [-r] [-s size] [-p package] [-q] font_file [out_file] Generates nice PDF reports on a font.

Utilities arranged by category

Obsolete or outdated utilities

A number of utilities formerly installed with this package have been obsoleted by alternative tools or deemed to be low usage and so are no longer installed as executables by the standard installers (binary or source). However, the source bundle includes all of these in the Examples folder.

name	purpose	replaced by
eurofix	Update legacy fonts for the Win98 change in codepage 1252
thai2gdl	Creates GDL for a Thai font
thai2OT	Creates OpenType tables for Thai font
thai2volt	Creates VOLT for a Thai font
ttfenc	Creates a Postscript mapping file for the given font
VoltFixup	"Smart" import of a VOLT project to a new font.	make_volt
VoltImportAnchors	Imports anchor definitions from XML	make_volt
VoltExportAnchors	Exports VOLT anchor definitions to XML	volt2ap

Obsolete / outdated utilities

Usage

All of the tools are commandline, so you will typically launch them by typing the command name and parameters into a CMD window.

Most tools provides their own "usage" message explaining the parameters. To get the usage message, execute the command with no parameters. For example:

C:>ttfname
Usage:
      ttfname [-f "full_name"] -n "name" [-t num] [-q] infile.ttf outfile.ttf
    Renames the TTF with the given name and outputs the newly named font to out.ttf.

Options:
      -f "name"   specifies new full name (optional) as opposed to the
                  default calculated form.
      -l lang     language number to use (default all langs)
                  if specified name entries will be added for all platforms and
                      encodings covered by the cmap if not already there
      -n "name"   specifies new font family name (not optional)
      -p          Don't update postscript font name
      -q          disable signon message
      -r num      Removes all strings of the given id
      -s filename overrides -n and gets string from file. Useful for -t
      -t num      overrides the normal naming areas to change another
                  string -f becomes inactive. Use -l as well to create entry.
      -w "name"   overrides subfamily in the font (think weight). So a full name
                  may be made from -n and -w together.

Note also that many of the commands now support a -h option for more complete help.

Download and Installation

Windows binary installer

The installer should be downloaded to a temporary folder and then launched. This will install the package. By default the installer adds the installation folder to your PATH.

As an alternate installation: turn off the option to modify your PATH variable during installation. When the installer has finished, copy all the .BAT files from the install directory (typically C:/Program Files/SIL/FontUtils to a folder that is already on your PATH.

FontUtils 1.00 Installer
Martin Hosken, Bob Hallissy, 2012-08-29
Download "TTFontUtils_1_00.exe", Windows application, 3MB [715 downloads]

Older versions

FontUtils 0.13 Installer
Martin Hosken, Bob Hallissy, 2009-04-09
Download "TTFontUtils_0_13.exe", Windows application, 2MB [1534 downloads]

FontUtils 0.11 Installer
Martin Hosken, Bob Hallissy, 2008-06-11
Download "TTFontUtils_0_11.exe", Windows application, 2MB [1170 downloads]

FontUtils 0.10 Installer
Martin Hosken, 2007-11-16
Download "TTFontUtils_0_10.exe", Windows application, 2MB [1965 downloads]

Perl source

The source is organized into two separate packages:


Font::TTF	This is the underlying object library that implements an in-memory structure representing an OpenType font. There are no ready-to-run commands included with this package — just the support library.
Font::TTF::Scripts	This is a collection of command-line programs and further utility libraries, built on top of Font::TTF, that provide the command-line functionality. All of the commands mentioned above plus other example programs, some useful in their own right, are included.

Perl 5.8 or newer is required.

These two packages are available in several ways:

CPAN source

Snapshots of the source packages are available on CPAN. The links for the latest such snapshot are Font-TTF and Font-TTF-Scripts.

SVN Repository

You may browse or obtain updated sources directly from our public Subversion repository. Two methods of access are available: from your SVN client, or using a web browser:

Package	URL for SVN client	browser link
Font::TTF library	http://scripts.sil.org/svn-public/utilities/Font-TTF	Font-TTF
Font::TTF::Scripts utilities	http://scripts.sil.org/svn-public/utilities/Font-TTF-scripts	Font-TTF-scripts

Perl module installation

Windows users please note

Installing perl modules requires that you have a make utility of some sort, and such isn't built into Windows. On its website Microsoft provides the free nmake, but unfortunately some versions of nmake are not capable of installing Font:TTF. If you are using ActiveState ActivePerl, the recommended program is dmake available from cpan.

Note also: If you have both nmake and dmake on your system, ActivePerl prefers nmake unless dmake appears first on the PATH. To find out which version of make Perl is using, issue the command perl -V:make. You can instruct ActivePerl to prefer dmake by setting the environment variable ACTIVEPERL_CONFIG_MAKE=dmake.

Once you have an appropriate make program, the easiest way to get and obtain the modules is using the cpan program that is likely to be part of your Perl installation. Simply execute:

cpan -i Font::TTF
cpan -i Font::TTF::Scripts

If you don't have cpan, or it doesn't work, download and unpack the source archives from the links above. Then, first for Font:TTF and then Font:TTF:Scripts, locate the folder containing the file Makefile.pl. From a command prompt in that folder, give the standard Perl module install incantation of:

perl Makefile.pl
make
make test
make install

(substituting dmake for make if on Windows).

Changes

Each of the constituent source packages contain a Changes file that summarizes the changes made in recent revisions. To view these files directly with a web browser click Font:TTF Changes and Font:TTF:Scripts Changes.

Summary of changes in FontUtils v 1.00

Version 1.00 of the FontUtils package contains major enhancements over previously released packages. Many of the improvements are due to enhancements to the underlying Font:TTF package (upated to version 0.49), including:

Ability to read fonts packaged using the Web Open Font Format WOFF format
Support for newer versions of the OS/2, kern, and GDEF tables
Automatic sorting of coverage tables (per the OpenType Spec)
Support for OpenType FeatureParam definitions for cvxx, size, and ssxx features

Between version 0.13 and 1.00, nine new utilities have been added and a tenth, TypeTuner, has been incorporated into the package:

dumpfont - Dump font table structures
ttf2woff - Converts a TTF file into a WOFF file appending optional metadata and private data
ttfascent - Change the ascent and descent values in a font
ttffeatparams - Adds feature parameters to Opentype Stylistic Set, Character Variants or Size features
ttflang2tuner - Builds TypeTuner features configuration file(s) from the script and language tags contained in the GPOS and GSUB
ttfsubset - Subsets a font
TypeTuner - Makes it possible to change the default glyphs and behaviors in certain fonts if the current defaults don't fit your needs
sfdmerge - Does a 3 way ancestral merge of sfd files
sfdmeld - Merges two FontForge font
ttfeval - a wrapper for those one- or two-line font hacks

Support

A public mailing list is available for users and developers of the Font::TTF and Font::TTF::Scripts packages. Visit the Font-TTF list to view the content online or to subscribe with your GoogleGroups login. If you don't have a GoogleGroups login, simply send a subscription request to Font-TTFgooglegroups.com.

Please recognize, however, that the existence of this group does not change the fact these utilities and libraries are essentially unsupported. If you find and report a bug, we'll try to find time to fix it. If you find a bug and suggest a patch, we'll get around to reviewing the suggestion as soon as we can. But no guarantees on time-frames.